What are good activities/workouts to do on the off days? For example, ab work, jump rope etc. Does that effect your ability to recover on an off day?
Well you should at least consider taking the off day, off.
Richard
Definitely take at least one off day completely off. Relax your muscles, do not try and become fatigued at all. You need recovery if your training hard, or your performance and body composition will become lower (as I’ve experienced). Sometimes to get that extra layer of fat off or muscle on, you need to do the opposite… rest. I usually do a full body stretch with static stretching and foam roller.
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
Definitely take at least one off day completely off. Relax your muscles, do not try and become fatigued at all. You need recovery if your training hard, or your performance and body composition will become lower (as I’ve experienced). Sometimes to get that extra layer of fat off or muscle on, you need to do the opposite… rest. I usually do a full body stretch with static stretching and foam roller.[/quote]
PB…good points.
As well…the nervous system needs the break as well. The stretching is a great idea.
[quote]IronRaider wrote:
PB Andy wrote:
Definitely take at least one off day completely off. Relax your muscles, do not try and become fatigued at all. You need recovery if your training hard, or your performance and body composition will become lower (as I’ve experienced). Sometimes to get that extra layer of fat off or muscle on, you need to do the opposite… rest. I usually do a full body stretch with static stretching and foam roller.
PB…good points.
As well…the nervous system needs the break as well. The stretching is a great idea.
[/quote]
Or you some light GPP work orlight weight rep work in order to flood the area and clean out the waste in ur muscles
[quote]Hawkson101 wrote:
What are good activities/workouts to do on the off days? For example, ab work, jump rope etc. Does that effect your ability to recover on an off day?[/quote]
Well, that all depends on how hard you train on your training days, what your goals are, and your innate recovery ability.
When I am in non-diet mode, and it is not rugby season, I try to spend my off days on the couch, stuffing my face. If dieting or preparing for rugby I may run or ride my mountain bike, do abs, stretch, do some training with jump stretch bands, things of that nature.
As long as you take one full day of rest per week, then adding a few days of “active rest” or conditioning is fine.
There are many things you can do to promote recovery, increase conditioning and increase fat loss. Just be sure not to overdo it.
I like to mix things up each time. One day, I may run sprints or do an interval-based workout. Another day, I may focus on bodyweight exercises done in a circuit, some days I will jump rope, sometimes I use just kbells, and other times, I’ll do a circuit using a barbell and a moderate weight. I’ve even done some in-line skating or mountain biking.
The key is to just do something active that you enjoy, and don’t try killing yourself. Limit the time you spend to under 30 minutes, and don’t go overboard with the intensity.