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Philosophy on Training/Rest Days

biggamike

biggamike

Member
Member
Good Morning Brothers! I know that everyone has their own training splits, styles and favorite exercises that we've all tried throughout years of training. I'd like to know what are your thoughts on Rest days. Do you guys like active rest days as in doing maybe 30mins-60mins of low to moderate intensity cardio or what I call recovery cardio? Or do you just like to lounge around the house and enjoy yourself? Do you have set days in your training split that you rest on or are you more instinctual and rest when your body tells you? Personally, I like to go by how my body feels. I've even heard Jay Cutler and Victor Martinez state that if your diet, sleep and "supplementation" are on point then you really shouldn't get over trained and may not require set-in-stone rest days. What are your thoughts and experiences?
 
I do cardio sometimes on off days. I often do a good foam roll session and do some stretch work on off days though.
 
I go by instinct, sometimes I do nothing on my rest days, sometimes I work calves or cardio. Depends on how I'm feeling that day.
 
RedMorkai said:
I do cardio sometimes on off days. I often do a good foam roll session and do some stretch work on off days though.
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I need to add foam rolling back into my routine as well. I've gotten away from it and I've noticed that my range of motion on squats has decreased a bit. I also like to get adjusted at least once a month when I can to keep my back and hips lined up properly...alleviates knee pain for me.
 
Taurus said:
I go by instinct, sometimes I do nothing on my rest days, sometimes I work calves or cardio. Depends on how I'm feeling that day.
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Yep! I'll hit some calves and work abs sometimes on those days as well. Sometimes what I'll do is train calves first, do 20-25mins of cardio, hit abs, then do another 20 minutes of cardio.
 
I'm pretty lucky in that I have a coach that maps all of this out for me....and it will change depending on goals, what's working, etc.

I take at least one full day off; no cardio/no training. Diet is the same every day except for a small change in my 4th and 5th meals on non-training days. Those 2 would normally be my pre and post workout meals.

If I really feel beat up then I may take an unplanned day off from training. <<< That happened this week.
 
I used to solely go by instinct and had what I thought was amazing growth. Sometimes rest days might come every two weeks, it was all purely based upon when my body said 'hold the fuck up bro'. I started taking dedicated rest days Saturday/Sunday and although sometimes it will kill you inside to not be at the gym, the overall experience is far better than going by instinct I can assure you. Lifts will be heavier, the mind will be craving that Monday lift, those guaranteed rest days will allow your body to be prepared and recovered in full. You push hard AF and on certain days will find that you will still need to take the occasional unexpected day off to recover because you're able to go so hard. Just my thoughts.
 
biggamike said:
Good Morning Brothers! I know that everyone has their own training splits, styles and favorite exercises that we've all tried throughout years of training. I'd like to know what are your thoughts on Rest days. Do you guys like active rest days as in doing maybe 30mins-60mins of low to moderate intensity cardio or what I call recovery cardio? Or do you just like to lounge around the house and enjoy yourself? Do you have set days in your training split that you rest on or are you more instinctual and rest when your body tells you? Personally, I like to go by how my body feels. I've even heard Jay Cutler and Victor Martinez state that if your diet, sleep and "supplementation" are on point then you really shouldn't get over trained and may not require set-in-stone rest days. What are your thoughts and experiences?
Click to expand...
I always implement cardio on rest days, and it works quite well for me. I don't do cardio on workout days but I also have more rest days than most people. I only lift monday, Wednesday and Friday doing high intensity low volume

(PM me for a price list for Biotech Labs and 10% discount)
 
Saturday and Sunday for me as well, depending when I get up I might go on either on of those days and just do random shit. I work all day on Saturday and Sunday, so if I get up early enough I usually try to go, but my gym also closes a little bit earlier on Saturday and at 2pm on Sunday.
 
44YOGearHead said:
I used to solely go by instinct and had what I thought was amazing growth. Sometimes rest days might come every two weeks, it was all purely based upon when my body said 'hold the fuck up bro'. I started taking dedicated rest days Saturday/Sunday and although sometimes it will kill you inside to not be at the gym, the overall experience is far better than going by instinct I can assure you. Lifts will be heavier, the mind will be craving that Monday lift, those guaranteed rest days will allow your body to be prepared and recovered in full. You push hard AF and on certain days will find that you will still need to take the occasional unexpected day off to recover because you're able to go so hard. Just my thoughts.
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Yeah man it fucks with my mind to take 2 days in a row off from the gym. I have to say that when I did, I actually did feel a bit stronger when I came back but they may have also been from having a few heavy carb meals on those days.
 
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biggamike said:
Yeah man it fucks with my mind to take 2 days in a row off from the gym. I have to say that when I did, I actually did feel a bit stronger when I came back but they may have also been from having a few heavy carb meals on those days.
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Your body doesn't lie to you, your mind will, but your body and the way it feels can't be faked or hyped up. Listen to the body. We have to be disciplined enough to do that since building the body is the goal after all.
 
Matter of fact my body just spoke to me... OFF DAY. About to pin up a shit load of test and spend the day playing BF4, my body is sore and I think relaxation and carb loading is in order...

View attachment 2569
 
44YOGearHead said:
Your body doesn't lie to you, your mind will, but your body and the way it feels can't be faked or hyped up. Listen to the body. We have to be disciplined enough to do that since building the body is the goal after all.
Click to expand...

Words of wisdom I will take to heart brother!
 
Always keep in mind that you grow in the kitchen and while RESTING, not in the gym...

Beat that muscle to hell, then let it recover

(PM me for a price list for Biotech Labs and 10% discount)
 
RickRock said:
Always keep in mind that you grow in the kitchen and while RESTING, not in the gym...

Beat that muscle to hell, then let it recover

(PM me for a price list for Biotech Labs and 10% discount)
Click to expand...


Excellent point! We all know this but sometimes its easy to get caught up in the euphoria you get from training. But you're absolutely right about eating and rest. I literally just told my Project Manager that he needs to get his diet and rest on point if he wants to make any gains. He just came to my desk asking me to critique his new push/pull split and the first thing I asked him was how he was doing on his eating....He playfully flipped me off and walked away! LOL.
 
44YOGearHead said:
He means zero activity... then he resurrects himself Monday mornings. Today would be a great day to smoke some trees btw... hot tubbin, spliff in mouth
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lol, packing a bowl right now before i hit the gym for some bis. believe it or not that shit actually gives me a great pump, maybe due to a better mind muscle connection as i am in the zone lol
 
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