Active rest is getting yourself out of your normal workout environment or routine and doing something more enjoyable to break training monotony. It’s common for any athlete to feel burned out and unmotivated to train. When this occurs, it’s important to mix things up and free the mind of your normal training routine. Randy has been known to substitute a day of training for a run in Red Rock National Park here in Vegas. Do you really think missing that one day of sparring or grappling hurt Randy? No, instead it helped him by giving him a break from the daily grind while still getting in a good workout. Getting outside and getting in a good run at a place like Red Rock gives you not only a good workout, but a mental break. I travelled home for the fourth of July this year along with my older brother, Josh. Home for me is Ironwood, Michigan. Josh and I never stepped foot in a gym to train. Instead, we chose to run a local ski hill called Mt. Zion. There is nothing fun about running Mt. Zion; it’s about ten minutes of hell to the top. It was different this time though. I have not seen a whole lot of green since moving to Vegas, so running Mt. Zion was very enjoyable. I hardly even thought about how hard the workout was because I was enjoying being outdoors in that environment. So, even though we took a break from our normal gym routines, we still got a great workout in. That’s active rest.
1 response so far ↓
Ihilani // August 3, 2008 at 5:32 pm |
You’re preaching to the choir, man! I live in Maui and whenever my clients get to a point of having to “drag their ass into the gym,” I’m the first one to say, “go out and play!” Hike the crater, run the forest trails, paddle out into the ocean… just keep moving! Plus, living here on the island is like having a huge gym without walls (and a little sun on the skin, salt in the air and the occasional humpback whale sighting while “working out” definitely beats mat stink anyday!)