Hey guys, Will Pounder here! I’m here to talk about training, as well as cover rest days, cheat days, and well, everything in between. Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFyMaLTeMXw
Pssst… If you’re reading this sneakily and can’t seem to watch the video at work (boo), you can also check out everything you need to know below.
The importance of knowing when to rest
This is something I get asked A LOT. I mean, guys always ask me about my workout routine, the types of exercises I do, and my rest days. Your typical training schedule usually consists of five days on, two days off. However, a day off doesn’t have to mean relaxing on the couch all day. What I mean by “rest days” is a day that is a little less active than the other five. While it’s important to keep your heart pumping, perhaps with a walk outside or some cardio at the gym, you can go hard at the gym the other five days and save these two for a small amount of exercise.
Read also: Dad Bod: What Happens to Your Body When You Have Kids
But should we rest? Well, I think it’s important to listen to your body. When I returned to training after Covid hit (twice!) and I suffered from some health problems. When I started exercising again, I was pretty consistent for five days straight, but even though I really thought I would go further, I had to listen to my body. My muscles were very sore after a while without exercising, so I knew I needed to take some time to rest. If you don’t listen to your body, you risk injury or exhaustion.
When to include rest days
For this, we will work on the traditional basis of five days of training and two days of rest. For example… You want Monday to be an intense work day, where you will work your main muscle groups, for example your legs or your back. But before we dive into which muscles you’re focusing on, let’s talk a little more about rest days. As I mentioned earlier, this doesn’t mean two days of watching Netflix – after all, we have goals to achieve!
Read also: How to get back in shape after Covid
So instead of watching TV, you should use your rest days to maximize benefits – that means giving your body time to rest and repair, while burning calories and staying healthy.
To summarize:
Choose your two days off. I like to have them back to back for better recovery. During these rest days, there is no heavy work to be done, but we still need to stay active. This could be a walk or a short cardio session. If you want to continue to push yourself, you can increase your cardio on your rest days, but it’s important to do the right type of cardio. For example, a recent study showed the benefits of doing 7 sets of 20-second intervals with a 2-minute break in between, allowing you to burn calories without losing muscle mass.
What about cheat days?
A-hah! Cheat days. No doubt you are looking forward to them as much as I am. But don’t get too excited… Cheat days are recommended at most once a week. Let’s say you train in a calorie deficit 5 days a week, using the weekend as your rest day. Often one of your rest days will also be used as a cheat day. Let’s say you use the weekend as your day off. If you also use Sunday as a cheat day, you might want to go out and eat a huge burger and fries, knowing that your Monday workout is going to be tough. This cheat day allows you to refill your glycogen stores, increasing your calories for a hard workout the next day.
Read also: How Stress Can Affect Your Body and Your Testosterone Levels
This means that after splurging on a cheat meal, you’ll want to work one of your major muscle groups the next day, for a truly intense workout. I would go for your legs or your back.
What to avoid on cheat days
- Milk/dairy-based foods
- Pork-based foods
- Lots of sugar
Regardless of your blood type or anything like that, both of these foods are known to increase inflammation. If you eat plenty of these foods, your body will be pushed to repair itself and heal from your workouts. And this type of inflammation. And you don’t want that!
To summarize
Now you will need two days of rest per week to allow your body to heal and repair itself, promoting protein synthesis. But don’t forget to get your heart pumping a little on your days off! Cheat Meals – Fitting them into your rest day, the day before a busy work day, is key here! Don’t go overboard with the cheat meal… Try to avoid excess sugar, pork and dairy.
Ready to maximize your workouts?
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