2625: The Art of Active Rest by Harold Gibbons with Mark Fisher Fitness on Recovery & Physical Fitness

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[00:01:09] The Art of Active Rest by Harold Gibbons with markfisherfitness.com. And I'm Dr. Neal, your host and narrator. Welcome back to another edition of Optimal Health Daily. This is where

[00:01:20] I read to you from some of the best health and fitness blogs on the web, kind of like an ongoing audiobook and always with a bit of my commentary at the end. Now don't forget we have a bunch of

[00:01:29] shows where we cover a lot of different topics. Check them all out by searching for Optimal Living Daily wherever you're hearing this. Thank you so much in advance for doing that. Thank you for sharing this show with someone. Hey, it sounds like I'm wrapping up this episode. No,

[00:01:43] we're just getting started. So let's get right to today's post and optimize your life. The Art of Active Rest by Harold Gibbons with markfisherfitness.com. It's time to train. You're ready to get strong. You're ready to get lean. It's your hotness and

[00:02:05] you want it now. Grab a kettlebell, swing it, squat it, row it, and then set it down when it's time to rest. But you don't want to rest. You want to move. You want to burn. You want to sweat.

[00:02:18] It's your hotness and you want it now, right? Relax pumpkin. It's not coming that fast. In fact, if you're not resting during your workout, you might be slowing yourself down. You see,

[00:02:30] rest is an integral part of the process. There's an art to when and how you do it. Most of what we do in our journey of health, hotness, and happiness is about matching our

[00:02:41] behaviors to our goals. So today we're going to talk about the importance of recovery during the workout. Why do we rest? If resting between workouts is about pulling off the highway to eat, sleep, and shower before your journey continues, then rest between sets is about pulling into the

[00:03:00] rest stop to shake out your legs, run around the car, and top off your tank. It's all about energy systems. At the moment, Fitnessland agrees that metabolic resistance training or MRT is the best tool for creating rapid physique changes. The kettlebell swing is our go-to example of what

[00:03:19] lifting weights faster can do for your body. While using an appreciable weight for a set of 20 to 60 seconds on its own lets us focus on getting stronger, it's how we combine and recover

[00:03:30] from these sets that lets us focus on better fitness. Our adaptable body has the ability to seamlessly move between these interval systems. As cardio with weights becomes increasingly popular, many programs focus on the idea of always doing more work, flashing some graphs, and showing you

[00:03:50] that the highest point is where you want to be. A typically unspoken rule at Mark Fisher Fitness is that while work periods focus on the ATP, creatinine, phosphate, and glycolysis energy systems, the rest periods focus on the oxidative energy system. You can see why it's unspoken.

[00:04:10] Wait, if it's a rest period, how am I using energy? Well remember, you're still breathing hard aren't you? Thought so! This can be best appreciated in programs that offer distinctions between more strength-based days and cardio-based days. In reality, the differences between these are rather

[00:04:30] small, considering that the possibility exists to go a much heavier weight for several reps using a barbell and that even paced swimming, running, or cycling can create a more potent aerobic effect. Accepting that at Mark Fisher Fitness, we're getting the most of all possible worlds. Let's consider

[00:04:49] how you can maximize these benefits. What's the focus? A class that emphasizes lifting some heavy things throughout its duration is best realized when the focus is actually on lifting heavy things. At Mark Fisher Fitness, this is our superhero strength class. Since the focus is about getting

[00:05:08] stronger, rest periods are best spent not working hard or resting to allow for adequate recovery before continuing. This may mean resting entirely or exchanging one barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell for a heavier one or reinforcing desirable movement for the upcoming set with a mobility filler.

[00:05:29] Here's my favorite example. A class that emphasizes conditioning or anaerobic work capacity needs to appreciate both the work periods and the rest periods which will allow for proper recovery. Wait, isn't that what you just said? Yes, precisely! Often a class that's more cardio-driven

[00:05:48] will be structured to include more time working and less time resting. Consider that the rest is built in and utilize the few free seconds to sip some water, take a focused recovery breath, and cue

[00:06:01] your mind for the upcoming set. Okay, I get it. It's the same thing. We're supposed to rest. Yes, but it's not that simple. In both cases, rest periods give your oxidative energy system more time to

[00:06:15] recover. That's why you're still breathing heavily. Now, assuming your workout is structured to allow for the intended recovery, let's talk about what you can do during those rest breaks. Rest, active

[00:06:29] rest, and cardio. The first and simplest thing to do during rest periods is to actually rest. Grab a sip of water, high-five your friend, or check yourself out in the closest mirror. All go and no

[00:06:43] low can wear you down pretty quickly. Another option is to have active rest. This may be a low-level recovery exercise like the standing cross crawl which we like to call brain candy because of how

[00:06:55] it excites the motor centers in our brain. It's typically a mobility drill but it may also be a movement that can make the next set even better. Maybe you use the cook squat instead or perhaps

[00:07:07] it's the thoracic bridge. Be sure to pick something that complements your focus on the upcoming movement. There also exists the option of doing more demanding exercises with jumping jacks being

[00:07:18] the most universal example. This is a great way to keep your heart rate up. It's an option but don't fall into the trap of thinking it's the only option. Often we see better results by allowing

[00:07:30] our body recovery time, grabbing a heavier barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell and allowing ourselves to make it feel easier. Rest periods in your workout can be completely ignored, used for active rest

[00:07:42] that improve your long-term results, or used to pick up a date for Monday night. The decision is yours but I will postulate that doing the opposite of what you're accustomed to will help you get that

[00:07:54] much better. As humans we're drawn to what we're good at and often we need the opposite to truly transform. Respect that rest periods are part of the program and that allowing yourself time to

[00:08:07] recover is part of the process. Just as we may need a day of easy exercise to help us recover, we often need a few seconds to take a deep breath and think about being awesome before getting after

[00:08:19] it again. You just listened to the post titled The Art of Active Rest by Harold Gibbons with markfisherfitness.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:08:35] As today's author Harold mentioned, the key is to mix things up and that's great news. It means you don't have to bore yourself with the same routine when you're taking your rest and recovery breaks.

[00:08:46] I'll give you a couple of examples of things that I do. Say I'm performing shoulder presses to try and get my shoulders more muscular. You know, since I've been told they look disproportionately

[00:08:57] smaller than the rest of my body, I'm not mad about that or anything. Anywho, the shoulder press exercise requires that you grab dumbbells or a barbell and using the muscles in your shoulders, press the weight above your head towards the sky. After say lifting that weight five times,

[00:09:15] I will put the weight down to give myself time to rest before picking the weight up again. Now instead of just sitting there waiting and staring at the clock for two or three minutes while I wait

[00:09:27] for my muscles to recover, I will instead sometimes perform some gentle ballistic shoulder stretches. This usually involves me gently swinging my arms up and down and across my chest. This counts as a type of active recovery. It's keeping the muscles warm and activated without

[00:09:45] taxing them. Here's another example that involves more intense active recovery. Say I'm on a stationary bike and I want to perform a high intensity interval training style workout. This usually involves pedaling really fast for a short period of time, say 20 seconds, and then

[00:10:03] giving the legs a chance to recover before cycling really fast again. But how do you give your legs a chance to recover? Should you just sit there and stop pedaling and let them hang? Well you could do

[00:10:15] that or you keep pedaling during this recovery period but at a much slower pace. Again, you're keeping the muscles activated and warm but since the intensity is much lower, you're still giving

[00:10:28] your body a chance to recover and get ready for the next set. So there are many ways to go about this whole rest idea. Again, the takeaway is it may be helpful to mix and match these types of

[00:10:41] recovery methods every so often. All right, that'll do it for the Tuesday episode. I hope you have a great rest of your day and I'll be back here tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits!