Plenty of Rest for the Wicked

Plenty of Rest for the Wicked...

So, I'm supposed to be posting my programming, and I'm supposed to be talking about how I've been feeling - go figure, I've got rest days for the next few days. 

To put things in perspective, though, I'll let you know that this last week was pretty miserable - finishing up week 8 with 3X as many reps as possible (AMRAP) back squats at 85% (Wound up being 3x10 at 315# - double my body weight) and then heavy singles of snatches and clean and jerks. 

My hips are shot, to say the least. 

Here is what I want to say about rest days, though: Take them. And be smart about it. For me? Today I'll be watching episodes of X-Men the Animated Series (Yes, the early 90's version) all day because I'm a teacher and I have summers off and I want to feel nostalgic. I'll probably head back to the gym to stretch and hit some lift progressions later on, though. 

I think when we think of rest days, we think of either ignoring them altogether or laying around and doing absolutely nothing. I'm a fan of staying loose and staying stretched, dedicating about an hour to  keep everything where it needs to be. I recommend Mobility Wod.  Kelley Starrett (click his name, watch the video) is a beast and will steer you in the right direction. If you run, he's got you. If you lift, he's got you. If you Crossfit, he's got you. 

As far as eating is concerned, I either use a rest day as a day to cheat and eat literally whatever I want (I'm a fan of champing a half a dozen donuts... but, you know... I don't want to twist your arm) OR I use a rest day as a day to eat clean because the night before, AFTER working out, I had a cheat meal. 

Everyone has their own philosophy about what works best for them. Experiment. I say do whatever it is that makes you feel stronger that following week so you hit your lifts. In my opinion, as long as you hit your lifts, who cares. If you are expecting to look a certain way from your training, then keep that in mind as well, but that's not the world I live in right now. 

And on that note - Jean Gray just turned into The Pheonix. It's about to get real. 

Be well, 

The Poet and The Platform