MOVE SLOWLY/PLAY/REST – You have four
days a week to:
Move Slowly – Meet your quota of 3–5 (or more)
hours of low level aerobic activity. Do it all at once
on a long weekend hike or cumulatively throughout
the week. Walking 30 minutes to work counts just
as much as a planned bike ride or a pool swim. It’s
about the movement—not the calories.
Play – Playing is a large part of PBF. Use these
days to let loose, play a sport with friends and
have fun while you move. Personally I try to paddle
surf and/or play Ultimate Frisbee at least once a
week. The essence here is to engage in some
outdoor physical fun. If you like to play hard, you
can certainly feel comfortable replacing a Sprint
or Lift Heavy Things workout with a vigorous Play
session. Remember, PBF is not about regimenta-
tion or exercising compulsively, so embrace the
spirit of the suggested weekly schedule without
feeling compelled to follow it to the letter week
after week.
Rest – Proper recovery is as important to your fit-
ness as hard workouts, yet many exercisers disre-
spect this fundamental truth and engage in chronic
exercise. Every week should feature several days
of rest or easy exercise, and you should also take
a week or two off if you notice a sustained trend
of sub-par energy levels or performance. A good
rule of thumb is to return to your typical exercise
patterns when you feel energized and motivated
in a resting state.With four days each week for Move Slowly/Play/
Rest, you have the freedom to choose what you do
and when you do it without venturing too far from
the core plan. Additionally this freedom allows for
sport and work-specific training as needed.That’s the basic outline of what PBF is. Now let’s
dig into why it works, and how best to incorporate
it into your life so that you can start getting the
results you deserve.The PBF Schedule cont’d 9