Men’s Health Australia — September 2017

MUSCLE +

FITNESS

D E V I L’ S

ADVOCATE

Rest Days Are

For The Weak

Burning the

candle at

both ends

need not be

a bad thing.

Alternating heavy lifting with lazy sofa days puts a damper on your gains

and health. Instead, a little action every day is the easiest way to stay fit

WHATEVER JIM BRO and his cronies may

say, the “go hard then go home” approach to

training is dead weight. This old-school

philosophy of pulverising your body then

barely lifting a cup of tea the day after might

work for bodybuilders – they lift seriously

heavy weights to develop specific muscles

and therefore require periods of total rest to

recover. But unless you plan on overdoing the

fake tan, lazy days are, well, just lazy.

Let’s start with the broader health

implications. Federal government guidelines

advocate daily activity to ward off diabetes,

heart disease, cancer and depression.

Obliterate your muscles every Friday, only to

follow it with a sofa-bound Saturday and

you’re robbed of the myriad benefits. Tired

muscles might thank you, but your heart and

brain chemistry certainly won’t. The

consequences of inactive rest days make for

an uneasy read. Your metabolism slows

down and your brain produces fewer

endorphins. Muscle recovery is actually

impaired, not enhanced; your body needs

activity to flush out the lactic acid from

yesterday’s workout, which is why even Tour

de France cyclists do low-intensity rides on

rest days. Separate studies in the

International Journal of Sports Medicine

have shown that athletes who complete low-

intensity exercise – such as swimming,

cycling or a light jog – on their days off

recover faster.

But don’t think we’re devilishly advocating

daily deadlifts. Three targeted weights

sessions a week (chest and arms; shoulders

and back; and, yes, sorry, a legs day) is

sufficient to improve strength. However, if you

also want to drop body fat and boost your

energy levels, you need to keep moving on

the days in between.

Start thinking about alternating between

“gym days” and “active days”. On gym days,

train hard. On active days, stick to low-

intensity stuff such as walking, tennis,

cycling, swimming or golf.

The steady-state cardio will stoke your

metabolism and enhance your mood. In fact,

aerobic exercise is superior to resistance

training for stimulating endorphins and

boosting your cognitive performance.

What the stringy vest and baseball cap-

brigade don’t know is that swapping sofa for

sport can deliver benefits in the squat rack,

too. Swimming improves joint mobility by

producing synovial fluid, making it a great

complement to power cleans, while yoga and

Pilates will stabilise posture and strengthen

your posterior chain. A paper in the Clinical

Journal of Sport Medicine suggests regular

stretching improves everything from strength

to speed.

If you think staying active seven days a

week will leave you drained, the opposite is

true. Additional low-intensity exercise will

energise you, not wear you down. So give

rest a break and opt for a smarter everyday

fitness program. A day off isn’t proof you’ve

been training hard. It’s a waste of time.

DEALS WITH THE DEVIL

THE SPIN DOCTOR

The British Journal of Sports Medicine

found low-intensity cycling curbs

muscle damage better than pure rest.

FORCE OF NATURE

University of Georgia researchers found

regular activity reduces fatigue more

than anti-narcolepsy drug Modafinil.

SMART STEPS

A 40-minute walk is enough to enhance

connectivity in your grey matter,

according to the University of Illinois.

SATAN’S LITTLE HELPER

Ollie Frost is a PT and

former rugby pro who

isn’t afraid to tackle

accepted wisdom

WORDS:

MARK

BAILEY

| PHOTOGRAPHY:

JOBE

LAWRENSON