Tell me about your rest/recovery days!

CaffeinatedConfectionist

I've been trying to educate myself on proper recovery techniques, primarily in terms of rest/recovery days. I've found a lot of useful information online that discusses active versus passive recovery immediately following a workout or between sets/bouts. However, I am more interested in learning about what type of recovery, active vs passive, is most beneficial on rest days. I have not been able to find many studies that address this, so if anyone has any they could share, I'd appreciate it!

I did come across this Lyle McDonald article, which has been quite informational:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/active-versus-passive-recovery.html

To summarize:

Honestly, the primary benefit of true passive recovery days (e.g. no training at all or nothing more than brisk walking) is for people with no self-control in the gym.  If you can’t keep the intensity and volume where it should be for active recovery, don’t train at all.  If you’re the type who simply must go hard or not at all, you’re better off staying out of the gym, off the bike, etc.  Or try learning some self-control.
I’d mention that even with the benefits of active recovery, most coaches advocate and most athletes take at least one day per week of complete passive recovery.  This is probably as much mental as anything.  It’s very different to know you have 6 days of training ahead of you and then a day when you can sit around and watch television compared to knowing that you have to train every day for the next 21 or more days straight.  Because anybody can make it through 6 days of training.  And going 21 days without a break tends to just make people lose it.  There’s something about blocking off the training into more manageable chunks that makes it more mentally survivable.
Finally, I’d mention again that for some individuals, complete days off seem to do more harm than good, they flatten out (and this is especially true for high-intensity sports like sprinting and weightlifting) and/or loose their groove and feel.  In that case, active recovery may be the better choice but again with the caveat that it must be kept under control.  In that vein, some Olympic lifters will actually break the ‘one day off per week’ rule and do a very short squat workout on Sunday, otherwise they flatten out between Saturday and Monday. When I say short, I mean short, 30 minutes start to finish if that and light and snappy.

I found his article very helpful, especially because it lays out the parameters for an active rest day in terms of volume and intensity. But I also find it interesting that McDonald says that one passive recovery day per week is recommended, but then goes on to say that this is largely psychological, and that passive rest days can do more harm than good. I tend to avoid entirely passive recovery days myself, because they make me jittery and I feel like I don't perform as well the next day (although I'm taking one today because I'm graceful enough that I whacked the *%&!*! out of my knee with the car door yesterday so am giving myself a day off).

I'd like to hear more about other peoples' recovery strategies. Do you take a passive rest day? Why or why not? If you do active rest days, tell me about them! Does anyone exclusively utilize active recovery?

Microfiber

I'd like to hear more about other peoples' recovery strategies. Do you take a passive rest day? Why or why not? If you do active rest days, tell me about them! Does anyone exclusively utilize active recovery?

My rest day is my 'fast' day so I do no exercise whatsoever

Sarauk2sf

This really is one of those 'depends' on the individual things. So many variables impact the 'best' approach, including training intensity, age, lifestyle etc etc

I don't like exercising for weight loss or for exercise sake and hate cardio so I am a lazy on my rest day(s) and do nothing (well, except maybe nap). I do think active recovery is very good however for things like muscle soreness - I just don't get it that bad to warrant doing anything about it. It also keeps your TDEE up if you are trying to lose weight.

TL:DR: I am a lazy bish and laze around on rest days.

bumblebums

I use a stationary recumbent bike at the gym on "active recovery days"--because I can read while on it.

On passive rest days, I'll do close to nothing apart from my usual couple of dog walks. If I am feeling ambitious, I take my lazy b*tch of a dog out on a 1-hour walk. I walk at breakneck speed compared to the average person (about 4 mph is normal for me) so it's not entirely passive.

I take one to two passive rest days a week, though almost never two in a row.

CaffeinatedConfectionist

Thanks, guys! It's interesting seeing how everyone approaches it differently.

SideSteel

Thanks, guys! It's interesting seeing how everyone approaches it differently.

I sit on my *kitten*.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

I will generally take one passive recovery day,,,.the odd week two of them. The rest of the week really depends on how I feel between lifting days. Some days I will do light yoga, some days hard yoga, some days hill sprints, some days regular sprints, some days leisurely walk. For me it really depends on what my body is telling me needs to happen!

EvgeniZyntx

Stretch, walk or an activity not related to my training.
When I was a cyclist, swimming laps was rest.

Now? Most often it's doing nada.

heybales

I enjoy the cardio, but realize it is best to be in that Active Recovery HR zone, which is usually specific. Sadly it's usually called fat-burning zone, but the effect is the same. Little to no extra load put on the muscles that will require repair, meaning just blood flow into the muscles.

And it usually doesn't mean as slow as walking, but I've found most people discover that with sore recovering muscles, the HR is a tad higher than normal for a given pace, meaning they have to slow down even more.
Now it's so slow it's like Lyle said, most have a hard time going that slow and don't, ruining the whole effect.

I treat it like a challenge, to keep the HR where it should be.

Also, if you look at HR zones based on just HRmax, it makes for much lower HR zones, but if you base it on Heart Rate Reserves which incorporates resting HR also, you get higher zones.

pandorakick

I have one rest day per week and scheduled on the most hectic day of the week. I workout first thing in the morning so on my rest day I can sleep a snooze period extra and get the children to daycare and school while still getting to work on a reasonable time myself. I don't plan my rest day in the weekend because then I can take the time to workout on a relaxed pace.

Justjamie0418

Wednesdays are supposed to be my rest day but since I am trying to lower my BF% and some weight I use Wednesdays as a swim day. I swim for about 45-hour. I do a little (35-45min) or so of cardio on my lifting days. Sat/Sun are my rest days and I don't do anything.

nexangelus

This week I was supposed to have one passive rest day with 6 of heavy lifting (split routine). I ended up going for a 10 km run Thursday. Because my cals and macros are higher than they were the 6 weeks previous, I felt fine. In fact I feel energised this week. I am going to attempt the same again next week with a run Tuesday instead. Early days yet, but I am looking forward to it.

katevarner

I rest 2 or 3 days per week depending on my work schedule, but on those days I always walk as much as time and the weather will allow.

Chief_Rocka

I workout in the morning, so on a non-workout day, I sleep longer.

caseythirteen

I lift 3 days a week so with the other four, 2 are active and 2 are passive. For the active ones they aren't a slow and steady kind of thing - I definitely try and get a workout in. Is that best? Who knows but it's what I do and what I will likely keep doing. Typically those days are a run (regular or HIIT) or spin class. The other two are no specific exercise days. I'm a mom of two though so they definitely aren't sitting-on-my-*kitten*-all-day days.

Lyadeia

I tend to *need* to do something on my rest days (Sundays) only because I personally let my nutrition slip when I literally do nothing. I might go for a long walk, go swimming, or even do a cardio dancing DVD...but it's not as intense as my "real" cardio days and there's no lifting involved at all. For me, it's more of a battle of self control, really. When I was overweight, I would eat as I did nothing, so I prevent that by not doing nothing. If that makes sense, lol.

ilovedeadlifts

My rest days are typically just once every week or so when I feel like I need to back off. They never replace a strength training day, but I will sometimes skip a conditioning session and do some light recovery work.

99% of the time I still do something productive that day that helps me improve.
So at the minimum I'm taking a 20 minute walk, foam rolling, getting to bed early, doing lots of housework. Its very rare that I have a day where I literally do nothing and just rest.

Cr01502

I'm lucky if I manage to change out of my pajamas on a rest day.

Sarauk2sf

Locking as you appear to have got a decent amount of responses and so we can keep track of active threads. PM either of us if you want the thread unlocked, and include a link to it in the PM.