Note: My overall philosophy is exercise-to-live, not live-to-exercise. That is, my workouts are a means to help me enjoy my overall life more by looking and feeling good, but I don't want them to be a large part of my life.
I've found that the 1-day-ON, 1-day-OFF schedule is the best method. In fact, I would argue that the 1-ON, 1-OFF method is the best and most sustainable schedule. not just from a physical perspective, but from a psychological perspective.
Let me clarify, when I say 1-ON, 1-OFF
Monday - heavy lifing
Tuesday - OFF
Wed - heavy lifting
Thu - OFF
Fri - Sprinting/heavy cardio
Sat - OFF
Sunday - heavy lifting
Monday - OFF
Tue - Yoga
Wed - OFF
and so on....
Physical benefits of 1-ON, 1-OFF
1. A full day off gives the body time to recover and prevents overtraining
2. A full day recovery should also help prevent injuries, as muscles aren't pre-weakened from last day's workout
But I think where the method really shines is from a psychological/life-balance perspective
First off, it's super simple. 1-ON, 1-OFF, you don't really have to think about it much. And the less we need to think about routine tasks, the better.
The true power of the OFF day is that it gives us a day where we don't think about exercise whatsoever, and instead we can dedicate our time and mental energy to fulfilling other aspects of our lives such as spending quality time w/ friends & loved ones, exploring hobbies/interests, advancing our careers, discovering new recipes, gaming chicks, playing with our kids etc.
Having a guaranteed OFF day every other day prevents us from getting burnt out with exercise. Getting burnt out can lead to taking long breaks from exercise, which is no good all. It also prevents you from half-assing a workout because you're still worn out from the previous day's workout. Instead, the OFF day allows us to recover our energy (physical & mental), so on the ON day we can really focus on kicking ass and going hard, thus getting the best value from our time spent exercising.
Lets face it -- incorporating exercise into our already-full lives is taxing. Sure, you might just spend 30-60 mins in the gym. But what about the other time you spend
- getting dressed for the gym
- preworkout nutrition/meal planning
- transportation to/from the gym
- mentally preparing yourself for heavy lifts
- thinking about your exercises, form, types of sets, etc
- post-workout nutrition/meal
- showering/clean-up
- decompression
Even though your gym time was just 30-60mins, you probably spent over 2 hours when factoring the other tasks.
The point is, it's hard to just "squeeze in" a workout, because it disrupts the rest of your day.
The OFF-day is the release valve, when we don't need to think about any of that stuff. We can turn off the "need to exercise" hamster in our brain and focus 100% on the other things in our life. Then on our ON days, we can fully focus on them, knowing that an OFF day is just around the corner.
This is not to say the OFF-day needs to be devoid of exercise. Go ahead and squeeze in a couple sets of push-ups/pull-ups, go for a jog or bike ride, play some pick-up basketball. But don't go too hard. Leave that for your ON-days.
If you're looking for a solid exercise schedule, try out the 1-ON 1-OFF. Thoughts?
I've found that the 1-day-ON, 1-day-OFF schedule is the best method. In fact, I would argue that the 1-ON, 1-OFF method is the best and most sustainable schedule. not just from a physical perspective, but from a psychological perspective.
Let me clarify, when I say 1-ON, 1-OFF
Monday - heavy lifing
Tuesday - OFF
Wed - heavy lifting
Thu - OFF
Fri - Sprinting/heavy cardio
Sat - OFF
Sunday - heavy lifting
Monday - OFF
Tue - Yoga
Wed - OFF
and so on....
Physical benefits of 1-ON, 1-OFF
1. A full day off gives the body time to recover and prevents overtraining
2. A full day recovery should also help prevent injuries, as muscles aren't pre-weakened from last day's workout
But I think where the method really shines is from a psychological/life-balance perspective
First off, it's super simple. 1-ON, 1-OFF, you don't really have to think about it much. And the less we need to think about routine tasks, the better.
The true power of the OFF day is that it gives us a day where we don't think about exercise whatsoever, and instead we can dedicate our time and mental energy to fulfilling other aspects of our lives such as spending quality time w/ friends & loved ones, exploring hobbies/interests, advancing our careers, discovering new recipes, gaming chicks, playing with our kids etc.
Having a guaranteed OFF day every other day prevents us from getting burnt out with exercise. Getting burnt out can lead to taking long breaks from exercise, which is no good all. It also prevents you from half-assing a workout because you're still worn out from the previous day's workout. Instead, the OFF day allows us to recover our energy (physical & mental), so on the ON day we can really focus on kicking ass and going hard, thus getting the best value from our time spent exercising.
Lets face it -- incorporating exercise into our already-full lives is taxing. Sure, you might just spend 30-60 mins in the gym. But what about the other time you spend
- getting dressed for the gym
- preworkout nutrition/meal planning
- transportation to/from the gym
- mentally preparing yourself for heavy lifts
- thinking about your exercises, form, types of sets, etc
- post-workout nutrition/meal
- showering/clean-up
- decompression
Even though your gym time was just 30-60mins, you probably spent over 2 hours when factoring the other tasks.
The point is, it's hard to just "squeeze in" a workout, because it disrupts the rest of your day.
The OFF-day is the release valve, when we don't need to think about any of that stuff. We can turn off the "need to exercise" hamster in our brain and focus 100% on the other things in our life. Then on our ON days, we can fully focus on them, knowing that an OFF day is just around the corner.
This is not to say the OFF-day needs to be devoid of exercise. Go ahead and squeeze in a couple sets of push-ups/pull-ups, go for a jog or bike ride, play some pick-up basketball. But don't go too hard. Leave that for your ON-days.
If you're looking for a solid exercise schedule, try out the 1-ON 1-OFF. Thoughts?