The reason why so many of us quit a workout regimen after a few weeks is that we don’t know how to take it easy but still be in shape. It’s not black and white, it doesn’t have to be full throttle or nothing at all. Exercising, keeping fit is a process, it’s not something you beholden yourself to maximally or none at all. This is why cool off periods and or workouts are so needed when you feel tired, drained and perhaps even a little more sore than you should be. So what is it, how do you do it and for how long?
What is a cool off workout/period
In simple terms, it’s a workout which you do with half the weight you train at, for half the time. So let’s say you do bicep curls with 30lbs for 4 sets. Well, for a cool off period it’s going to be 15lbs for just two sets. The only thing is, you keep the reps the same. So if you were doing 10 reps with 30lbs, you do 10 reps with 15lbs. However, your rest period is also half the time. So if you rest for 2 minutes between sets, you now rest for 1 minute only. In even more simple terms, just half everything you normally do in a workout!
Why cool off?
As mentioned, when you have been working out for weeks, pushing yourself hard each time, you can feel tired and sore. Rather than throwing in the towel, you just need to keep one foot in the game as you take the time to rest. Use this time to recover with products that can return your body to a normal balance. One thing is a return of your normal hormonal balance, and this is ideal for PCT. Your hormones which are geared toward growth, recovery, repairing and influxing the muscles with glycogen, will be set to maintenance, recovery and repair instead of growth and explosive energy. It allows the muscles to unclench, get looser and just take a breather for a while. This also limits the chance of incurring an injury.
It helps you mentally
Not everyone can workout week in and week out. You have to take a mental rest from working out, whether you just do aerobics or weight training. It’s not going to be of any help if you get injured because you didn’t take a week off when you knew that you should have. It’s something that takes mental courage because many of us feel like we have a good plan and we’re making progress to losing weight and looking better than we have ever before. Just make sure that during your week or month off from working out, you are still observing your nutrition and or diet.
It can be daunting to take a week off from working out so the next best thing is to have a cool off a workout or cool off period. Split everything down the middle, half the sets for half the reps and see how you go.
