[1] My Restoration Program:
[2] 3x week Clean + Press “only” (Guys over 50 are loving this one)
[3] 3x week Swing “only” (10 progressively more challenging programs of pure minimalism)
[4] 3x week Snatch “only” (One gentleman told me his retired SEAL friend was shocked that he only used this to prepare for a GoRuck Challenge)
[5] 4x week Clean, Press, Front Squat, and Snatch “Ultimate” KB program
I’ve been getting a rash of emails lately asking me a variation of the following question:
“What can/should I do on my off days?”
I can only conclude that these poor men and women are suffering from…
“Off Day Guilt.”
It’s a common occurrence in the kettlebell world.
Many of us, myself included, come from a “Hard Worker” background.
When we were younger, we “worked hard.”
We embraced the “Rest When You’re Dead” mantra.
Problem is, we’re not young (that young) any more.
And there have been days when we’ve woken up feeling “half dead.”
And other days when we’ve felt like the “Walking Dead.”
But we feel guilty when we take days off from working out.
Somehow, 3 days a week, 4 days a week, and for some of us, even 5 days a week doesn’t seem like “enough.”
We are sufferers of “Off Day Guilt.”
We KNOW we should take a day off to let our bodies recover.
But the guilt… or the shame of not training can be too much to bear.
So we “cheat” on our programs.
We mix one or two.
Or we program in “VARIETY DAYS,” where we’re supposed to work on complimentary lifts and exercises. But truth be told, we look for ways to just do variations of our favorite exercises.
So, how do we overcome this pain, suffering, guilt, and shame of “taking days off?”
Simple.
WE STOP TAKING DAYS OFF.
Here’s what we’re going to do instead.
On the days you’re not hoisting, swinging, tossing, lifting, or smashing your KBs, you’re actively…
Ruthlessly…
And methodically focused on finding, fixing, and erasing your weaknesses.
Just like there are two sides of the same coin…
Two sides to every story…
And two sides to the Force…
You are now going to “bring balance” to your own personal force.
You know all those parts that are “stiff?”
The ones that are chronically tight?
The ones that “hurt” when you bend them?
Yeah, those.
You’re going to RESTORE their function to the best of your ability.
You’re going to focus on:
[+] Rebuilding your core strength and eliminating your lower back pain
[+] Restoring your shoulder range of motion so you can press over your head without pain in the front of - or anywhere in - your shoulders
[+] Mobilizing your hips so you can Swing, Snatch, Clean and hinge properly, without your lower back griping at you afterwards
[+] Opening up your rusty, hunched over upper back, so you can relieve the pressure on your shoulders and your lower back
[+] Screwing your head back ON TOP of your body, and moving it up and down, and side to side, the way it was meant to move instead of letting it hang out IN FRONT of your body
Does this sound boring to you?
Nowhere near as exciting as putting heavy weight over your head?
Only because you failed to realize we could naturally do these things when we were in our teens and our early 20s but the stresses of life have robbed us of those once natural movements.
And when we take them back, then we start feeling younger - like our old selves again.
And the weights start feeling lighter, and the workouts easier.
Will we ever hit our 23-year old selves’ PRs?
Maybe not.
Or maybe so.
One thing’s for sure:
If we don’t start actively pursuing our own restoration…
“Rebuilding our walls” so to speak…
We stand zero chance of setting any PRs and accelerate the chance of painting ourselves into the proverbial corner where nothing works the way it used to.
So, let’s get after it.
What you use for restoration work is up to you, just as long as -
[a] You do something and, more importantly -
[b] You can measure improvements from doing that something
If you want to see what I use for restoration work on my off days and what I recommend for my private clients, check this out, I’ll leave the link in the description below.
And if you need a kettlebell workout program that produces results, I’ll leave the links to some customer favorites in the description below.
Until next time…
Stay Strong.
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