The importance of Rest Days and Active Rest

Did you know that it's actually beneficial to not work out every single day?

Rest days literally prevent injury caused by repetitive stress and strain on our muscles; otherwise known as "over exercising."

The science behind this explains that our muscles need to replenish their glycogen stores, in order to reduce muscle fatigue and prepare the muscles for their next workout.

So, taking a full day to rest and recover can be just as important as a day of exercising in itself because it drastically decreases your risk of injury and illness.

But you don’t need to cut exercise out of your rest days completely!

Our Vacation Flex Program for Ageless Golfers is built so you shouldn't have to take a full rest day, because we recommend you take more Active Rest Days (x4) than Workout Days (x3) per week.

However, check out the last section of this article (below) for signs that it's time to take a full rest day.

Active Rest

Rest and recovery are very important aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Active Rest refers to the concept that you shouldn't be completely sedentary on a day that you're not scheduled for a workout. You should actually be doing a bit of light stretching (5-mins) and walking in (25-mins) on your days off, too.

Signs that it's time to take a Rest Day:

Here are a few clear indicators that it's definitely time to slow down and take a rest day:

• irritability

• insomnia

• persistent muscle pain or soreness

• prioritizing fitness over everything else

• sluggishness, binge eating, or craving comfort foods after you work out

...and a reduction in the benefits of your workout, such as:

• the inability to complete your regular workout routine

• a decreasing rate in fat loss and/or muscle gain

A well balanced workout schedule not only includes Strength, Balance, Cardio and Flexibility exercises but also Active Rest days. Thanks for reading!

How to stay fit at any age

I'm sure you already know that living an active, healthy lifestyle will prevent many health complications throughout your life. But did you know that it only takes 150 minutes of physical activity per week to stay fit?

That's just two-and-a-half hours per week! And as little as 20 to 30 minutes per day!!

The best part is that you can do this all in as little as 2 to 10-minutes at a time to experience the full benefits of exercising. For more info, just check out my article on exercise snacking to read up on the benefits of fitting in tidbits of physical activity throughout your day!

This is why it is so important to find a combination of low impact exercises, simple strength training workouts, and any type of cardio that works for you that you can implement and enjoy, daily.

Having fun with it is honestly your absolute best bet to help you maintain a healthy, happy body at any age.

If this feels at all intimidating, think about starting with what you love. Do you like walking your pup? What about dancing in your kitchen while you cook? Or playing a quick game of golf? Going for a nice swim? Zumba? Salsa? Cross country skiing? Check out a full list of fun ideas for you to try at the bottom of this page.

Whatever it is that inspires you to get going and keeps you looking forwards to next time, start there!

Then, be sure to give yourself a goal: perhaps you want to evolve your walk into a jog? Check out my article on how to improve your cardio endurance by alternating walking with jogging.

It's also important to incorporate a bit of strength-training and flexibility activities, such as yoga and Tai Chi, into your weekly routine. Check out one of my 10-minute Yoga videos if you'd like to try a simple routine to help you improve your flexibility.

So while 8 in 10 cases of heart disease and stroke are preventable through regular physical activity, it is also important for you to focus on muscle and bone-strengthening exercises to enhance your balance. Combined, this will all help you prevent potentially fatal falls in your golden years.

Strength training will help increase both muscle mass and bone density, while flexibility excises will help you enhance your core strength and overall balance.

Check out this 10-minute strength training workout video I made to help you see just how easy it is to stay in shape!

Remember, staying physically active while having fun is the key to aging gracefully. Keeping your joints and muscles strong and limber in order to keep you healthy, sturdy and avoid injury is the ultimate goal.

Need some more ideas for fun exercises? Here's a nice list of fun activities for you to try:

Golf Yoga Pilates Zumba Rowing Dancing Swimming Stair climbing Step aerobics Elliptical machine

Water aerobics Jumping jack Pushups Walking Skating Cycling Skiing Squats Planks Lunges

How heavy and light carbs work together

Did you know that there are different kinds of carbs?

Carbs in general tend to get a bad rep, but we need them to operate our bodies. So cutting them from your meal plan just won’t work.

In fact, eliminating carbs from your diet completely is dangerous.

Carbs are the main source of energy for your body. Without them, you'd have no go!

Instead, understanding them, what they are, and how they work will help you create miracles in your meal planning.

"Carbohydrates, or carbs, are sugar molecules," Medline Plus explains. “Your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose (which) is the main source of energy for your body's cells, tissues, and organs.”

Let’s look at how I like to break them down into two main types when building my favourite meals plans.

#1 Heavy's

Heavy, high-density carbohydrates condense a whole lot of nutrition into one small package, like a seed, a nut or a potato. It’s important to eat a serving of this type of carb with every meal.

Examples of good quality high density carb sources include:

• grains such as quinoa, rice and oatmeal

• seeds and nuts such as hemp hearts and almonds

• legumes such as lentils, chickpeas and black beans

• fruits and vegetables such as potatoes and bananas

• breads and crackers full of whole/sprouted grains and seeds

#2 Light's

Light, low-density carbohydrates are lighter and less filling, like: lettuce, tomatoes and watermelon. It’s important to eat two servings of this type of carb with every meal.

Examples of good quality low density carb sources include:

• fruits and vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots and apples

For a full list of Heavy and Light carbs, check out my Mix-and-match meal-plan guide.

The Washing Machine Effect

When building your plate, it’s important to mix high density carbs with low density carbs to create a washing machine effect in your body.

The low density carbs will provide the majority of nourishment that your body needs and the high density carbs will help process the nutrients of their low density counterparts once inside the body, after the chewing process.

As I explain in my article about eating whole foods more often, a whole food will be processed by the body in a much different way than a highly processed food.

For example, imagine that high density carbs actually work like little scrubby brushes washing away all the gunk on the sides of the walls of your insides.

If you were to reduce that scrubby brush to a washcloth, or even a paper towel, the results will be quite different!

If the scrubby brush can push everything along, through the gut like it is supposed to, then, once it’s all digested, there are way more nutrients for the body to absorb than if it were a highly processed food, leaving anything that isn’t expelled to be utilized.

That’s why it’s important to limit starches and replace them with grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and other whole, high density foods. We want our scrubby brushes to scrub, not stick, or fall apart.

Again, in case you missed it when I mentioned it before, for more information, check out my article on why you should choose whole foods more often.