oxymoron?????   active rest or rest actively—-the idea is to take a break without stopping.  sometimes we need to stop and totally rest our body but sometimes we just need a change.  maybe a change of pace, maybe a change of direction, maybe a change of activity or maybe we just need a change of ??????   when we approach overworking while exercising we need to make a change in order to continue moving, reduce risk of injury or prevent burn out, i.e., quitting.   the name for this change is active rest.  i like it because it reminds me that rest is good.  while resting one part of the body i can work another.  for example on mondays  i can work the upper body with push ups and on tuesdays i can rest the shoulders and perform lower body exercises instead, such as squats.  another use of active rest is within the exercise itself.  i am working on increasing the number of push up reps but at 15 my shoulders are fatiguing.  instead of doing 15, i begin with 10 strong push ups.  then i rest that area and go to squats.  then i return to do 10 more strong push ups.  then squats, then maybe a 3rd set but if the area is tired do less, maybe 6-8 push ups.  the idea is to include rest during the workout and overall you accomplish more, safely which helps you on your way towards  increasing shoulder strength and your base of more than 15 push ups at a time.

how do i know that i am overworking,  isn’t it suppose to be hard?  yes working out is hard,  if it were easy there wouldn’t be need for motivation and i would be able to do chin-ups.  hard is different from over-working. we can and should work hard but we should not over-work, especially over and over and over.   when you are straining you are overworking.  when you can no longer hold good form, neutral posture, — -overworking.  when you are “giving into” one area such as the lower back to maintain a lift or move, again—overworking.  we most probably overwork before we realize we are.  so, just be aware—do not push through it.  stop,  go to something else—then return later with the area rested.

using this idea of active rest can help you achieve a strong, yet safe workout in timely manner.  if you haven’t worked out today,  try out active rest—-just thinking about rest makes me want to work out—–