vin01 said:
Nelmsjer- I also do fullbody 3x a week. I am interested in your active recovery.. do you mind posting up how it looks, like SMTWTFS?
I need to throw in some "better" cardio for myself. When I say better I mean something I wouldn't get bored with in the first 10 minutes like I do all other forms of cardio.
No problem! My schedule has been:
Sunday - OFF
Monday - 5x5
Tuesday - active recovery
Wednesday - 5x5
Thursday - OFF
Friday - 5x5
Saturday - active recovery
I'm sorry to not be specific, but I literally just go in and have fun. I will say, though, that I always start active recovery days with abs and hyperextensions. Abs are either done on a Roman chair with a very full range of motion (enough that I touch the floor with my hands) or on a decline situp board. Depending on the energy level, we'll also add in a 5kg ball to toss back and forth during the ab work.
Quick safety/liability moment: Full range Roman chair situps, especially with a ball, are not easy. Work up to them.
After that, on some days we'll go in and do hurdle drills, which are designed specifically for flexibility and kinesthetics, but they can also affect muscular endurance, depending on how long you do them. Then we'll do 2 minute drills, which are 30 seconds each of the following: jumping jacks, shuffle splits (think about a boxer jumping up and down, switching his feet back and forth), squat thrusts (burpees), and mountain climbers. Those are all done in a row, and it SUCKS. We'll take about 1-2 minutes rest and then do them again.
Another 2 minute drill, when we have the room, is to shuffle side-to-side across the length of the aerobics room as fast as possible for 30 seconds, do as many situps as possible for 30 seconds, as many squat thrusts for 30 seconds, and max pushups in 30 seconds. This one is HARD and if you do your squat thrusts with a full pushup, you'll be dying by the end of the pushups. That one is a lot of fun, though!
One day we went in and took a 70 lb. dumbbell and did 10 rounds for time of: 1-arm snatches (3 each arm), immediately followed by 10 hyperextensions, immediately followed by 10 Roman chair situps. That is ONE round, and we do 10 of them for time. Last time I did it I got 15 minutes, 10 seconds, and I was amazingly sore. I was breathing so hard I'm sure I somehow affected atmospheric conditions. It was awesome. Incidentally, it's amazing how much of a difference bodyweight makes to this one. My wife is over 70 lbs. lighter than I am, and she uses a 25 lb. dumbbell. She finished in 10 minutes, 18 seconds and was ready to do it again. Unbelievable.
Let's see...we've also done agility drills, farmers walks, sprints, cleans with light weight, etc. Another popular one for us is to do 10-8-6-4-2 with squats, pushups, and situps. So, we do 10 squats, 10 pushups, 10 situps, 8 squats, 8 pushups, 8 situps, etc., as FAST as possible. We really like that one.
So, there you go, "fun" active recovery, based on whatever the heck I feel like doing that day. For the Intensity Phase (3x3) of the DF5x5 program, the schedule is:
Sunday - OFF
Monday - 3x3
Tuesday - active recovery
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - 3x3
Friday - active recovery
Saturday - active recovery
I hope all of this helps and that you have FUN. Cardio doesn't have to be monotonous, believe me!
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