Recovery Days

 One thing I have always enjoyed were rest days. Days where I did nothing physical and just had an overall relaxing, lazy day. However, I have seen some information throughout social media that says we should be having active recovery days instead of rest days. At first I did not really get the point of it, but now I understand it more and see the benefits. Instead of doing nothing on a day off, you should try to do something light, even if it is just a small walk, some stretching, or a light workout.

Mental Fitness

 Fitness does not just mean your physical body, but also your mental fitness. Keeping your mind in a good place can be a hard task, but there are some things you can do that help keep your mind "fit." One thing I like to do is juggle a soccer ball. I go to the back gym in the ARC and just juggle. It helps me take my mind off of everything and I can just focus on keeping the ball up. If you ever need to clear your mind, do a workout or go on a run, as anything exercise related can help relieve some stress and clear your mind.

Stretching

 Stretching before and after workouts is very important for many reasons. When stretching before, you want to be doing dynamic stretches, as this increases your blood flow, range of motion, and reduces your chance for injury. You want to avoid static stretching before working out, as studies have found recently that static stretching before exercise can weaken your muscles, negatively effecting your workout. However, static stretching is good for when you are finished with your workout. Stretching after helps get rid of stiffness and soreness, along with eliminate some of the lactic acid that was built up from the work out.

Workout Splits

 When working out, there are many different types of splits you can use. There is PPL, push, pull, legs, where you do that twice a week, getting one day of rest. There is also the Arnold split, which is chest and back, shoulders and arms, and then legs, doing that also twice a week with one day rest. Personally, I do PPL and have enjoyed the split since I first started it. I have found it to be beneficial, seeing improvement in my strength. If you workout, do you use a split? If so, what is it?