Off Day Training

I'm aware that "off day training" is a bit of an oxymoron, but when it comes to training, I rarely take any real off days. In theory, Sunday if my off day, but sometimes I'll reschedule my Saturday training to that day instead. By the way, this is the only time 'skipping' a workout doesn't bother me, since I know I'll do it the next day.

Now, just because I only have one true off day doesn't mean I lift every day of the week. For most of the year I train with a full body split on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then, on three of the four "off" days, I do an extra workout. This extra workout is the same every time, and can be done by anyone, whether they're also lifting weights or not. In fact, doing just this is still a thousand times better than not being physically active at all.

Here it goes.

The Workout

10 minutes of Turkish Get Ups
30 minutes walking
20 minutes static stretching

It's that simple.

The Rundown

10 minutes of Turkish Get Ups: In theory, it's 10 total TGUs, 5 each sides, which shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. How I approach them varies depending on the day, and whether a heavier weight than I'm used to is being used/tested.

I might do 5 TGUs on the left, rest a minute, then 5 on the right. Or I might do them EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute), alternating between sides each minute. That means minute 1: left, minute 2: right, minute 3: left, minute 4: right, and so on...

Yes, 10 Minutes/10 TGUs total, 3 times a week, is enough.

30 minutes of walking: No real explanation needed. Just walk. Now, oftentimes I will include light loaded carries, but that counts as walking.

20 minutes of static stretching: for the better part of a decade, the idea of static stretching made me nauseous. I thought it was only for pussies. Guess what? I was dead wrong. I got so tight that just walking made my hip flexors feel like they were going to rip apart. Now I stretch, and I learned to enjoy it.

Stretching is something that has to be personalized. It depends heavily on which parts are tight and how tight they are. Find the right stretches for you and have at it.

With that being said, if you're a regular reader of this blog, chances are you might be working sitting on your behind all day, so stretching your shoulders, back, abs, hip flexors and hamstrings would do you good.

Tip: during this "off" day training, I hold each stretch 30 seconds, for 2 sets. On training days I do the same stretching routine post-workout, but only for 1 set.

That's it. Now go for it!

Extra Notes on Turkish Get Ups

Can you swap TGUs for something else? No. If you don't want to do them, just walk and stretch. Note that you'll be missing out, however. Being able to get off the floor under load is a skill that should be mastered by everyone, and maintaining it will be especially useful (or, you know, potentially life-saving) as you age.

If you've never done TGUs before, watch videos and learn. Start without weight, then balance a book or a shoe on your fist, then add weight if you can. I'll be honest, doing them weighted is better, but doing them without weight is still better than not doing them at all.

The TGU is a movement that seems incredibly complicated at first, but once you've mastered it, you realize how simple it is. They can be very frustrating to learn, which makes learning them extremely satisfactory. And trust me, if someone as impatient as I am can learn them, anyone can.