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Hi Everyone!

Today is Day 7 of my Fit & Healthy New Year DietBet Challenge. If you have been following along this week you have already gotten in some fantastic and challenging workouts! Hopefully by now you are feeling good, stronger, but also a little bit tired from the challenge.

It’s time for an Active Rest Day.

What’s that? An active rest day is focused on allowing your body and muscles a day of recovery and rest, while also getting your blood flowing enough to stimulate healing and muscle growth.

The Benefits of an Active Rest Day:

-Rebuild and Repair Muscles
-Restock Glycogen Stores
-Minimize Fatigue
-Strengthen Joints and Ligaments
-Reduce the Risk of Overtraining
-Prevent Injury Risk
-Avoid Mental Burnout
-Allow Your Body Time to Strength & Repair It’s Self
-Muscles Grow Stronger During the Healing Process, Not the Actual Workout

Below I have provided some Active Rest Day Workout Videos: Yoga, Foam Rolling & Stretching. Some other great rest day options include: walking, hiking, a gentle/easy run (if it doesn’t feel easy it isn’t), swimming, and biking at a leisurely pace.

Have fun today. We start Week 2 of the Challenge Workouts tomorrow!
Melissa

PS You can find me on Instagram & Twitter: @BenderFitness and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MelissaBenderFitness

Yoga Flow: Do not bounce or force any stretches during a yoga flow. Pay attention to how your body feels & don’t stretch beyond what you are capable of doing.

Foam Rolling: Foam rolling is a great way to give yourself a deep tissue massage. Foam rolling can breakdown scar tissue and adhesion’s that build up within your muscles, increasing blood flow and improving muscle flexibility. Foam rolling immediately after a workout, and following it up with static stretching can help prevent the build-up of scar tissue in your body.

Improving your blood flow does more than speed up the healing process, it also increases your bodies abilities to provide oxygen and nutrients to your body. It helps prevent shortening of muscles which can lead to bio-mechanical issues and repetitive strain injuries.

This simple tool can improve the speed at which you heal, and help prevent injury, and you can reap the benefits with as little as 5-10 minutes of foam rolling.

*To maximize the benefits of this workout, hold each stretch for 60 seconds. You can build up stretch time based on your body’s tolerance.*

1. Flat Back Table Fold
2. Forward Fold
3. Wide Leg Twisting Fold
-Chest to Leg and then Obliques to Leg.
-Repeat Right and Left
4. Pigeon Pose
-Repeat Right and Left
5. King Arthur Pose
-Repeat Right and Left
6. Knee to Ground Lunge to Shin Stretch
-Repeat Right and Left
7. Down Dog
8. Up Dog