Body beat up from a hard week spent getting after your training goals? Promote recovery by keeping up your momentum on the down-low with this active recovery workout courtesy of superhero trainer Don Saladino, NASM.
“This is done on a day when I need to take off but still want to keep moving,” he writes in the Instagram caption of the video. “[This] is what allow[s] my body to keep feeling great.”
Here are the six movements Saladino does during active recovery day:
You’ll start with a mobility flow that’ll open up your wrists, hips, thoracic spine, shoulders, and stretch your hamstrings. From all fours, shift back into downward dog, keeping your core tight and pressing your heels into the floor to target your calves and straightening legs to stretch your hammies.
From here, turn over like Saladino to press one arm into the ground while stretching the other overhead, then push your hips to the ceiling. If you don’t have the shoulder or wrist mobility or strength to execute this flow comfortably, open your hips with pigeon pose, butterfly stretch or lunge stretch, instead.
Next up you’ve got the forward and lateral bear crawl. Get down on the ground on all fours, then shift your weight onto your toes until your knees are off the floor. As you start taking steps, landing with your opposite feet and hands simultaneously, your hips are going to want to shift side-to-side. Fight it by keeping your core tight and steps small.
Make sure to use a padded slam ball for the ball slam exercise, since a rubber medicine ball is more likely to bounce up and smack your face. Check out this guide for more tips on how to nail the form.
For the single-arm overhead carry, hold the bell directly over your shoulder so that the weight, your wrist, and shoulder are in line. Keep from over-arching your low back by squeezing your core and keeping your ribcage down. Keep your head at neutral and your gaze forward as you walk. Walk forward for about 20 yards, then switch arms and walk back.
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End with a single-leg hop. Use your arms to drive forward as you drive backward with your opposite leg. If your coordination is suspect, go bilateral with a two-legged hop instead, making sure to land with both feet before driving off the ground into the next rep.
Want to try out more exercises and workouts from Saladino? Check out his Men’s Health Superhero Shred program, which is designed with the same principles he uses to get his star clients in shape. You can also find Saladino’s program, alongside a ton of other fitness content, on our new All Out Studio streaming app.
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