First thing first: It’s important that you understand what I mean by “Active Recovery” and how it will help you succeed on my 8-Week Fat-loss Figure Trainer. After five intense days of weight training while dieting, you may think what you need most is to just lie around the house. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What you need to do is move. That will help burn out the lactic acid and soreness you feel from the previous 5 days of intense weight training. Cardio, especially, helps get your blood pumping, which will help flush out the toxins that cause soreness and allow you to recover more quickly for your next weight-training session on Monday—which is only two days away.

Active recovery is all about moderate movement—just enough to get your blood pumping. In fact, you’ll probably notice that you feel less sore by the time you complete your 20-minute cardio session today. A little activity often goes a long way toward helping working out the kinks and getting you primed for your next challenging workout.

Instead of cardio, or in addition to it, I often perform yoga or some other form of stretching exercise. You can also use foam rolling, massage or other forms of “passive” recovery to help you flush out the soreness and get ready for next week’s workouts.

I’m also including another pairing of abs recommendations in case you want to keep honing your midsection. I train my abs five days a week, and I’ve split up my midsection training over the first six days of each training week.

For abs training, I like crunching moves, leg lift moves, and wheel rollouts. I’ve also provided a few other choices throughout the week, as you’ve seen throughout this first week. My recommendation is that you emphasize the abdominal moves that work your weaknesses and help you improve your physique.

CYDNEY SAYS:

While I like to include a cheat meal once a week, I believe the best time for that is on your Rest and Reevaluate Day—the 7^th day of week. I think that’s the best way to refuel your body for the upcoming week. I recommend that you stay on your diet on your Active Rest Day, saving that splurge meal for the night before you return to the grind.

CLEAN BURN® You’ll also take Clean Burn just before whole-food meals to help support fat burning. Clean Burn contains a powerful combination of ingredients that work to attack fat loss through multiple physiological processes. These include mobilizing fat from storage, boosting metabolism, and increasing thermogenesis. Ingredients include green tea extract, capsicum fruit, Gymnema sylvestre extract, and chromium complex. For best results, you should take 3 doses of 2 capsules every day while following my nutrition program to help maximize fat loss while maintaining lean muscle. CYDNEY SAYS: Be as rigorous with your weight-loss supplements as you are with your training and nutrition. They all work together to help you get the most from your 8-week Fat-loss Figure Trainer.