Sleep – The Underestimated Dream Workout You’ll Love
The workout you’ll love, sleep is crucial to whether you achieve the physique of your dreams, or not.
Working out in the gym like Ms. Olympia or Mr. Olympia might end up being hours of hard work lost into thin air, even if you’re killing yourself with hours of exhausting cardio to lose fat, unless you remember the dreamland workout of all workouts, your sleep.
Sleep, and proper sleep will do magic – whether you’re looking to gain muscles, lose fat or just stay fit. Real sleep will help you, not 7-9 hours spent in the bed where you’re not actually sleeping.
“Sleep faster?”
Sleep helps your muscles to recover, your mental strengths to be alert and make sure your body is ready for all the “gym” hours you’ve planned again tomorrow. Missing out on sleep comes with a lot of side benefits, like binge eating at nigh if you go to sleep too late, mental fatigueness and lack of energy to get to the gym every day as planned.
Though Arnold Schwarzenegger preaches about sleeping faster, lack if sleep will bite you from behind and blow your efforts into oxygen instead of dense protein pumping muscles and fat burning results.
When said, there is actually more meaning behind the his quote “Sleep Faster”, it’s actually getting sleep, when you go to bed. Sleeping 8 hours has no effect if you’re just in bed and end up getting 2 or 3 hours of productive sleep. Getting 4 hours or 5 hours of real sleep from 4 or 5 hours in the bed is better and more efficient that spending 7-9 hours in the bed half way sleeping. Binge indulging social media to chase your dopamine cravings, is not giving your 7-9 hours sleep you need, not even 4 or 5.
MulliganBrother have a great speech from Arnold Schwarzenegger here:
Learn to sleep faster, and fall a sleep faster. To help you fall a sleep faster, get yourself busy and exhausted – fill your life with meaningful things and achievements.
Sleep Science to Your Aid
In recent years, researchers and scientist have become much wiser about the connection between sleep and physical or mental performance, and there is no doubt: You can sleep yourself stronger, faster and healthier.
Experiments confirm that your sleep patterns determine whether you get enough of your hard workout in the gym and whether you achieve the desired results when you run the world thin to maintain your circuit training or your fat-loss cardio.
When you sleep, a large number of things happen in your body that keep you healthy and well. A good night’s sleep is the prerequisite for performing optimally when you are awake. This applies both mentally and physically. If you feel that you are not really improving your shape or getting stronger, even though you are eating healthy and exercising like crazy, it’s probably time review whether you have healthy and sound sleeping habits that will support your efforts in the gym.
Creating Healthy Sleep Habits
A good night’s sleep makes you train better – and in fact it works the other way round, hard training can help you sleep better: You may know the feeling of sleeping like a rock after hard physical hardships like skiing, a whole day in the woods with the kids or a long walk on the beach.
Similarly, good physical exercise causes you to fall asleep faster and sleep better.
As a rule, you sleep better when you have been physically active. Your muscles go into a resting phase after you have used them and it helps your whole body to relax when you need to sleep.
Having a snoring partner? Here’s some ideas to fix a snoring partner
Here are Some Tips for Better Sleeping Habits
Include Late Workouts
You’re probably a fan of early workouts in the morning or just after you’ve left work, and keep those work out schedules, you’ve built that routine for a reason. Either try having late workouts for your main gym session of the day using the latest hours before your gym is closing, it will help you fall a sleep faster when you your body then tends to be more exhausted when depleting your last energy of the day into your muscles. Another benefit from late workouts, is the craving for sweet things or your favourite late snack tends to disappear, 1-2 hours after the gym, there often no cravings for the bad stuff, your work out helps you deplete the bad snack cravings.
Skip The Late Snacks
Going to bed at the same time every night helps you skip the late snacks, on the days where you have to finish work or can’t sleep, try to avoid the snacking, also the healthy one like fruits and other “healthy” snacks like protein bars etc. In general, avoid having any snacks available at home, whether if it’s late snacking because you’re up late, or you wake up because you “habits” screams for your pet-snack in the middle of the nigh, you’re safer if you don’t have any snacks available, even the Saturday ice cream leftovers, get the leftovers straight to the bin early Sunday morning when your fitness goals and mindset thoughts are in top of mind, when no cravings or bad habits has knocked the door of your mind yet. If snacks are available, they’ll be snacked.
Another rule is to promise yourself, yes it’s OK with the healthy snack, after a new work out. Go to the gym an extra time as replacement for the next Netflix binge, and when you’re back, allow yourself the extra snack. Good chances that your body will deplete the cravings when you leave the gym, and all snacking thoughts have taken off to mars.
Skip The Coffee After 6pm, including “Red Bull”
If you’re a coffee lover, skipping the coffee shots after 6pm will help you fall a sleep faster, even if you’re craving a coffee, red bulls or your favourite energy boosting beverage. Though you feel it’s a need for going to the gym, you’ll get surprised how you can get a good evening workout without the coffee shots or your red bull. Your body have plenty of energy from all the food you’ve had during the day. There are plenty of energy and calories to be found in your body, without adding artificial energy.
Sleep Well – Setup a “Go To Bed” Habit
Finally, get a habit of going to bed at the same time every night, eg. 10pm or 11pm. If you’re struggling to fall a sleep, try to replace late procrastination on Netflix with a Late Work Out Sessions in the Gym, or a HIIT Session in the living room. Sleep well. 🙂