What NOT to do

No matter what your goals are in the gym, there are three components that will help you get there  — exercise, diet and sleep. You may be surprised to learn that the exercise is actually the least important of the trio, but it’s true. Due to the number of posts we do on the topic, you probably have a suspicion that your food intake is the most significant change you can control. The oft overlooked part is that of sleep.

Ruth posted before about the various stages of sleep and Sean expressed his love for a good nap. Everyone has undoubtedly heard recommendations of getting a good 7-9 hours of sleep each night, but how many of you actually do so? Maybe you’ll figure you will just make it up later. Bad news — there’s been studies lately that have shown that you can’t play catch up on the weekend if you burn the candle at both ends during the week, so that’s no help.

Here’s a few tips that I’ve made habit that can make it easier to get much needed shuteye:

• Avoid television, computers and other sources of blue light at least 30 minutes before bed (yes, this includes smartphones!)
• Ensure you sleep in as close to a completely pitch-black room as possible
• Try to keep the room slightly cool
• Take time to get some mobility stretching or foam rolling done
• Use a magnesium supplement such as Natural Calm or ZMA

Applying these methods allow me to sleep without the need for an alarm clock. Sure, I still set one as a backup, but I almost always wake before the alarm goes off. Keep in mind too that the average sleep cycle is roughly 90 minutes and plan accordingly. As such, it’s really more like 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep that is recommended (5 to 6 complete cycles). If you plan it correctly, you will wake refreshed rather than groggy!

If you really want to geek out over tracking your sleep cycles, there’s an iPhone app called the Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock. You enter when you want to wake and it will monitor how much you move while you’re asleep to determine where you are in a sleep cycle. It will then gently wake you right as you finish the cycle closest to your desired wake time.

WOD 1.17.11

Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1

Press 1-1-1-1-1