WANT TO GET HEALTHY? TAKE A NAP

Want to get Healthy?  Take a Nap!

How often do you hear someone say, “I had a great night’s sleep last night!” or “I feel refreshed and energetic!”?  Probably not very often.  Feeling sluggish seems to be the new normal.  In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation, it is the new normal:  most Americans are sleep-deprived.  But not getting enough sleep may be causing more trouble for you than just that pesky drowsy feeling:  it could be seriously harming your health.

Why aren’t we sleeping?

Centuries ago, it was common for people to sleep 8 to 9 hours each day.  But now, only about 25% of Americans get 8 or more hours of sleep.  The reasons we are not sleeping are many.  We live in a 24/7 society—practically anything we want to do is available around the clock, from fitness centers to pharmacies to department stores. 

We are working long hours, transporting our kids to activities, trying to make time for friends and fitness and entertainment.  When the heat is on, the first thing to go is usually sleep.  And it’s usually not even a conscious decision to skimp on sleep-we just get in bed a little later most nights, because we are so pressed and pushed. 

But even when we get into bed, we aren’t guaranteed sleep.  The National Sleep Foundation reports that 60% of Americans have sleep problems.  That means more than half of us struggle to sleep.  And it is taking its toll.

Dangers of sleep deprivation

"The foundations of good health are good diet, good exercise and good sleep, but two out of three doesn't get you there,"¹

-- Dr. Anne Calhoun, neurology professor,                           University of North Carolina.

Eating healthily and getting plenty of exercise are not enough to make up for the danger that sleep deprivation poses to your health.  Adults need around 8 hours of sleep each night, although some studies indicate that as little as 7 and one-half hours can be sufficient.  Getting less than that can have serious consequences:

·         Risk of Cardiovascular Disease:  If you get less than 6 hours of sleep each night and have disturbed sleep, you have a 48% greater risk of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15% greater risk of developing or dying from a stroke.²  Lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure, blocked arteries, stroke, kidney disease and dementia. 

·         Obesity: Sleep shortage is directly linked to obesity.  When you don’t get enough sleep, two powerful hormones that control hunger are disrupted.  The result is that you feel hungrier and have fewer sensations of feeling “full.” 

But without enough sleep you will also feel more stressed, which encourages the production of the hormone cortisol in your body.  This hormone causes you to crave high-carbohydrate foods such as potato chips and brownies, and then deposits those carbs as fat around your belly—the most dangerous place to store fat.

Pre-diabetes is also a risk for those who don’t get enough sleep.  Trying to get by on less than 6 hours of sleep per night can cause impaired glucose tolerance. 

·         Compromised immune system:  Why is it that two people can be exposed to the same germs, but only one of them gets sick?  The reason is the immune system.  If your immune system is functioning well, you can ward off many illnesses.  But if something happens to compromise your immune response, you will be vulnerable to infections, bacteria, viruses, and even some autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and asthma.

When you do not get enough sleep, your immune system becomes stressed and compromised.  You actually have a decrease in white blood cells, and those that remain are less active.  The result is that you will get sick more often.

·         Impaired exercise performance:  As if the threat of heart disease, obesity and immune suppression weren’t enough, lack of sleep can negatively impact your fitness efforts.  It’s not uncommon for people to struggle to maintain their normal level of workout intensity when they are sleep deprived.  You just won’t have the energy to push through.  Also, your muscles repair and rebuild while you sleep:  if you don’t allow your body this recovery time, you will be at a significant disadvantage during your next workout.

Make time for sleep

The truth is, if you don’t make time now for adequate sleep, you will likely be forced in the future to make time for illness.  It may take significant effort to arrange your schedule and priorities to carve out time for more sleep, but the payoff will be increased health, energy and productivity!

Ready for a nap?

Sources:

¹http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/12/02/f-sleep-tips.html

²http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/09/dangers-sleep-deprivation

DAVID KNAPP NCSF-MCPT,CNS 

princetonbootcamps@yahoo.com

FITNESS TEST HOW WELL DID YOU DO?

 I know someone who can bench press 500 pounds, but gets exhausted when

he carries groceries up the stairs. #ThatsNOTwhyyoulift

C'mon, let's leave the bench press contests for another day. 

Here are 3 fitness tests to go after with tenacity if you find 

yourself in a rut or want to know your starting point...

Fitness Test # 1 - The Core Test

Can you hold a plank for a full 2 minutes?

I'm talking about maintaining those abs braced hard, not letting

your hips sag AT ALL. Can't hold it for 2 minutes? Let's get that

core stronger. Add in these moves 2-3 times a week into your routine...

Spiderman Climbs

Mountain Climbers (at a SLOW pace)

X-Body Mountain Climbers

Ab Wheel Rollouts

Hand Walk-outs

Variety of Planks

High-Rep DB Rows

etc., etc.

Here's an ab finisher you can plug into your routine twice a 

week to improve your core strength and endurance (while building 

a bullet-proof back).

It's not fancy - VERY simple. 

Do the following superset 3 times, resting for 30 seconds after 

each superset.

Ab Wheel or Stability Ball Rollouts (10)

Spiderman Climb (8/side)

Then rest 1 minute followed by ONE plank to failure. Try to improve 

your time each week on the plank.

Fitness Test # 2 - Bodyweight Squat Test

This will test lower body muscular endurance.

Sit on a chair with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor just 

outside shoulde our legs should show a 90-degree angle.

Stand up.

Sit back down until you're on the chair or bench.

Repeat as many times as you can using just your legs (no hands 

on your knees for leverage). Once you can't keep a tempo of taking

1 second to come up and 2 seconds to lower yourself, you're done. 

Not there yet? No problem. Here's how to fix it...

You might have muscular imbalances. Start doing single leg 

work like a variety of lunges, split squats and the evil Bulgarian 

Split Squats. Replace your normal squats with one of those.

If you're behind a desk all day, then focus on bringing your 

knees out to the sides as you lower yourself into a bodyweight squat. 

You have tight hips and you need to unlock those. 

Fitness Test # 3 - The Pushup Test

You guessed it - you'll be testing your upper body muscular 

endurance. Your pushing muscles allow you to... push stuff.

#MindBlown

It's simple... Do as many pushups as you can (your chest needs to 

be only about 2-3 inches from the floor for it to count). Use a tempo

of 1 second to go down and 1 second to come up. Once you break that 

tempo, you're done. 

Also - keep those elbows tucked (you'll save your shoulders).

Don't measure up?

It's simple - practice pushups. That, and include a variety of DB 

Chest Presses into your program, focusing on the eccentric 

(lowering) phase.

Take the DB Chest Press for example. Take about 5 seconds to 

lower the weight and one second to press it up. This will tax your 

muscles more, while building up endurance.

The same goes for pushups - focus on eccentric pushups. So take 

about 4 seconds to lower yourself, and one second to come up.

You'll jack up your endurance while at the same time, fry your 

abs. You're very welcome. 

Have fun with those tests and remember - you don't have to become

a legend with all of them. Focus on one goal at a time. 

Challenge yourself leaner and get out of your rut

David E Knapp NCSF_MCPT

princetonbootcamps@yahoo.com

HOW TO OVERCOME WINTER WEIGHT GAIN

How to Overcome Winter Weight Gain

Today, we’re taking a hard look at winter weight gain.  It’s a common problem—people tend to pack on a few pounds during the winter months.

But we want to fight back, and we hope you will join us.  Let’s get after this now, while winter is still in full force.  We’ll have less to deal with when the warm breezes start blowing!

The good, the bad…and the solution

Although winter weight gain varies from person to person, research shows the average gain to be five to seven pounds!  Some people gain this extra weight because they have Seasonal Affective Disorder—a type of winter depression.  But most of us can’t blame winter depression for our tendency to pick up extra weight during the winter months.

So, why does winter weight gain happen?  According to Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD, founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, it happens because we eat more and move less during the winter months¹.

This is bad news and good news.  It is bad news because it would be kind of nice if we could blame our cold-weather corpulence on something exotic like the jet stream cycle and waddle off for another espresso.

But it is good news because we can do something about it.  We don’t have to greet spring with softer middles and tighter clothes.  So let’s celebrate leap year by tackling winter weight gain with our weapon of choice here at Fitness Revolution:  discipline.

Hour of decision

According to Merriam-Webster, discipline is a “rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity².”  This is perfect.  In order to fight winter weight gain, we have to discipline ourselves to follow some rules. 

Here we go…

1.  Banned language: For the next several weeks, do not allow yourself to say, “Just this once.”  If you pay close attention, a ‘just this once’ situation comes up practically every day.  You go to a retirement party.  You take spouse out for a birthday dinner.  Someone brings a meal by your house because you’ve been sick.  Your co-worker brings in the leftover pizza from last night’s party.  Your child has leftover Valentine’s Day candy.  You have to say no every single time.  Otherwise, you will never get ahead.

Just grit your teeth, resist what others are having and make good food choices.  I’m not saying it is easy.  I am saying it is necessary.

2.  Plan your occasional splurge, and do not deviate from the plan. Unending deprivation is never a good idea, but you have to be intentional about the time, place and food that you let yourself splurge on. 

Love the hot wings at your favorite restaurant?  Then let’s make a deal.  Eat clean for six days.  No cheating.  And then at the end of those six days, go have the wings.  Guilt free.  Just enjoy them.  Then set the next goal.  But you are not allowed to deviate from your plan in the meantime.

If you do, you lose the wings. 

Don’t waste your fun calories on something that doesn’t compare to those wings!

3.  Keep moving.  Exercise is not an optional activity.  Now more than ever you have to get your body in motion.  Exercise is very effective at preventing weight gain—and that is what we’re after right now.  Don’t even worry so much about losing pounds; just work to keep the winter scale-creep from happening to you. Try to get some cardio in at least six days a week.

Remember:  spring is coming.  Let’s be ready for it, and leave winter weight gain behind.

Sources

¹http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/5-tips-to-avoid-winter-weight-gain

²http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline

DAVID E KNAPP NCSF-MCPT,CNS

WWW.PRINCETONBOOTCAMPS.COM

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU

What Motivates You?

The statistics

Brace yourself.  According to Rod K. Dishman, Ph.D., director of the Behavioral Fitness Laboratory at the University of Georgia, nearly 50 percent of people who begin an exercise program drop out within the first 6 months.  The question is, “Why?”  What is it about sticking with a fitness routine that causes so many people abandon it?

The answer?  Motivation.  They don’t want health and fitness badly enough.  It is a simple fact of human psychology that if we want something badly enough, we’ll do everything we can to get it. 

Your challenge is to find out what motivates you to get serious about fitness and stick with it.

Unlocking your motivation

Dan Napagitano found motivation.  Told by his doctors that he was minutes away from a heart attack, Dan decided to fight back.  Even though he had not been in a gym in  years, He picked up the phone and told me he was serious and determined this time.   Dan had been a client of mine before but I had to fire him.  I did not want to take his money if he was just going through the motions.  I told him call me when your head is in the game.

You do not have to be part of that 50 percent who quit.  You can stay committed and finish strong.  It is all about finding what motivates you personally.

Here are some possible motivators for you.

1.  Do it for your health. Consistent exercise and healthy eating are the two very best things you can do for your health.  You will develop a strong, healthy heart, reduce your chances of many cancers, prevent diabetes, keep a sharp mind and resist dementia and avoid many of the common ailments that come with aging.  It is possible to age without decay, and the key to this is exercise and eating well.

2.  Do it to look better. Appearance isn’t everything, but most of us care how we look.  A strong and healthy person just looks good.  And it isn’t all physical.  Your demeanor will change as you develop the confidence that comes from the discipline of fitness.  You will appear more energetic and confident because you will be more energetic and confident!

3.  Do it to relieve stress.  Really!  It isn’t a cliché.  Exercising really does cause physical changes in your brain and nervous system that results in feelings of calmness and well-being.  In fact, you may get so hooked on the mental benefits of exercise that you will crave it!

4.  Do it to be strong.  If you have never done focused weight training, then you literally have no idea of the total transformation that you will feel after just a few weeks.  There is nothing like bending over to pick something up that normally results in discomfort, strain and even pain, only to find out that it is a piece of cake!  And by getting strong now, you reduce your risk of age-related falls and fractures because you have the core strength and balance to keep yourself stable.

It is worth taking the time to discover the powerful motivators in your life.  Don’t worry about ‘bribing’ yourself:  do what it takes to get yourself moving.  Find out what makes sweating worth it.  Find out what you want more than that brownie. Your health is at stake; in fact, your very life is at stake. It’s time to transform yourself.

DAVID E. KNAPP NCSF-MCPT-CNS

princetonbootcamps @ yahoo.com