If you want to build a great body, and burn off fat - go put ya feet up, take a nap, blob out.
Sooo, you think I've finally gone and lost it? Let’s take a look at what the heck I'm on about.
You may be aware of the frightening concept that if we diet without exercising we lose MUSCLE. If we sacrifice muscle we witness the healthy fire of our metabolism start to grow dim and splutter out... The key to keeping metabolism high and preferably fueled on body fat is combining both diet and EXERCISE.
So for body fat reduction exercise is mandatory. When we exercise it causes damage to muscle - you know that next day or day after stiff and aching soreness. When we train, tiny fibres that form the structure of our muscles are torn. The harder we train the more of these fibres are damaged.
People on lean muscle gain plans aim to tear up as many of these fibres as possible, this in turn leads to muscle growth. It's worth noting that the repair cycle that follows taps into considerable amounts of calories. If your goal is weight loss then this is also a very good reason to push your muscles to the limit. The more damage you can unleash on your muscles the MORE fat you can burn off as a consequence of the high calorie/energy demands of the body to fulfil muscle repair.
So what's all this got to do with snoozing? Whether your goal is the protection of lean fat burning muscle, OR, to grow more lean muscle it's important to recognise that down time is needed for repair. If complete recuperation doesn't occur then muscles start to grow smaller, weaker, and more susceptible to injury.
Remember any declining lean muscle will mean a slowing metabolism (less ability to burn calories). A slower metabolism means you either have to eat even less food to maintain weight loss, or exercise more. Both of which can add cumulatively to the muscle wasting dilemma.
To burn optimum fat and build a great body you need full recovery. To achieve this it’s time to schedule some quality R and R.
Let's see what we can do.
Rest, snooze, chill out, take a siesta - get a sound 7 - 8 hours sleep every night. When we sleep our muscles are immersed in a restorative flood of natural growth and repair hormones. To boost growth hormone release take some Glutamine before bed. Remember growth hormone levels decline with age, anything we can do to combat this is a good thing!
If you had a particularly tough workout, and find you're still dragging yourself around then it's ok to skip the next scheduled training session. Recognising your bodys limitations is a major step to getting the most from your efforts.
Eat plenty of vegetables, and some fruits. Their vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants play a critical role in muscle maintenance and repair, as well as combat free radical damage. When this area of nutrition is less than hundred percent, a potent multi vitamin is wise insurance.
Never train the same muscles on consecutive days - and forget training a muscle that's still sore from a previous workout, no matter how long ago training was. If it's sore the muscle is still in a repair state.
Eat at least 5 to 6 protein loaded meals a day, and always have a whey protein shake within 20 - 30 minutes of exercise. This is the single most important step towards optimum recovery.
Keep your body hydrated with a minimum of 8 glasses of fresh water per day. Caffeine in coffee, tea, and soft drinks dehydrate us so it's necessary to consume more water to make up for this. As a general guide for every cup of tea or coffee, consume at least 1 extra glass of water.
Take the tip from endurance athletes and bodybuilders, Glutamine, and Creatine are each the most powerful natural supplements to accelerate recovery. When used together they form a potent repair stack that can lead to rapid progress.
So there you go - now train right, eat well, and rest up!