Recently I had an email discussion with one of my clients who said that she had not been at San Jose Boot Camp recently because life’s stresses and commitments were hindering her sleep and she just could not make it to the 5:30 AM camp. Now I have all kinds of sleep problems and can totally sympathize with this situation, especially being a totally busy personal trainer in San Jose. So now we need to figure out how to get past it and get back to working out regularly!
First off let’s discuss the value of sleep itself! Many people get different amounts of sleep, and many say that they can function excellently on less. So what happens when we sleep? We dream, we snore, we toss and turn, we smack or nudge the person beside us, we perspire (come on, it happens), we drool, we look goofy….well yes to all of that, but the largest thing: We recover! We recover from the previous day’s strains including exercise. This is when we rebuild the damaged tissues and make them stronger after a great (or not so great) workout. This is when the body releases all the great hormones that allow us to reshape (or maintain) our Prime Physiques! Testosterone, progesterone, Growth Hormone, just to name a few, all come out at night and help create a better body (OK, they are there in the day too…but they work at night during rest).
You know those nights when you wake up and say: “WOW, I had such vivid dreams…all night long!”? Well those are the nights when you slept very deep and had lots of hormone activity. Those nights are great for your training program!
You know those nights when you slept real cruddy? Not a good rebuilding night.
So how can you help yourself to sleep better? How about checking on this stuff:
1. Have you ever waken up gasping for air? Let’s start here and get it out of the way…Go to a sleep professional, you probably have Sleep Apnea, like me! Now there may still be other problems, but we won’t move to them until we hit the largest sleep problem in existence.
2. Do you have a TV in the bedroom? The bedroom should be used for 2 things, and TV is not one of them. Get it out.
3. Do you watch TV up until you go to bed? Guess what…your mind continues to fire off thoughts to process the stuff you see on TV, so it really is not relaxing (like we all claim it does…yea, me too;-). Go read.
4. Meditation? Nah, it is not some crazy hippie thing…meditation helps to relax you and your mind.
5. Stop working a certain amount of time before you go to bed. Time to unwind! I set a 7 PM rule for no more business (and sometimes I even stick to it). What time is right for you??? You decide. This is one hour before I start getting ready for bed and 1-2 hours before I want to be asleep (come on, I have San Jose Fitness Boot Camp at 5:30 AM…I don’t just have to be there, I have to lead a group of 50+/- at that time. I need the sleep!). Is that the best plan for you? Heck, I don’t know your body…you need to set your own rules, and follow them!
6. Chill the family out! There is a time to do your best to shut everyone else up and quit the stress of the day. Tough? Yea! Needed? Yea! Do your best, but let them know that you need to come down from the day so that you can help them out at the best of your ability level the following day.
7. Dump the BOOZE! Alcohol messes up your sleep. Period.
8. Get a better bed.
9. Get a better sleeping partner (HA;-)
OK, so let’s say that you actually followed all that stuff and still have problems…may want to go to that sleep doctor anyway. If they want you on heavy drugs, you may want to try some other alternatives first. Here are a few of my secrets (OK, they are not secrets, but maybe you don’t know them):
1. Wake up in the night and can’t get back to sleep? Might try an aspirin and a glass of water. Aspirin thins the blood and can relax you enough to get you sleeping again. (consult your doctor)
2. Magnesium – this mineral supplement helps to relax the muscles and can greatly aide sleep. I’ve used this for years! It can even help you to take a nap during the day and relax. Add it to potassium and it helps alleviate muscle cramps.
3. Valerian Root – This stuff can give you the BIG KO! (Knock Out) – Available in capsule AND sub-lingual.
4. Melatonin – Need this in your body to sleep…period. Might want to add more. Some experience a ‘Melatonin Hangover’ but I have never experienced it. Also available in sub-lingual, which hits faster. Doses can vary, but start low. Remember to always do the smallest amount necessary to elicit the desired response…eventually it may take more, so why start there???
5. Check with the doctor about non addictive prescription sleep aides. There are a few that are not too bad. Certain ones are WAY powerful…and if you need them, you should ABSOLUTELY try the first set of items I listed and then go to the second BEFORE heading there. This is last resort, and if you go there you should work to be away from that crap as soon as possible. (This is my opinion, you need to consult your doctor…BUT come on, NEEDING drugs to SLEEP just does not sound right. That is common and simple intelligence).
I truly hope that this information, coming from personal experience, helps you if you suffer from this problem…not sleeping really sucks! BTW, exercise helps with sleep too;-) So….
Now Go Workout!
Brett A. Riesenhuber
©2008 Prime Physique, LLC.
http://www.BayAreaFitnessConnection.com
http://www.PrimePhysique.com
http://www.SanJoseBootCamp.com
http://www.AmericasWeightLoss.com
All weekend I’ve been smokin…MEAT! Pork, ribs, and chicken! Not all are lo calorie or low fat, but they sure are good. So how does this help you reach your fitness goals? SIMPLE…preparing for the week on the weekends.
Now I am currently running on a low-carb diet plan while dropping body fat and building lean muscle…so I can handle the higher fat. If you are on the same plan, BBQ is a great way to prepare for the week. IF you are NOT on a low-carb diet then BBQ is still a great choice, you just need to make the right decisions.
Smoked chicken is awesome in flavor and great for the week’s diet plan. Toss a few whole chickens into the smoker and you’ll be ready for dinner and the week in about 4 hours. Great on salads or by itself…and the skin sucks so you will not even be tempted to eat it.
The main thing is to have your food, whatever fits into your specific meal plan, prepared and ready to go during the week.
NOW GO WORKOUT!
Brett A. Riesenhuber
©2008 Prime Physique, LLC.
www.BayAreaFitnessConnection.com
www.PrimePhysique.com
www.SanJoseBootCamp.com
www.AmericasWeightLoss.com
Consistency in your exercise routine is the key to success in your fitness endeavors! Often times I hear people tell me that they are not seeing the results they want or expect, so I quickly analyze their program by asking some questions:
1. How is your diet? This usually covers it right there when they turn their head and look down, I know.
2. How many days per week are you exercising? When it starts with “Usually” there is the beginning of the problem…Lacking consistency.
What else might I hear (just to cover bases)? How about ‘Well I missed ‘X’ days because of ‘Y’” OR Well such and such got in the way…OR My dog ate my workout clothes…YEA, BS…Go workout!
When you miss just one workout per week, that equates to 52 MISSED workouts per year. Any idea how many calories you did NOT burn? Think about your workout and answer that question. But how about adding this to it: How many pounds of muscle building did missing those workouts cost you? How many pounds of muscle loss did that cost you? Remember, we are trying to BUILD muscle while working out (YES, even you ladies!). 1 pound of muscle mass/tone burns 30-50 extra calories AT REST. Multiply that by 10 and you come up with the numbers…then add in the calories that you DID NOT burn for those 52 workouts. Even if you suck at math you can see where this is going.
OK, so you only miss one every other week (BS)…so you cut that number in half, it is still a lot…but better. How about one per month on average? That should cover any SICK time you may have, when you need time off. Remember that with exercise and health, accompanied by common intelligence and solid nutrition, you should not be sick very often!
Some will be saying something like: “But I was injured and could not exercise” OK, I’ll buy that…if your whole damn body was injured! So many times I hear clients tell me that their doctor said no exercise for X weeks. Keep in mind that these are the doctor who want our fat butts off the couch and exercising! So you hurt your hamstring and can’t run: upper body still works. So you hurt your shoulder: your legs still work (not to mention that they burn most of the calories). Now I am not going to go against the Doctors (there is my disclaimer) BUT when they pull you off of ALL exercise due to one thing at one end of your body, most will readily accept it and go straight into LAZY EXCUSE MODE! You must step up to the plate and call them on that one: ASK WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO!
First off, you MUST ask your Doctor what else you can do to keep at least some level of fitness while injured, without furthering the injury and allowing it to heal. The Doctor is the boss, not me…but step up and ask. What might be some injury alternatives? How about:
-Water exercise – Awesome and low impact
-Bike - very low (to no) impact and is usually OK on knees
-Elliptical - not that hard of an exercise, in fact I am shying away from it because I am finding that it has a very limited impact on my fitness level…or trying to use it in ways that are not as easy and create an intense burn!
-Walking - if you can walk, maybe you can power walk???
-Weight/resistance training - something in your body probably is not hurt…train it while the rest heals.
This may not always be the way to go, but I hear so much that makes me know that about 80-90% of the injured people can still do something to at least maintain some level of their current fitness program!
Talk to your Doctor and if he/she gives the OK after confronting them with this information: NOW GO WORKOUT!
Brett A. Riesenhuber
©2008 Prime Physique, LLC.
www.BayAreaFitnessConnection.com
www.PrimePhysique.com
www.SanJoseBootCamp.com
www.AmericasWeightLoss.com
Good Morning! AND it looks like another beautiful day here in San Jose…amazingly clear and crisp Fall morning.
Well we just got back from a nice Boot Camp hike in Los Gatos and when I opened my email (after a great breakfast and a walk for Bacchus), I found an email that was very nice as well as informative. Putting it simply, not only does this camper enjoy my fitness program, but she has found support for my training principals. The specific principle that is being referred to here is that of interval training.
Interval training is, simply put, when you go from easy to hard and then another easy/recovery period, and then hard again…and continue that program. Now what stands out here, for me, is that I have advocated interval training programs for my clients almost as long as I have been in business. What is so special about that? Well now many professionals understand the value of interval training, but in the past it was all the standard: ‘bring your heart-rate to a specific level and maintain it there for a long time and eventually you will burn enough fat and calories to make a difference…that will be about an hour.’
WHOOAA there cowboy…an hour of just cardio? Then I get results…AND I need to do resistance training too?!?!? Yea, like I have that kind of time! (Sound familiar?)
Now lets look at interval training. Try this:
1. Walk for 5 minutes at a moderate pace to warm-up.
2. Stretch for a minute if you need to.
3. Either walk another minute, or if you skipped stretching go to 4
4. BLAST OFF and run for a minute.
5. Walk for a minute.
6. BLAST OFF and run harder for a minute.
7. Walk for a minute.
8. BLAST OFF and run HARDER….Get the idea?
Each time you run, your heart rate cranks up…any then you recover with a walk. However, the heart-rate goes higher each time you run, and it stays elevated while recovering. What does this do? It burns a ton of calories. It increases your cardiovascular fitness. It increases your overall fitness. It increases your feeling of vitality in life. It rips off the FAT!
What does it not do? It does not bore you to tears. It does not burn valuable muscle tissue. It does not keep you at some set heart-rate training zone. It does not give inferior results.
One way I always explain this type of training is by looking back at my mountain biking days. Work your butt off getting up a hill, then cruise down as fast as you can without killing yourself. It took a TON of time on the saddle to get this fitness level to a point where you never even considered getting off and pushing up any hill! My heart was pounding to a point where I though it was going to destroy my rib cage blast out of my chest! Recovery was even tough! But I will tell you, I was in the best shape of my life! (Yes, I did weight training too…have to do a complete program!)
OK, now let’s go to the email from my client and their great fitness link about running.
First off let me start off with the problem she was having:
She was concerned because she was seeing slow improvements to her ability to run, which stemmed from not being able to keep up with the breathing necessary to run. My response was simple: ‘it takes time to develop the cardiovascular system, as it does any system of the body. Stick with the program and push harder every time and you will see the results.’ She did a bit more research and sent me this:
Hi Brett,
Just wanted to let you know that i am truly enjoying bootcamp. Today i felt like i have really improved and just wanted to say thanks to you & your staff! I have been wondering why the heck i have such a hard time breathing with the running and i came across this article which i found enlightening and thought you may like: http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=8729.. anyway I’ve always blamed my lungs too (see article) but I’m hoping with all this interval training and circuit training I’ll eventually get theretake care
Stephanie Canfield
Design Director
Marketshare,Inc.
This was a great email for me, and a great way for me to start my day. My plans were to share another Blog with you this morning, one I wrote yesterday, but I found this to just be so valuable…I had to share.
My ‘thank you’ goes out to Stephanie C. for her email and for sharing this information with us. Stick with everything and you will have great success;-)
Now go workout! And have a great day;-)
Brett A. Riesenhuber
©2008 Prime Physique, LLC.
www.BayAreaFitnessConnection.com
www.PrimePhysique.com
www.SanJoseBootCamp.com
www.AmericasWeightLoss.com
Wow, what a beautiful morning here in San Jose, California! It is almost time to head out to my 9:30 AM session of San Jose Adventure Boot Camp and I wanted to finish up this post that I started on last week;-)
Last Saturday (like the Saturday before the Stanford VS. SJSU game 3 days ago….which we unfortunately lost) was my long awaited and anticipated training program with Steve Maxwell, one of the country’s (if not THE) leading Kettlebell experts. I was not let down in the slightest.
For those not familiar with Steve, he is 56 years old and is one of the pioneers of modern day kettlebell training in the United States. He is also in better shape than almost anyone I know…and he kicked my butt in his program;-) I loved it!
Now I have spent time with Kettlebells in the past, and have been actively working on improving and learning more skills. Steve’s program helped me immensely! Since completing this program I have already seen my lifts increase significantly!
For those who do not know much about kettlebells…here is a picture:
Kettlebells have been around longer than I have…even longer than my Lead Trainer at Prime Physique, Lindsay;-) They were used and developed by ‘Strongmen’ of the past and have reemerged in the last several years and embraced by a few of us…AND that number is growing rapidly! Don’t believe me? Well try to buy some at your local fitness stores, especially a good quality set…they run out quickly and can’t keep them in stock. The high price of steel and gas is not helping stock supplies or cost on these babies either!
Why kettlebells? Simple: kettlebells are a great tool to develop the entire body from the core outward. Full body components of the training aide in developing everything from core to individual muscles to muscle groups all the way to cardiovascular fitness…What, cardiovascular fitness with a weight training exercise? YES! Those of you who know me and/or have followed my long career in fitness know the value of circuit training with weights to develop cardiovascular fitness, as well as my concepts on the subject (remember that Prime Physique(OK, me;-) developed the PrimeFit Program for the Personal Fitness Center all the way back in 1997 when we opened the doors? The PrimeFit Program is based on reversing the common concept of training techniques and modifying them to reach a different goal…something nobody else did 10+years ago. That is one of the reasons for the long term success of the program!
Kettlebells can serve so many great exercise functions…I can’t possibly go into them all in one simple post (not to mention the fact that I have to be at Boot Camp in 20 minutes;-). BUT watch for more great information, do some research, and feel free to contact me if you are interested in training with these great fitness tools…YES, we do that too! And watch for an
Now go workout! And have a great day;-)
Brett A. Riesenhuber
©2008 Prime Physique, LLC.
www.BayAreaFitnessConnection.com
www.PrimePhysique.com
www.SanJoseBootCamp.com
www.AmericasWeightLoss.com
