How to maximise your gym progress. We always look to minuscule areas to improve our training because we want to get the best as we possibly can. We spend a ton of money for supplements that offer only a tiny bit of benefit or could be eradicated with a well balanced diet. In a previous blog post I talked about sleep, however what we do before we sleep and when we wake up can also be a window of opportunity. I’ll explain why.
Morning
Typically you should be getting around 7-9 hours sleep, that’s 7-9 hours without food or water, which means when you wake up you’re going to be dehydrated. Dehydration of just 3% can cause an 18% decline in muscle power, 70% increase in perceived fatigue and 12% decrease in reaction time. If you start your day with a coffee you’ll only make things worse as you further dehydrate yourself. Think about it, during the day you’d never go that long without water so my first tip is. Have a glass or two of water straight away, before breakfast, before coffee. It’s a really good habit to get into and I feel it helps wake me up.
My next tip is to choose a breakfast that contains slow digesting carbs e.g. oats/grains. This will help you with energy throughout the day as it’ll take longer for your body to break it down. It’ll slowly release the energy gained rather than in a short burst. Obviously this depends on if you’re intermittent fasting or what diet you’re choosing to follow.
Tip number 3 is a high protein breakfast, obviously the importance of a high protein diet is to help with fat loss and muscle gain. However I want to put emphasis the importance of a high protein breakfast. You’ve gone 7-9 hours without food, most importantly protein. During sleep body is repairing and if you’ve not fuelled yourself correctly it will begin to break down your muscles. Continue to not have some protein and it’ll just increase the time period your muscles are breaking down.
During the night, whatever position we sleep in our body will become tight which will put pressure on your joints & muscles. Therefore a morning stretch can help undo some of these problems and set us up better for the day.
Evening
A time people don’t often have down as an eating window unless they’re being cheeky and having a bit of a sweet snack. But think about it you’ve got a long period of recovery without any food. By having protein here it can help your body with its recovery and minimise any potential muscle loss. Ideally you’d choose something like cottage cheese because it takes a while for your body to break it down. It’s a slow digesting protein which means it will keep you sustained for a longer period of time.
Think everybody will be aware of this one, but it’s such a good time I felt the need to reiterate it. Stay away from screens & caffeine late at night! Sleep is so valuable so we need to prioritise it and make sure we do all we can to get a proper nights sleep. Not only for our physics health but our mentality Heath as well (we all feel a bit moody and lethargic the day after a bad night). Fun fact decaf coffee still contains 30% caffeine so don’t think you’re managing to dodge the bullet there.
Hope you enjoyed the post, as always have a good day and if you enjoyed it please subscribe!
Thanks
Cameron
Additional Sources:
Athlean X - Morning “Fitness” Routine (ANYONE CAN DO THIS!)
Athlean X - Do This Stretch First Thing EVERY Morning (INSTANT RELIEF!)
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