SNL
No, this doesn’t stand for Saturday Night Live. This is what you need in your pursuit of that illusive shapely physique. The ‘S’ stands for SLEEP. It is imperative that you get enough sleep each night. The ‘N’ represents NUTRITION. It doesn’t matter how hard you workout or how much you sleep if you don’t get the proper nutrients to rebuild muscle damaged during workouts. The ‘L’ denotes LIFTING or exercise. In order to attain the body you want, unless you are beyond genetically gifted, you will need to exercise and incorporate resistance exercises otherwise known as “lifting.”
Now a bit more detail on each subject. First, we’ll cover SLEEP. During your normal daily activities and especially while working out, you tear down your muscles. These muscles need to be repaired and it is during sleep that the majority of these repairs are made. So it stands to reason, the more sleep you get the more repairing and rebuilding of the muscles that can take place. So how much sleep is enough sleep? First, keep in mind that everyone is different; however, a basic guide line is eight hours a night for adults. For teenagers and children add a couple hours and bump their time in the sack up to ten hours a night.
Now that you are sleeping enough, let’s make sure you are getting the NUTRITION you need. First and foremost in order for your body to repair muscle it needs a quality source of protein. Protein comes from a number of sources. Grilled chicken, fish, lean red meat, legumes and egg whites are all good sources of protein. You should also eat quality carbohydrates from sources such as vegetables, oatmeal, brown rice, apples, bananas, yams, and whole grain breads. Try to avoid getting your carbohydrates from sources such as sugar, corn syrup, or soft drinks. Your body also needs fat contrary to popular belief. It is the type of fat you eat that you really need to concern yourself with. Your fat should come from sources such as olive oil, fish, nuts, and avocados instead of sweets and deserts. A final thought about nutrition is the possible assimilation of a quality multivitamin/mineral/antioxidant supplement into your diet. The incorporation of a multivitamin will help to fill in any voids and missing essential nutrients that you are unable to fulfill with your diet alone.
Okay, now that you know a bit about eating right and sleeping enough, all that’s left is the fun part LIFTING / exercising. The human body is amazingly smart and capable of adapting to nearly infinite stresses. It is because of these adaptations, that we can use lifting / resistance training to change our bodies so dramatically. So how do these changes happen? As stated previously your body is smart and wants to be able to handle the stresses and work that you require it to do. When lifting, the stress is defined as the weight that you require your muscles to move. As you lift the weight your muscles tear. Following the breaking down of your muscles they rebuild. It is during this period that the intelligence of the body steps to the forefront. Because you push yourself hard and to failure when working out your body says to itself “I have to be able to handle the stresses of working out; therefore, I will make my muscles stronger.” The muscles are then repaired to be stronger than before in order to accomplish this. Over time, these repairs lend to an increase in size and therefore strength in the muscles. Finally, remember to incorporate two or three 30 minute sessions of cardiovascular work in your workout routine to keep your heart healthy and the excess body fat off.
Now you know the basics! You need enough SLEEP, proper NUTRITION, and a good LIFTING/exercise routine. So the next time you are at home and SNL comes on put down the potato chips (they are terrible for you) hop on the treadmill for 30 minute walk and then get straight to bed so you have time to let your body repair for the next day.
–Ian Lauer CSCS