Shore Fit
By Bonnie Dodd-Miller
Sleep is crucial to meeting your fitness goals. In fact, you must sleep for exercise to actually work.
I highly recommend that you put yourself on a sleep schedule. This is a newer fitness avenue for me and why I’m writing on this topic. It’s the one piece that I need to tweak.
We workout for a purpose. We want to have good cardiovascular health, increase our lean muscle mass, improve endurance and so much more. All of these fitness goals require good sleep. Without sleep, exercise does not deliver those benefits. If you don’t sleep, you undermine your body.
We all know that our bodies repair while sleeping, so if we aren’t getting enough hours, how can our body do its job? You are doing your part in the gym, now let your body do its job and get the sleep you need.
Sleep gives your body time to recover and conserve energy. It repairs and builds the muscles you worked during exercise. When we get the proper amount of good quality sleep, our body produces growth hormone.
During childhood and adolescence, growth hormone makes us grow, but when we are older, it helps us build lean muscle. It also helps our body repair when we have torn ourselves up during a hard workout.
Here’s the problem; I just don’t sleep well. This is particularly tough as we age, at least for some of us. I don’t sleep solid for an entire night. It’s so broken, but as long as I’m resting, it’s the best that I can do.
The other problem is that most people have a major issue when it comes to sleep. Too many people are sleep deprived, which means they are not getting the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Of course this is the recommended amount for adults. Children and teens need more.
What this actually means is that if you fall in this category, you are seriously sabotaging your fitness goals.
It’s an important piece to the puzzle. If you don’t sabotage your fitness with unhealthy nutrition, then why would you with your sleep habits?
You workout and eat clean, but stay up past midnight scrolling social media or watching television and then wake by 6 or 7 a.m. This lifestyle is now on repeat day after day and you wonder why you aren’t seeing the changes you are working so diligently for.
Sleep is crucial. An actual sleep schedule is important. I’m not saying that it can’t be flexible at times. Of course, the weekends may look a little different. Also, the better rested you are, the better your mind and body function and that includes at the gym.
If you’re well rested, you’ll also feel motivated to get those workouts completed and have the right amount of energy to keep you motivated and crush your workout regimen.
I know if I’m putting in the time, why would I want to do a workout that I wasn’t pleased with.
Workout, eat a balanced diet and get those zzzz’s. Stay consistent with this and big changes will keep you going for the long haul.
Bonnie Miller is certified fitness instructor at the Ocean City Aquatic and Fitness Center and Atilis Gym in Galloway. She is a mom of three and resides Somers Point.
