Want to get fitter in the gym? Maybe you need to think outside the gym, literally.
Cleaning up your sleep habits means you’ll hit your muscle and performance goals faster and easier, says Lisa MacDonald, a personal trainer who runs the women’s program at Gym Jones in Salt Lake City. She trains an eclectic group of women—stay-at-home moms to competitive athletes—and once they establish a sleep routine, results follow. That’s because adequate sleep triggers testosterone, which builds muscle, while not sleeping enough can spur a release in cortisol, the hormone that breaks down muscle, says Christopher Winter, M.D. who studies the link between fitness and sleep. Here are a few tips for keeping yourself fitter and far from fatigue.
Hear Are 2 Simple But Amazing Tips On How To Get Toned at Home
Your body pumps out the majority of the strength- and muscle-building hormone testosterone during the first three hours of your regular sleep pattern, says Winter. Miss that window and, even if you log eight hours, you still lose the night’s most important muscle-building moment. First establish a consistent sleep schedule—go to bed at 10 and wake at five or six, for example. Then stick to it, limiting your late nights to a few a month.
Even the faintest light can blunt the release of the sleep hormone melatonin, says Winter. With that in mind, MacDonald has all her clients turn their bedrooms into modern-day Paleolithic caves. “If you draw the shades and turn out the lights, you shouldn’t be able to see anything,” she says. Hang light-blocking curtains over your windows and remove electronics like TVs and computers—their LED blue lights are particularly gnarly sleep saboteurs, according to a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Can’t be far from your phone? Put it facedown or in “do not disturb” mode.
To know more, read the full article here: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/sleep-to-get-stronger
Here’s another resource you can look into: http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/no-gym-all-over-toning-plan
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Ready to tone those muscles further without spending extra time at the gym?