When it comes to getting the best results from a heavy exercise I recommend to my class that you absolutely have to get good rest. I honestly can’t express how important this really is. Though it may seem unbelievable, rest could actually be as important, if not more, than doing the actual exercise.
As my students complete the super intense resistance exercises, their muscles go through small tears and injuries. Their bodies react to these injuries by repairing them which leads to becoming stronger and getting bigger muscles. During that process, it’s also helping them get a lean body and burn off any unwanted fat.
Seeing how the body has a lot to go through, it’s not able to complete the full process if it doesn’t have time to relax and do what’s needed. Sadly, people normally don’t give their bodies the rest time because they’ve been told “more is better”, so they’re back at the gym too soon. We need to sit back and let our bodies do what they’re made to, otherwise the results won’t be anywhere near what we want. Burning fat will be near impossible and that can be highly upsetting, leading to the loss of motivation and many tend to just give up.
Getting rest is essential to building the lean muscle, which is the muscle that helps burn away fat, and transforming your body. Not getting enough rest makes is hard for the muscle to grow, which also leads to a rough time burning away fat. So it becomes obvious that working out at an intense level for a steady period of time isn’t the right thing to do. Don’t bring your body down by working out super hard over and over, for days on end. It’s not the right thing to do!
By working out too heavy, you’ll end up over-training your muscles and neglecting the recovery that’s needed. This could possibly wear out your immune system, which makes it easier to become sick. I know this from personal experience! I had gone through a time when I was just working out without focusing on my down time and sleep.
Also, don’t be thinking your body can recover within a few short hours or even overnight. This process can take up to 2 days or more, so be sure to keep at least 1-3 days of down time between each intense workout you perform. If you don’t, then remember you’re limiting your chances for reaching your fitness goals of losing fat and creating a strong, muscular, lean body.
Since we now know that rest is highly recommended for losing excess fat and gaining lean muscle, it’s time to learn what’s the most important way of getting your rest…sleeping. Getting plenty of sleep is the absolute best way for your body to recover, and in many ways. It not only helps with the rest from exercising, but it also relieves daily stress that can take a toll on your body.
Sleep helps relieve stress that can come from work, family problems, money issues, and so forth. It’s important to know that you can’t fully burn fat when you have large amounts of stress in your life. In fact, high levels of stress have been known to prevent the body from burning any fats, along with other things.
So it’s obvious that you need to get a good amount of sleep. Curious to know what’s recommended? In my opinion, right between 7-9 hours. Honestly, the best amount would be seven and half hours every night.
Studies have shown that humans have a cycle for sleeping right around 90 minutes. There’s been notes taken that if woken up way before or after the 90 minute cycle, you’ll most likely feel drained and out of it for most of the day. So I do believe it’s worth it to try out the 7 and a half hour sleep period, or in other words, 5 90 minute cycles. There’s a high chance that after this amount of sleep you’ll waken with the feeling of having a great night’s sleep and much energy to get you through the day, which also helps your body to burn fat in a shorter amount of time.
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