Warrior’s call!
As hardcore
gym warriors we all know the importance of strategizing for battle!
This site
is dedicated to giving you the most hardcore body building tactics and weapons
for defeating our foe homeostasis! We’ve learned through various exercise
techniques and multiple training articles on this site to continually shock our
bodies and muscle fibers to new levels of growth and mass in the gym! We’ve
learned to do this with shock techniques, muscle fiber manipulation, hyperplasia,
mitochondrial density, and a whole slew of exercises!
Jacob has
also covered in depth how to smash homeostasis’ twin brother catabolism with his
incredible mass and cutting diet articles!
You have
many of the secrets to creating your ultimate physique literally at your finger
tips!
But now its
time to give you the third part to the equation…The “Z” factor!
The Ultimate Equation of Bodybuilding
Over the
past month I have come to the conclusion that each of the three core factors of
body building is equally important as the other.
These three
factors include training, nutrition, and sleep.
All of
which have to be at their absolute best for optimal growth and recovery to
occur! It is my firm belief that nutrition is not more important than sleep, or
training more important than nutrition, or sleep more crucial than training.
Indeed it is none of these combinations or any other conceivable ones. I believe
each is just as critical as the other!
In essence,
none of these factors is more significant than the other as all are needed to
create a maximum environment of growth. As you will come to understand after
reading this article, if you are lacking in the sleep department you will not be
getting the best results you could have achieved from yourself as a body builder
compared to being fully rested. In reality each of the three factors feeds off
each other, and lacking in any of the three factors has direct consequences on
the other two variables.
So, even
though each of these factors is separate and requires different strategies to
get 100% out of them, they are really equally important because when combined
together as one they result in the complete body builder, operating at his or
her greatest efficiency!
Many seem
to underestimate the power of sleep. These days we are all on the fast pace. We
are demanding more from our bodies and expecting them to yield maximum results
on little rest. I can’t emphasize how detrimental this is to us as bodybuilders!
Let me
explain it in a simple analogy. You wouldn’t drag race a Dodge Viper on economy
fuel would you? No way! You’d want the best, top
grade high premium fuel for that baby!
This same
line of thinking applies to us as bodybuilders. If we want our physiques to
mimic a finely tuned machine we need to give it the best fuel we can possibly
give it! However many of us (myself included at times) are doing just the
opposite. We are going into the gym and expecting to win the drag race on
economy fuel. And in this sport lacking in super fuel means lacking in intensity
which results in undermined growth!
Get your sleep…. A Wake up call!
What is
sleep?
Webster
defines it as, “The periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers
of the body are restored.”
That’s
sleep in a nutshell; however it’s a little bit more complicated than that.
Contrary to popular belief, our brains are actually quite active when we sleep.
Sleep has a huge impact on our mental and physical health as well as our daily
functioning. The actual process of sleeping is controlled by
nerve-signaling chemicals, knows as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters control
whether we are asleep or awake and regulate this by the signals they receive
from groups of nerve cells in the brain.
These
groups of nerve cells, called neurons produce neurotransmitters, such as
serotonin and norepinephrine, in the brain stem which keep some parts of the
brain active while we are awake. Other neurons at the base of the brain begin
signaling when we fall asleep. These neurons literally “switch off” the signals
that keep us awake.
The actual
act of sleeping is very complex and consists of five stages. First I’m
going to give a brief description of each stage, and then I’m going to go back
and tell you which one is most important to us as body builders.
The Sleep Cycle
As we sleep
we go through five different stages of activity. The complete sleep cycle
consists of stage one, stage two, stage three, and stage four of NREM (Non-rapid
eye movement sleep) and stage 5 of REM (Rapid eye movement) sleep. The stages
progress in a cycle from stage one to stage 5 sleep, then the cycle repeats
itself.
Sleep
typically begins with a cycle that consists of 80 minutes of NREM sleep
followed by 10 minutes of REM sleep. This 90 to 110 minute cycle is repeated
four to six times each night (This depends on each person and the amount of
sleep you are actually getting). With each cycle completed the amount of NREM
sleep decreases and the proportion of REM sleep increases.
Each stage
in the cycle of sleep has its own distinct features.
Stage one-
Stage one
is crucial to the whole sleeping process. During this stage, often called
light sleep, we drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened quite easily.
At first our eyes move very slowly and muscle activity in the body slows. When
we are awakened from stage one we often remember fragmented images. Have you
ever just started to fall asleep and you get a sensation of hitting the ground
or falling off a cliff? This is actually a muscle contraction called hypnic
myoclonia. This contraction occurs when we are shocked from light sleep! These
“falling” sensations are similar to the sudden movements we make when we get
startled.
Stage two-
As we begin
leaving light sleep and enter into stage two sleep, our eye movements stop and
our brain waves become much slower. However, occasional bursts of rapid waves
can occur called sleep spindles.
(A brain
wave is a fluctuation of electrical activity that can be measured by
electrodes.)
Stage three-
During
stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves start to appear,
scattered with smaller, faster waves. This stage marks the beginning of what is
called deep sleep.
Stage four-
Stage four
is of vital importance to the body builder! Very crucial indeed! More on that
later! This stage is referred to as slow-wave
sleep or SWS.
During this
stage the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. Waking a person up
during stages 3 and 4, which combined together are called deep sleep, is
very difficult. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened
during deep sleep do not adjust to reality immediately and often feel
disoriented and very tired for several minutes after they wake up.
Just as an interesting fact,
interference with deep sleep appears to be the main cause of sleep amnesia (REM
can cause this as well though). This sleep related form of amnesia is the reason
people forget telephone calls they had in the middle of the night and why we
often don’t remember our alarms going off in the morning if we go right back to
sleep after turning them off.
Stage 5-
Another crucial sleeping stage for body builders is REM, or
rapid eye movement sleep.
When we enter
into REM sleep, our breathing becomes faster, irregular and shallow. Our eyes
jerk rapidly in all directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily
paralyzed. Our heart rate increases and our blood pressure rises.
This is the
stage of sleep where dreams occur. We normally spend more than two hours
each night dreaming. Scientists do not know much about how or why we dream. The
dream experience almost always occurs during REM sleep.
REM sleep
begins with signals from an area at the base of the brain called the pons. These
signals travel to a brain region called the thalamus, which then relays the
signals to the cerebral cortex. This is the area of the brain responsible for
learning, thinking, and organizing information. These pons are also what cause
the temporary paralysis of the limbs. And that’s a very good thing! If not we
would start “acting out” our dreams! (FYI-There is actually a rare condition
called REM sleep behavior disorder in which the paralysis doesn’t take place!!!)
REM sleep
stimulates the brain regions used in the learning process. Like deep sleep, REM
is linked with the increased production of proteins and protein synthesis.
The first time we enter REM sleep normally occurs about 70 to 90 minutes during
sleep. Again, a complete sleep cycle normally takes 90-110 minutes.
The first sleep cycles tend to have shorter REM periods and
longer periods of Deep Sleep. As the night goes on (usually about half way
through a totals night sleep), we spend almost all of our sleep in stages one,
two, and REM.
REM is crucial to getting a full nights rest, and being deprived
of REM sleep has been shown to result in sluggishness and drowsiness the next
day.
So in summary of the sleep cycle:
NREM sleep:
Stage 1—the drowsy transition
from waking to sleeping
Stage 2—intermediate sleep, when
arousal is more difficult
Stage 3—the beginning of "deep,"
or slow-wave, sleep
Stage 4—the deepest sleep, when
there is little contact with external sensations
During NREM sleep:
1. Brain activity decreases.
2. Blood pressure decreases.
3. Respiration (breathing)
decreases.
4. Heart rate slows.
This is then
followed by REM sleep which includes:
1. Increased brain activity
2. Increased and variable blood
pressure
3. Increased and variable heart
rate
4. Increased blood flow to the
brain
5. Increased and variable
respiration
Getting too
little sleep creates a "sleep debt," in the sleep cycle which is similar to
being over your limit at the bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the
debt be re-paid. Our bodies don’t seem to be able to adapt to getting less sleep
than we need. While we may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, our judgment,
reaction time, and other functions are still impaired. This goes hand in hand
with training in the gym. Too little sleep has a direct correlation to less
intensity!
In summary,
going through the complete sleep cycle in its totality, along with going through
the number of sleep cycles our body needs each night is vital to our bodies
maximum health.
Our Ally in
the War, Slow Wave Sleep!!!
"Slow-wave sleep is known for its restorative and growth-inducing
properties, and plays a major role in maintaining our general health."
-Dr. James Maas
Slow-wave
Sleep (SWS) is crucial to providing restoration and growth along with building
immunity. Along with increasing alertness, energy levels and health. During SWS
several things occur in our body that emphasizes this re-healing.
1. Blood supply to the muscles is increased, which aids in
recovery after intense workouts or vigorous exercise.
2. The body’s temperature is lowered to conserve energy.
3. Metabolic activity is at its lowest which provides the
opportunity for tissue growth and repair.
4. The secretion of growth hormone is at its highest.
5. Immune system regulators increase, strengthening the immune
system.
As you can see, all of these
factors are play a huge role in the growth and recovery process of a body
builder or any athlete.
However, for now we are going to
focus on the most important of them all to us as body builders (number four)…the
release of natural growth hormone!
60-90% of your daily growth
hormone release happens during the first three to four hours of sleep. Some
studies have shown that hard working athletes may slip into SWS faster and stay
there longer than a sedentary person. This suggests that for athletes who train
their body on a consistent basis, their brain responds by placing them in SWS
faster and more often to allow for recovery. Meaning the majority of growth
hormone could be released as quickly as three hours into sleep for hardcore body
builders! This actually turns out to be to our advantage. I’ll explain more
about that further into the article.
The secreting of growth hormone
all starts in the Hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain that receives and
integrates information from the rest of the body. The hypothalamus controls the
secretions of the Anterior Pituitary (A small gland located at the base of our
brains), which changes depending on the requirements of the body. The
Hypothalamus communicates with the Anterior Pituitary through small blood
vessels.
The secretion of growth hormone
comes from the combined actions of stimulatory or inhibitory hypothalamic
factors released onto the Anterior Pituitary.
OK, so what is Growth Hormone?
Good question. Growth Hormone,
called Somatotropin, is the most vital of all growth promoting hormones. It has
both developmental and metabolic effects. Growth Hormone is responsible for the
growth of our bones and muscles and also assembles fat for energy use while
sparing proteins from being used. For the most part however, Growth
Hormones (GH) actions are indirect.
Most of our
GH effects are mediated by Insulin-like Growth factor 1, or IGF-1. IGF-1 is
created in the liver when stimulated by GH. In other words physiological
circumstances that increase GH likewise increase IGF-1.
In regards to muscle growth
IGF-1 causes muscle cells (myocytes) to raise protein synthesis, decrease
protein breakdown, take up amino acids and to divide. Basically, our muscles
grow when stimulated by IGF-1. More specifically, it stimulates both the
differentiation and proliferation of myoblasts and also stimulates amino acid
uptake and protein synthesis in muscle and other tissues.
It’s important to note that
bone cells also react to IGF-1 by proliferating, causing our bones to grow.
Connective tissue and cartilage also increase in response to IGF-1.
Another vital time when
Growth Hormone is released is following your workouts. This is why a
post-workout shake is so vital! In fact, I’m willing to bet that none of you
would just skip your post-workout shake! This is an extremely important time for
muscle repair and growth to occur. I guarantee if you treat your pre-sleep meal
just as important your gains will be off the charts! More on that issue will be
coming up in the later parts of the article.
What happens if you don’t get enough sleep as a
body builder?
1.
As you know GH is mostly released during SWS, so if you don’t get enough your
ability to metabolize glucose is lowered.
2.
Lowered levels of GH are related to fat tissue and reduced muscle mass and
exercise capability. Body builders who only get 6-7 hours of sleep have to work
twice as hard to process the same amount of fuel. So in essence recent studies
have shown, that the less sleep you get the harder it is to lose weight and the
harder it is to get energy for your workouts!
3. Your
immune system is greatly affected during sleep deprivation. GH also stimulates
bone marrow growth, strengthening your immune system. Melatonin is another
hormone released during sleep, and it stimulates the immune system and inhibits
tumor growth. Without enough of these hormones your immune system weakens and
you can get sick much easier.
4.
One other negative effect of sleep deprivation is premature aging. GH acts as a
“youth maintenance” hormone. It keeps tissue in good condition, your skin
firmer, and bones and muscles strong. As you get older your level of GH
decreases and you age. Studies have shown with a lack of sleep you are actually
starting this process earlier!
5.
And lastly, but definitely not least, sleep
deprivation causes increased levels of cortisol in the body the next day.
As you know cortisol is our mortal enemy! It causes hypertension and stress and
robs our muscles for energy! Increased levels can cause memory impairments,
restrict tissue repair and growth, and increased insulin resistance!
I don’t
have to tell you how much of an impact that will have on you as a body builder
or any type of athlete who is looking to perform at his or her best!
The impact sleep deprivation can have on
training and nutrition!
To restate
what I said at the beginning of the article, all three of the factors of body
building feed off one another.
That is why sleep is so vital for training!
A lack of
sleep can cause drowsiness, sluggishness, crankiness, depression, forgetfulness,
and slow our reaction time. All of which will have a huge impact on our
intensity in the gym. Less stamina and energy will have a direct impact on our
intensity and intensity has a direct and vital impact on reaching the levels it
takes to achieve new growth.
Sleep also plays a vital role in our nutrition!
Without
enough sleep we are literally more catabolic all day long! And you can multiply
this by 2 post workout! I’m convinced without proper sleep your cortisol levels
will be off the charts after a workout. Of course getting 8-10 hours of
sleep every night of your life is practically impossible, but you have to make
the effort to get more.
Going along
the lines of nutrition, I’ve found that there are steps you can take to keep
these higher cortisol levels in check post-workout provided you know you are
going to be getting less sleep ahead of time.
Let’s say
you have an early appointment and you just know you’re not going to get enough
sleep, but you just have to get your workout in after the appointment. That’s
the only time you have. Believe me I understand how hectic life can get
sometimes.
I find that
by eating extremely complex carbs up until the night you won’t be getting enough
sleep, you can make your post-workout shake even more potent…Thus keeping the
higher cortisol levels in check. And I mean eat as clean as you can like you’re
on a super cut. No simple carbs or sugar, lean protein, and complex carbs
(preferably green leafy veggies) and lots of water.
This will
make your post-workout shake’s insulin spiking properties more potent.
Again, I
want to restate how important we as body builders need to start taking sleep.
It has a direct impact on our training and nutrition and I am convinced that we
can’t be our 100% best in the areas of training and nutrition without adequate
sleep.
With all
that in mind I want to sum it up with this phrase…
SLEEP =
ANABOLIC STATE
Getting the most out of your sleep! Your nuclear
arsenal for smashing cortisol, increasing anabolism, increasing the effects of
growth hormone, and increasing your energy in the gym!
Just like a
nuclear weapon has multiple effects on the enemy so does pre-sleep nutrition.
Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of man like nuclear weaponry, and the same
holds true for catabolism and homeostasis if you take the right steps before
hitting dream land!
Pre-sleeping stack:
1.
Take a ZMA supplement on an empty stomach. ZMA has been shown to aid in sleep
and increase hormone levels while you sleep. Jacob has written an awesome
article on ZMA. Access it here.
2.
After the ZMA has been totally digested, about 30-60 minutes later, eat a
complex and fibrous Starchy Carbohydrates or Fibrous Green Vegetables(depending
on if you are cutting or bulking) such as oatmeal, a
yam, a salad, or a green leafy vegetable (see
the 13 weeks to dieting for more examples of these). The key is to eat
a slow burning carbohydrate source here.
3.
Combine that with 1 tablespoon of flax oil, 1 gram of vitamin C and 5 grams of
Glutamine.
4.
And lastly consume 20-60 grams of casein protein( cottage cheese is a great
source ) (this amount depends on your body weight and goals).
Numbers
2-4 should be taken in as one meal.
5.
Hit the hay for 8 to 10 hours!
The first
3-4 hours of sleep is when we spend the majority of our time in SWS, therefore
this is when GH release is at its highest. This combination will digest slowly
in your stomach giving you a steady supply of muscle building nutrients as the
GH is released. The Vitamin C and Glutamine will aid in tissue repair and help
the body strengthen the immune system. This is a double whammy as sleep already
aids in the repair of both of these.
6.
Immediately upon awakening consume a post-wake up protein shake to put your body
back into an anabolic state. REM sleep has been shown to dramatically increase
catabolism in your body. Recall that by half way through the complete nights
sleep cycle you are spending most of your time in REM sleep. So when you wake up
you are extremely catabolic and need nutrients and vitamins right away!
Start
taking this stack as serious as you take your post-workout shake and I promise
you’ll like what you see!
Final Thoughts
Don’t take
sleep lightly fellow hardcore athletes! In fact take it as serious as you do
working out and eating right. The rewards will be better workouts and better pay
off for your dieting. Stick to the pre-sleep stack on a consistent basis and
reap the rewards of your body’s natural Growth Hormone release!
Good luck
and get your Z’s!
Adam " Old School " Knowlden
© ABC Bodybuilding Company. All rights reserved. Disclaimer
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