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How do you pull through a tough workout on little sleep?


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I was only able to get about 5 hours sleep last night and I have a heavy chest workout today. I slept great all week but had a bad night last night. Typically I will just tough through and then catch up sleep in the following nights. You all think this is OK? It is interesting though that even after little sleep, I can still be very strong in the gym.

 

-Rich

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I rarely sleep more than 5 or 6 hours. It is individual thing. I worry sometimes about not getting enough sleep, and I really envy people who are able to sleep for 8 or 10 hours. I have all the time in the world for sleeping (i do not work), but I simply can not stay in bed after 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I perform in gym very well, though.

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I get used to it - I need around 7 horurs but often get only 6 or less, and I really feel it towards the end of the week.

 

Tired when you get up, and the rest of the day is a battle to get through.

 

Still lift/run though, and usually quite effectively despite lack of rest and recovery as I get used to it. Some workouts I am drained before I start but just get on with it.

 

There was some research on sleep published only last week, and 6hrs was seen as the critical point -

 

'Researchers find 'unequivocal' link between lack of sleep and increased risk of premature death' - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/may/05/sleep-study-premature-death

 

'If you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturbed sleep, you stand a 48 percent greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease' - http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110213/Lack-of-sleep-increases-stroke-heart-disease-risk-Study.aspx

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1354980/Lack-sleep-ticking-time-bomb-recipe-heart-attack.html

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7677812/People-who-sleep-for-less-than-six-hours-die-early.html

 

However this is a more measured review of the new research - http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/02February/Pages/sleep-patterns-predict-heart-attack-risk.aspx

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If I'm feeling short on sleep or just sluggish or tired to try to get some carbs in me right away before the workout. I eat fruit before and evening during my workouts when I'm feeling a bit tired. I also use energy drinks, pre-workout drinks, and just mentally prepare myself to give me that extra push to make it through even if I'm a little tired.

 

Then I do my best to catch up on rest.

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In Ayurveda, they say it is essential to go to sleep by 10:00 PM in order to be in harmony with natures rhythm's.

 

I've heard that the liver performs an essential cleansing function at 11:00 PM and you need to be asleep for this to take place properly.

 

Also I have heard that sufficient sleep is required for balanced testosterone and growth hormone levels.

 

Plus one should wake up naturally without a jarring alarm clock.

 

Personally, I find I need at least 7 to 8 hours sleep and I wake up with a iPod/iPhone app called Relax Alarm Clock which gradually increases the volume of a relaxing guitar sound.

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  • 2 weeks later...

5 hours of sleep is plenty - don't worry about that. Well let menrephrase that - if you usually sleep like 7-8 hours and you got 5 one night - don't worry a bit about it. It's not a big deal, it's not even a little deal. Even if you got 5 hours of sleep everynight you'd be fine. Butif you arefeeling sluggish turn up the head phones and eat a powerbar or snickers bar before working out (snickers only if you are not on a strict diet and don't need to cut any weight).

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Butif you arefeeling sluggish turn up the head phones and eat a powerbar or snickers bar before working out (snickers only if you are not on a strict diet and don't need to cut any weight).

Are there vegan snickers bars in the US?

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Butif you arefeeling sluggish turn up the head phones and eat a powerbar or snickers bar before working out (snickers only if you are not on a strict diet and don't need to cut any weight).

Are there vegan snickers bars in the US?

 

I wish....

 

 

I kind of get the impression fatburningfurnace isn't vegan from other threads, but maybe I'm wrong.

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Butif you arefeeling sluggish turn up the head phones and eat a powerbar or snickers bar before working out (snickers only if you are not on a strict diet and don't need to cut any weight).

Are there vegan snickers bars in the US?

 

 

Yep!

 

http://store.veganessentials.com/vegan-candy-bars-by-go-max-go-foods-p2646.aspx

The Jokerz bar is basically a vegan Snickers, about 95% spot-on! Trust me, I've eaten enough of them to know

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Are there vegan snickers bars in the US?
I wish....

It seems wishes do come true sometimes :

http://store.veganessentials.com/vegan-candy-bars-by-go-max-go-foods-p2646.aspx

The Jokerz bar is basically a vegan Snickers, about 95% spot-on! Trust me, I've eaten enough of them to know

Damn, they do look tasty ! One of those days I will have to put in an order for some of those...

 

I kind of get the impression fatburningfurnace isn't vegan from other threads, but maybe I'm wrong.

Let's hope you are wrong in this case .

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When I ate at my healthiest (almost thrive diet) I knocked a clean hour off my sleep because I was getting better quality sleep, so I don't buy into this "you need at least X hours amount of sleep or..". I could sleep great for 7 hours or way less and wake up feeling amazing and be more energised throughout the whole day than before.

 

If I just undersleep for one day it'll rarely effect workout (usually end up getting a better one), but if my sleep gets messed up for 2 or 3 days in a row then it can start to cause problems - hasn't happened in a while though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's funny this topic came up because I'm sitting here not knowing if I should go to the gym or not. I got about an hour or sleep last night and feel a little nauseous from it (part of that being I drank for the first time in like a year for st pattys day) - and when I imagine working out right now I don't see myself getting much done...

 

But usually I try to work through it, today I don't think I'm going to be able to. I think you just have to use your own judgement bc only you know how you feel.

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  • 4 weeks later...

for me the cure for this problem is just explosive levels of willpower

 

i get a terrible nights sleep every night due to being stuck in a 9-5 but having the internal clock of a night owl

 

the amount i depise being skinny always overpowers how crappy i feel by the end of a days work when its time to go to the gym and smash it up

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5 hours of sleep is plenty - don't worry about that. Well let menrephrase that - if you usually sleep like 7-8 hours and you got 5 one night - don't worry a bit about it. It's not a big deal, it's not even a little deal. Even if you got 5 hours of sleep everynight you'd be fine. Butif you arefeeling sluggish turn up the head phones and eat a powerbar or snickers bar before working out (snickers only if you are not on a strict diet and don't need to cut any weight).

Please every one ignore comments like this ^^^^^

 

 

Anyway, there is a reason insomniacs supplement melatonin. It is because either their brains are not producing enough of it, or they tend to sleep later and awaken later in the day. Our brains produce melatonin at night, which is why sleep has always been associated as a nocturnal activity. Supplementing melatonin assures that you will be able to sleep regardless of the time of day, and to, more often than not, get a full 8 hours of peaceful sleep (although at first it does intensify your dreams, but this side effect fades in time). Of course, covering the windows to ensure proper darkness helps as well.

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As per increasing energy levels for proper work outs I find that ginseng and vitamin water are a good combination as well as a nice nutrient dense meal about an hour or so prior to working out. The rest has to come from your own body and the law of thermodynamics. Energy drinks only trick your brains neurons into believing your body is energized, which is why people tend to 'crash' on these.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Powerful stuff? My cousin and I are avid bodybuilders (not pro caliber guys) and have been avoiding for years to use steroids (at 42, you think a lot about the risks), but after using the Dr Max Testosterone Boost we have seen our strength and lean body mass skyrocket. Best of all? No dangerous or noticeable side effects. This is the real deal.

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