Sleep and exercise

Sleep is one of the most important factors affecting a persons health and fitness. The National Sleep Foundation states that sleep is a basic human need and is just as important for good health as diet and exercise.

You need to make sure that you are getting at least 8 hours uninterrupted sleep per night.
Having too little sleep increases what is known as 'sleep debt' and eventually your body will demand the debt to be paid back. Having too little sleep can cause your physical functions to become impaired, affecting reaction times and judgement.

Exercise can be used to promote a good nights sleep. Increasing physical activity tires you out so that your body requires more sleep. On the other hand sleep deprivation can also lead to weight gain simply because you are too tired to do any exercise.

If you're not getting a good nights sleep here are some other factors that can be affecting it;

• Caffeine - tea, coffee and some soft drinks all contain caffeine
• Alcohol - affects your sleeping patterns
• High stress levels
• Drugs - diet pills, decongestants and antidepressants

5 minutes is all it takes

That's right, can you commit just 5 minutes a day to getting fit? Of course you can, everyone can spare 5 minutes with no excuses.
If you can spare more time then even better.

Here's what I want you to do and I can guarantee that if you stickto this plan, in 6 weeks time your fitness levels will have improved 10 fold. I want you to put aside just 5 minutes every day this week dedicated to nothing else but exercise. That's right, just 5 whole uninterrupted minutes. I don't care what time of day or night it is, whatever suites you.

I want you to get dressed in to your exercise kit and shut the door and tell everyone else around you, not to disturb you for the next 5 minutes. Then do something, I don't care what it is, it can be jumping on the spot, skipping, walking, running, dancing, cycling, anything as long as it gets you out of breath and a little hot and sweaty. Continue for 5 minutes. If you are out of breath, stop and have a rest then start again when you get your breath back, but keep going until the 5 minutes is up.

Do this everyday for a whole week, don't miss a day.
Now; the next part of the plan is, I want you to add an extra 5 minutes every week for the next 6 weeks. So week 2 you will be doing 10 minutes per day, week 3 will be 15 minutes and so on until week 6 you when you will be doing 30 minutes uninterrrupted exercise.

So what is the point of this I hear you ask? Well, one of the biggest excuses I hear from my clients is 'I just don't have the time to exercise around my busy schedule'.

What you need to do is make time for exercise and this is a great way of introducing exercise into your life. It doesn't matter at the moment what you do, you can customize your workouts later once you become more accustomed to exercise and have achieved a basic fitness level. The idea is that you do something to increase your heart rate, get your joints and muscles working. If you don't do any exercise at the moment then this is an ideal way to get started.

This system is specifically aimed at people who don't know what to do and can't get started. The beauty of this system is that it introduces a gradual progression so if you stick with it you can't help but get fit.

So get started now and make this your time for exercise. You will be amazed at how much fitter you are in 6 weeks time.

How To Get Fit Fast

Before we start, let me set the record straight and tell you that there is no magic formula that will transform you from being unfit and overweight to looking like a super fit athlete over night. I'm sorry for dropping that bombshell on you like that. But the sooner you realise that then quicker you will reach your dream. So forget the fitness gadgets and fad diets that promise you a fit toned physique in 14 days or less and get real.

If you truly want to get fit fast then listen up, because I'm about to tell you what you need to do to achieve just that. If you follow the simple free advice in this article you will be well on your way to reaching your goal faster than any miracle exercise gadget or latest fad diet. This is the only way to achieve true balanced fitness and get in the best shape of your life.

Do this and get fit fast now!

1. Assess where you're at;
Ask you’re self why you want to get fit. Most people decide to get fit for one of 3 reasons;

a) Improve physical appearance
b) Health reasons or quality of life
c) For a particular sport or challenge

Which category to you fall into?

2. Set yourself a goal;
When will you know you have reached your goal? What do you need to do to get there? If your goal is weight loss, then what is your ideal weight. If you are training for a specific event, such as a running race, what time or distance do you need to achieve. If it's for health reasons, you may wish to reduce your blood pressure or cholesterol.

3. Eat healthy;
Your diet must be specific to your goal and your exercise plan. Make sure you are eating the right food and at the right times to get the most out of your exercise programme. A poor diet equals low energy and poor performance, ask any successful sports person.

My advice is don't go on a strict diet. You'll just end up hungry, de-motivated and give up. Eliminate processed foods from your diet. If you can't pronounce the ingredients, then bin it. Cook yourself fresh healthy food that you know the contents of. Just making these changes is far better for you than any fad diet or so called miracle supplement.

If weight loss is your goal, then start by making one small but significant change to your diet every week. For example if you were to cut out 1 tsp of sugar from your 2 cups of tea or coffee per day, then that's a saving of 14,500 calories in one year. That amounts to a loss of over 4lbs of body fat. Do you see where I'm coming from? Small changes can make a big difference when you add them all together.

4. Exercise;
If you are new to exercise and think you don't have the time, then make a commitment to start exercising for 5 minutes per day. Do you think you can handle that? Next week, increase it to 10 minutes and so on until you are doing 30 minutes per day. You'll be amazed how much fitter you are just in that short time.

Choose an exercise activity appropriate to your goal, but make sure it's a balanced programme that covers all the major components of fitness. A balanced exercise programme should include; CV training, for aerobic & anaerobic fitness. Resistance training, for muscular endurance, strength and power. Flexibility for range of movement and posture. Balance and coordination.

If you are not sure where to start then consider these;
1. Enjoy what you do
2. Balance your exercise to include CV, Resistance and Flexibility
3. Make your exercise specific to your goal
4. Make it a lifestyle change not a chore
5. Make it challenging, but not impossible

For the best results and to get fitter faster, then consult an exercise professional to design a programme specifically for you.

5. Monitor and motivate;
Monitor your progress, it will help to motivate you to stop you losing interest. Once you see that you are making steady progress towards your goal it will keep you focused. Try training with a friend or join a club to help keep you interested.

6. Fitness for life;
Don't just make a commitment to get fit for new year or holiday, make it a lifestyle change. Decide that you are going to make changes for life.

If you can get to the point where fitness and healthy living becomes second nature and a natural routine then it's the unhealthy things that start to become a chore! Remember if you practice anything enough you will do it without thinking about it and this is the state you need
to aim for. One day you will come to realise, 'this fitness stuff isn't so bad after all'.