sleep Archives -

Week 7: On the ropes

ANIMAL INSTINCT: crawling is a natural but forgotten movement

I GET asked frequently if everyone on the Amazing 12 does precisely the same thing. The answer is no. Not exactly.

As we’re all unique, a tailored approach is needed for each individual. That’s how effective training ought to be.

Not everyone going into a doctor’s surgery seeking health gets exactly the same prescription. But the healing process works in a particular way and, as with the Amazing 12, the principles for developing strength and fitness and losing or gaining weight are consistent.

There will always be occasions when, for one reason or another (usually because of injury or mobility restrictions or body composition or fitness levels or age), different exercises or movements or levels of intensity are necessary.

It’s happened on the Amazing 12 program many times previously when somebody simply can’t perform an exercise correctly and, rather than plug away and risk injury, I substitute the movement for another that can be executed with better technique.

FLOORED: pressing her way to a stronger body

Stacey, who along with Rich has now come to the end of week 7 on the Amazing 12 Chichester, has, for example, had a niggling pain in her rotator cuff. It’s not so painful that she screams in agony, but it’s restrictive and there’s enough discomfort to suggest we try an alternative.

We’ve experimented a lot the past four weeks with the goal being to continue making progress without worsening the injury.

What makes it undoubtedly tougher for Stacey is her lack of sleep as it’s during sleep that the body does its repair work.

Your training program is only as good as your ability to recover from it.

Having had rotator cuff injuries in the past – mainly from over-use and, when I was younger, not being shown how to lift weights properly (especially in the bench press) – I’m reluctant to take anyone down the path of let’s-push-it-and-see.

Pain in the body is like an internal alarm telling us something is wrong and that we should do it differently or not at all.

But we need to understand the difference between pain and discomfort.

GET-UP AND GO: one of the best movements going

I’ve modified some of Stacey’s program. And, given her sleep issues, I have to be careful not to push her over the edge when her energy levels are low.

On some days she’s brilliant and on others she is completely spent. I can’t expect her to excel on the latter.

But not a week passes when I don’t think what her potential could be if she were to get a good night’s rest every day.

One day this week at Core Results, after about the fifth consecutive night without any sleep, she came in looking wrecked, barely able to keep her eyes open.

Having had insomnia for the best part of 10 years, Stacey has grown used to it yet still looks amazing. She can function in situations where many of us who sleep well simply would fall apart.

SLEEPLESS: Yet Stacey can still crush the deadlift

So for Stacey to look tired, I knew she was seriously deprived of rest. And yet, in spite of the fact that most of our fat-burning takes place during sleep, Stacey still dropped more weight and fat.

Rich and I just looked at each other and wondered how it had happened. Overnight, Stacey looked as if half her body had disappeared. Whether it’s her magical watercress and pea soup she’s concocted that’s doing it or not, she had reached a point where she was as light as she’s been since she was 16!

The main difference, though, is that she couldn’t back squat 70kg comfortably when she was a teenager and can now.

However, having already missed a day this week (through tiredness), Stacey didn’t want to skip another. I was reluctant for her to train. She was keen to see what she could do. So we took it step by step. She got some work done and we agreed when it was time to wrap it up.

SHOPPING PRACTICE: functional training at its best

The important lesson here is to learn to listen to your body. Don’t wait until it breaks to take notice. The body continually feeds back information. There’s a difference between being in a state where you haven’t recovered and can barely stand up and just not being in the mood to move or work.

Understanding the difference requires experience. Some of us wake up with a runny nose and decide to put our feet up and stay in bed, while others put on the running shoes and head outside for some exercise and fresh air.

Rich has been ‘feeling it’ this week also. By contrast, he sleeps really well. But he’s been feeling physically tired from the training (fairly common at the halfway stage). He’s clearly getting stronger and fitter, but not yet as lean as he would like to be (there are still five weeks to go).

NEEDING A LIFT: remaining strong through a tough week

Rich is an interesting case – and this goes back to how we are all so unique. As I mentioned a few weeks back, Rich has had almost every test going to figure out why his body hangs on to fat. Some of his testing has revealed that, for whatever reason, his body clings to fat in circumstances where others will shed it. He has a “moderate fat-burning response to exercise” and a “susceptibility to carry more weight and lose weight slower”, all of which stems from a “severely limited ability to release fat from fat cells and into the blood for energy use.”

For Rich, who loves a question and, even more so, an answer, not knowing the cause is more frustrating than having tried so many different options without success.

Being vegan, he’s on a different diet to Stacey and we’re also experimenting with some other techniques which could accelerate the process of shifting body fat and improving his metabolism.

Training and diet, like life, is often a game of trial and error – working out what is the most effective way to do something. I’m adapting the Amazing 12 program to best suit someone like Rich.

Theoretically, as Rich increases his muscle mass – which he is doing – he should burn more fat. And as he continues to eat a wholefood diet with quality ingredients and in the right proportions, he should become leaner.

Over the next five weeks his strength is going to shoot up and so, too, should his muscle mass.

PREP WORK: getting the muscles ready for a workout

Rich, though, is concerned he won’t be able to maintain pace. He gives his all in every session and, consequently, has felt “battered” and as though he “running on empty”. He admits, though, that following his mum’s passing only a few weeks ago it’s been an emotionally tough time as well.

Although he “feels” like he’s running on fumes, what he’s actually achieving remains impressive.

It’s different for everyone. I’ve had participants feeling fantastic at the halfway point and bouncing with energy, while others feel completed wasted. The key remains to see it through to the end. The Amazing 12 journey isn’t complete at three, six or 1o weeks and there are many cases where the significant changes have happened from week 10 onwards.

What the participants often don’t see is the numbers – the data I collect from every session. Training sessions can feel tough and exhausting. And Rich’s tendency to search for his limits will contribute to that. But as someone’s strength and fitness increases so does the ability to extend themselves.

IMPROVED: Stacey’s way ahead of where she was last time at week 7

Stacey has already surpassed in most of the exercises on the program her performances from the first time she completed the Amazing 12. She’s not finding it any easier, though. The experience feels quite different.

These guys are going through a proverbial storm. If they were boxers, they’d be on the ropes. But they are still in the fight. That’s the main thing and for as long as they are standing they have a chance to share the spoils.

As author Brendon Burchard posted this week, “No-one who has ever achieved greatness avoided struggle. They met it, engaged with it. They knew it was necessary.”

Week 1: Off and running…and crawling

WARM-UP: It never fails to get Rich’s heart rate soaring or hit Stacey’s arms and legs

WHAT’S the common thread with people wanting to do the Amazing 12?

The answer: they want results.

The Amazing 12 has a history of success stories going back for more than a decade and across the world. So on this round of the Amazing 12 Chichester I have one graduate coming back to pick up where she left off and another who’s tried everything but not achieved the results he is after.

Stacey finished the program last April. When she started last time, she hadn’t done any training for the best part of 18 months. She’d had a child (who is now over a year-old). She was carrying extra weight and didn’t feel good in herself.

NO PRESSURE: Stacey wants to achieve even better results this time

Yet she achieved tremendous results – as you can see from the photos and if you read the blog. Her weight dropped from 10st 2lbs to 8st 10lbs and she increased both her strength and fitness. But now her goal over the next 12 weeks is to see how far she can progress, not just with her body composition, but also in terms of maximising her strength.

Joining her on this wave at the Core Results Gym is Rich Evans, a personal trainer himself (he runs Playground Fitness) and someone I’ve trained previously. Rich is on a mission to get leaner. He’s tried everything, he says, but can’t find the secret sauce.

Seriously, he’s had blood tests, urine tests, hormone tests to discover why his body is holding on to body fat. There could be reasons he’s not considered, like stress, or even the possibility of how having the belief that your body won’t release fat can be the cause of it.

However, Rich has never done the Amazing 12 program, though first enquired about it several years ago. The timing wasn’t quite right back then in terms of finding a three-month window where he could devote himself fully to the training. But now is the time.

FORM: For someone who isn’t keen on weights, Rich has good technique

This is going to be an interesting journey. Rich, 48, is a vegan. He’s never been a big fan of weight-lifting either. He has knee issues from multiple operations that don’t stop him moving, but have to be managed carefully. His lower back is sensitive also.

For the past three months he’s been training mostly by himself, doing mainly bodyweight, high-intensity-style training and lots of cycling. As someone who records everything, Rich supplied me with the data – his diet, training, weight charts etc. He measures his food meticulously and monitors his heart rate.

FINISHER: to the session and a solid week

Many of the practices he is used to will be different from the Amazing 12, which will be a challenge in itself for him. His last three months saw him lose about 10lbs in weight and some body fat, but the biggest marker for me was the loss of muscle mass. Most of his workouts were cardio, which would partly explain why.

Effectively, he was burning muscle, which is the body’s best weapon for burning fat!

On the Amazing 12 the goal will be to increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. His weight will be whatever it will be. It’s not a key measurement. But this week his weight has increased and body fat remained the same, suggesting the process of muscle building has already started. Early days.

EASY START: Stacey back into her deadlifting groove

Stacey comes in at about 6lbs more than when she finished the last wave five months ago, which is impressive. We’ve trained almost weekly since then, but not with anywhere near the same intensity or frequency as on the Amazing 12. She even admitted that her diet hasn’t always been great. But Stacey’s retained much of her muscle and strength.

What she has achieved this week compared with the first five days of her initial round of the Amazing 12 is quite staggering. She’s a different beast – and I mean that in the nicest way possible. The soreness this time round – which is typical on the first week – isn’t as severe as it was last time either.

Her greatest challenge, though, will be to achieve quality sleep to help to recover from one workout to another. As I’ve written about previously, sleep is where all the magic happens. It’s when your body transforms. Little sleep equals less transformation.

It’s not easy with a young one in the family, but as Stacey has never been a good sleeper anyhow it makes the situation twice as hard.

Somehow, Stacey functions and looks great on little shut-eye. But if she can improve her sleeping patterns, her potential for change is going to be greater.

We had one session this week where I had to cut back the load as Stacey was pretty much a walking zombie. Three days later we tried again and, despite her telling me she thought the outcome was going to be the same, she actually did 120 reps more!

At the end of this first week she’s already dropped weight and body fat.

The workouts have been a bit irregular in terms of times, though – some in the morning, evening and early afternoon – which takes getting used to. Stacey and Rich both prefer training first thing. Rich, normally an ace sleeper, said his sleep had been unusually disrupted this week and there could be many reasons for that.

FIRED UP: Rich is giving his all every day

Rich had certainly put in a solid shift this week. As you can see from the photo, he’s a determined character. I couldn’t have asked for more and the thought did cross my mind on the last day of training whether he can sustain this level of commitment and intensity to the end.

He’s persevering with my nutritional guidelines even though it’s the opposite of what he’s been used to doing. He bombards me with dozens of questions daily, but that’s what I’m here for.

Rich likes to know the ‘why?’ in everything. So when I change something or suggest something he’s not used to, that’s the question that comes back. It keeps me on my toes, as I need to know my stuff. Plus, my father always taught me that ‘why’ was the most important question.

STEADY: getting the technique right before adding weight is vital

I may be the coach, but my clients are always teaching me, too. I learn through them. That’s just one thing I like about this job.

But it’s also possible to over-think things. Rich understands how it’s also essential to trust in the process and allow it to do its thing. That requires an element of surrender.

The week ended well. Both Rich and Stacey were a bit sore going into the final session. Rich was absolutely buzzing by the end of it. And his tenacity is unquestionably motivating Stacey to step it up a notch. It’s an exciting thought to see where we go from here.

Sleep…the missing piece of the wellbeing jigsaw

OFTEN when we talk about making changes and improving health, the emphasis is on exercise and diet, both of which are important. But the much overlooked – and critical -ingredient is sleep.

More specifically, I refer to quality and quantity of sleep. The type of sleep that is uninterrupted and not induced by medication.

Few, if any, factors will accelerate ageing more than sleep deprivation.

I’m not a sleep expert by any means. But I’ve done my research and learned from those, like Shawn Stevenson (author of the outstanding book, Sleep Smarter), who know this subject inside out. I’ve struggled with sleep since the birth of my first child, more than 10 years ago. Up until that point I could sleep almost anywhere at any time.

The change to my circumstances makes me more determined to find a solution or, at the very least, stack the odds in my favour so I can make the best of a less-than-optimum situation.

Since I train/workout frequently – which means my body needs to recover in order to heal and grow – how well I sleep may determine whether I am living in a way that causes damage or promotes health.

But that’s not all. Poor sleep will affect your mood, productivity, creativity, movement, concentration, brain function, digestion, eating habits, body weight, hormone production…the list goes on.

It’s so important that it’s mind-boggling, really, how in order of significance sleep has been relegated down the pecking order for most of us.

Perhaps, like breathing, we don’t pay it attention because it is usually something that just happens naturally unless you are one of the relatively small percentage that truly has serious issues with it.

As Stevenson says, “Sleep is the force multiplier. It will magnify the results you get from your food and movement.”

In terms of physical training – and the Amazing 12 transformation program for example – getting a good night’s sleep is of paramount importance. On the Amazing 12, you train five days a week. To be able to do that, you must enable your body to recover in order to adapt. Without enough rest, your body won’t make it. It will break down. Your immune system will crumble also.

What many people don’t realise is that most of the benefits that come from training and exercise are manifested ONLY if we get the necessary sleep and rest.

So how do we start?

Firstly, let’s look at the important relationship between cortisol and melatonin. Then let’s look at another important hormone, serotonin.

Cortisol is what our body produces in response to stress, be it physical or mental. It’s vital for our survival, especially in this modern age. It generally peaks in the morning, when we rise, and diminishes as the day goes on, in readiness for the wind-down.

Our body is supposed to produce cortisol in short bursts, to deal with a stress situation. But when that stress is prolonged is when we can develop chronic illness.

The trouble is that nowadays, what with our busy lifestyles, high demands and electronic devices, we are nearly always ‘switched on’ and in stress mode.

Also, when cortisol levels are high, we eat more, consequently we store more body fat, our thyroid slows down, insulin functions less efficiently and our blood sugar goes up and down.

Conversely, melatonin, a natural hormone and regarded as the most powerful anti-cancer hormone our body can produce, increases later in the day, particularly when darkness sets in, reducing our alertness and helping us to sleep.

But here’s the crux: when cortisol is high, melatonin is low and vice versa.

So if we typically do activities at bed-time that increase stress levels, guess what that does to cortisol and our potential for sleeping well and, consequently, recovery from the demands of our lifestyles?

These ‘activities’ could range from hard exercise to, more commonly, watching television, using computers, being on our phones, eating stimulating foods and doing something that has us on high alert.

Because our bodies like to search for and adopt patterns of behaviour, breaking these habits then often proves challenging.

But a key starting point would be at pre-bedtime to slowly phase out any of these activities and replace them with actions which are less stimulating and/or more relaxing.

Read a book instead of going on social media. Meditate instead of watching television. Take a warm shower or bath. Go to bed earlier. Have sex. Get a massage. Blacken your room.

If you’re still awake at 11pm you have missed the boat that stops once every night delivering the best quality growth hormone – also known as the ‘youth hormone’ – which your body needs to repair and maintain muscle and decrease belly fat.

So where does serotonin come into the equation? Consider this: 95 per cent of serotonin is in our gut and affected by our diet. As serotonin is what helps create melatonin, the connection between diet and good sleep is obvious.

The challenge of becoming healthy and staying healthy is essentially a three-pronged affair.

Avoid: excessive sitting; eating processed foods; using electronic devices at bed-time; alcohol and coffee late in the day.

Increase/introduce: movement/exercise/resistance training; consume more fresh produce, especially vegetables; cultivate better sleep habits; spend time outdoors and try to be in contact with the ground/earth for 10 minutes a day; have regular massages.

Start gradually and make small progress in order to stay on course. Try using a sleep app like Sleep Cycle to keep track of your sleeping patterns. Good luck and remember this quote from sleep researcher, Dr William Dement: “You’re not healthy until your sleep is healthy.”