No Sleep= No Gains!?

Happy Sunday my Sweet Friends!

Welcome back, I know what your thinking,another meal prep today right? No.

What!? I know, plot twist ha.

I decided I needed be completely honest with you in admitting this past week has been the most difficult of my life.

For almost a week straight I opened our gym which meant 3:45 AM wake-up calls and 4:30 AM report times... I actually starting thinking, you know, flight attendants are the only people who do this. I was exhausted. I slept maybe 5 hours the whole week.

Well Brittney, you should have been going to bed earlier.

I did. And I failed to stay asleep miserably as I tossed and turned fearing, I wouldn't wake up to open the gym.

I know my body better than anyone. I have always been very in tune with my body and that is something I am proud of. I know that my deepest sleep occurs between 2-5 AM and waking up in the middle of that was rough. I am a morning person do not get me wrong but waking up at 3:45 AM is the middle of the night to me. I am also a very Type A personality. I desire routine, order, and a game plan because its makes me feel safe, it makes me feel in control. This change in schedule literally made me feel backwards, unproductive, unmotivated, and out of control. By the end of it my nerves were shot, my hormones were out of whack, I was an emotional wreck, and nauseated.

The point of this post today is not to complain about what happened but to share with you something I learned: Sleep is the most important component to your progress!

I cannot emphasize this enough. Right now, I have been going through Summer Shredding for my trip at the end of this month. This week, I continued to push with lower carbs, longer cardio sessions and hypertrophy style of training. Yet I saw no results by the end of the week. In fact, I saw increased water retention and bloating. My first thought was to be hard on my self-image but I took a step back to reevaluate what could be hindering my progress. When I considered lack of sleep it all started adding up.

Mondays for me are leg day. The day prior and the day of training legs, I increase my carbs for energy. During my session Monday, I felt incredibly weak. I hit only one PR, which was incredibly frustrating. My lack of strength continued throughout my training sessions yet I pushed as hard as I could. With a crazy schedule my metabolism was incredibly out of whack from input to output. My skin looked dry and dull. My eyes were bloodshot with dark circles framing them. My body ached, especially my legs and feet. I had more headaches throughout a week than I have had in months. I even had an anxiety attack, sitting on my couch, watching TV one night. I was a mess.

But why does this happen? Why is sleep so important? We have been hearing it our whole lives but what impact does it have on muscle gains?

Sleep is a form of recovery for your body in terms of standard functions and muscle recovery. During sleep, your body regulates hormones and testosterone levels. While you sleep HGH, or Human Growth Hormone's, output is maximized. This hormone is the biggest component in muscle growth and recovery. It is most diligently at work during the deepest part of your sleep. HGH

gives your muscles the ability to absorb amino acids from protein effectively. While you sleep, cell tissues are also being repaired and your immune system is being strengthened, which we also know has a huge part in muscle gains and fat loss. While you sleep, cortisol levels are also lowered, and lack of sleep can build up these levels which is why those who lack sleep can seem "on edge". Your glycogen stores are also affected during sleep. Glycogen stores are where your body stores fuel or glycogen, from food like carbohydrates, for later use. Lack of sleep slows the glycogen storing process down, which can lead to less "fuel" during training. These are just some of the things that happen while you sleep!

If you are doing everything right and are lacking results you may want to look at how much you are sleeping and how much of that sleep is quality sleep. I get it, sometimes we don't always get the amount of sleep we would like because life can throw us some unexpected events but we need to make sleep a priority, not only for maximized muscle gains but also for overall well-being.

Bottom line: Sleep for the Gains!

I promise to have another meal prep for you all soon. I needed to share this with you all because I never want anyone to feel the way I did the past week. Please make sleep a priority you are deserving of it! Here's to sleep! Sleep well my friends.

-xxoo Britt