GETTING BACK INTO SHAPE

Not many people hit the gym 12 months an year. It is quite natural to loose some stamina and strength during that time. However getting back to the gym after a layoff and starting right from where you left off is not a wise thing to do.
One should be cautious in his/her approach and should initially start with only say 75% of the intensity that you think you can actually perform your workout sessions at. Going full blast in the first go can actually cause harm. What this means is that during the initial days (or weeks) of a comeback, you're able to do more damage to yourself than your body can cope with. Out body adapts to the routine of an intense workout by making itself ready to recover from physical stress and also coping with the waste products that intense workout produces. when you take time off from gym, this capacity of the body decreases more in proportion to the loss in muscular strength and hence chances of not recovering are more, causing muscle damage.
This mechanism of gradually easing into your old workout schedule applies to diet also. Our body has this great adaptive mechanism in the sense that it fine tunes itself to the daily routine. Increasing your diet overnight us counter productive. The body actually adjusts itself to what your diet by producing a different array of enzymes to match what you eat. If you gradually adjust your diet, it can keep up with the changes. The idea is to trick your body into thinking that nothing's out of the ordinary by making consistent, almost imperceptible changes. If you shock it, it fights back. e.g: If you were to drastically change your diet, it is high likely that you get a bad stomach. This is the fightback mechanism of our body.


So go easy on your workout initially and when you feel your body is ready to cope with the stress, its time to go harder.

SLEEP PLUS EXERCISE

Having a good sleeping pattern and an equally good workout schedule goes a long way in boosting one's overall health. Today we will discuss how these two are interrelated, and positive effects of one on the other.

It is no surprise that after a good workout session, body is naturally tired and it helps in having a good quality sleep. Studies have shown that people who have a low daily schedule of low physical activity show a better sleeping patter when they start exercising regularly. This is primarily due to boost in the amount
of time spent in slow-wave sleep, the phase of sleep believed to be the most restorative. They also
report waking up less often during the night. Hence when they wake up, they are refreshed and more active. Also research shows that people start falling asleep faster and longer than before they has started exercising.

Also, it is a well known fact to build muscle, giving your body rest is a must to allow it to recuperate.if you aren't getting enough sleep, then proper rebuilding of your muscle is less likely to occur. It is also shown by research that consistent lack of sleep can result in over-training which impedes both performance and fitness goals.

Hence both of these are opposite sides of a coin, you need them together to have a cumulative positive effect on your body. Rather than looking for those magic supplements available in market to reach your dream physique, having a good lifestyle can actually take you places.