Train hard and eat a lot. It was long the panacea to grow to the maximum, and it is to some extent still. What has changed in recent years is the focus on the rest between workouts. Mike Mentzer, Dorian Yates and other proponents of high intensity training is largely paved the way for the understanding of the importance of rest has become increasingly widespread among bodybuilders in general. Contrary to many previously thought, and perhaps still today believe, as you grow not actually at the gym. It is during rest periods outside the gym as growth occurs. With that in mind, it is not so difficult to understand why so many successful builders to measure the rest of the important role that they do. To sleep is the most important part of the rest seems natural for most people. What you may not know is that there is a specific phase of sleep that are especially interesting for those who train. This phase is known as deep sleep or slow wave sleep. Deep sleep is important for body builders of a number of reasons:
1st The secretion of growth hormone reaches its absolute peak. [1]
2nd The blood supply to muscles increases, which facilitates recovery.
3rd The immune system is strengthened.
4th The metabolism is at the bottom. This opens up opportunities for growth.
5th Body temperature is lowered, thereby saving energy. [2]
All these factors contribute to increased muscle growth. The high secretion of growth in particular is a very appealing aspect of deep sleep. The word for growth hormone of many thoughts to abuse, and also unhealthy for that matter, doping. And you could actually say that deep sleep is a kind of body’s own “dopningkur”, when your muscles grow like the most. With the slight difference from conventional doping because it is a completely natural and harmless stage. Another positive effect of deep sleep is that it prevents burnout, something that is not too bad in today’s society with bolted sick leave. [3] With this in mind, of course, that bodybuilders seek to maximize the amount of deep sleep per day. An important part is to ensure that your sleep will not be interrupted. An uninterrupted night’s sleep it conferred significantly greater ability to reach deep sleep stage. The length of sleep need not be conclusive, but depends on the individual’s specific needs. Requires you ten hours to become fully rested, slept ten; requires you only seven, seven were sleeping. The important thing is who said that you sleep enough for your needs and that you ensure that your sleep will not be interrupted. Getting enough sleep is also the alpha and omega for a healthy immune system. A new study shows that men such as after a flu jab only slept four hours in four nights in a row, on average, produced half as many antibodies as the control group. [4]
A nightcap before bedtime is not recommended. Alcohol certainly has proven to expedite the onset of sleep, that is the entrance into the first phase of sleep during which they can easily be awakened. The only problem is that alcohol has the side-effect that it instead takes away much of the deeper sleep stages (read: REM sleep and deep sleep). As already mentioned, especially deep sleep center for muscle recovery and growth, so you should seriously that provides training to avoid alcohol in the maximum extent possible. The alcohol also lowers testosterone levels is just one more reason to be moderate in their consumption. New research also shows that there are other effective ways to increase their daily dose of deep sleep. If you have time for a nap at some point during the day, this is a very efficient way to facilitate recovery and increase muscle growth. Very many athletes, not just bodybuilders, have the habit of a nap during the day. Without perhaps always know why, they feel that this improves their exercise performance and recovery.
The need for a siesta varies with the intensity of his workouts. This may indicate that the body is “asking for” more deep sleep during times when it is exposed to physical stress. Yet another reason to repeat the old kroppsbyggarmantrat “listen to your body.” Another interesting point to note with the athlete naps in general is that they rarely are of the very short battle. It is usually supposed to often be told that a “power nap” of 10-15 minutes is ideal to avoid sleepiness after sleep. Still, most athletes choose to sleep all the way up to an hour, how can it be? The answer perhaps lies in the results arrived at a new study. It turned out that the amount of deep sleep, and even REM sleep (which is also important for recovery), was four times higher when a nap in an hour compared to one in half an hour. It also found that if you slept for a nap in an hour so we got a lot more deep sleep over the whole day, compared to if you did not. [5] Moreover, studies show that neither the Power Naps (about 20 minutes) or longer siesta seems THEATRICAL sleep to any significant extent. [6] It appears with and words that a siesta in the best Spanish style is clearly preferable to a conventional power nap from a muskelbyggarperspektiv. Council to you that hard training will be to seize every opportunity for a great muscle building siesta. And what could be more fitting than to end the article with a quote from Thierry Paquots highly readable book “The Art of the Siesta”:
I Have to admit, Confess and even proclaim thats the siesta is a high point in an art of living – yes, an art of living! – That Should Be defended, popularized and practised with bothering joy and solemnity.
