Go the Eff to Sleep, Said My Trainer

I have good news and I have bad news.  The good news is that I followed my meal plan all week thereby earning a reward of spray on tan and averting the punishment of having to pay the Tea Party.

(It’s too long to explain – just read here if you’re confused:  Reward or Punishment?)

The bad news is that I totally got called out by my trainer for not getting enough sleep.  Why, you are wondering, would a trainer care about this?  The short answer is because I’m trying to grow lean muscle mass so I can win my bodybuilding bikini pro card.

Here’s the long answer explaining that:  Most people think that they grow muscle by going to the gym and lifting heavy weights, but that’s not really accurate.  When you lift weights it actually causes tiny tears in your muscle fibers.  You make your muscle gains during your recovery time, which happens while you sleep, when the muscle fibers are repaired and grow back stronger.

The adult body typically needs 8 hours of sleep to fully recover and feel rested.  Most adults average a little more than 7 hours.  My average evening sleep?  About 4 – 6 hours.  And how, you may be asking, did my trainer know this?

Well, me posting pictures to Instagram of my friend, Obidia, and I flexing at the gym at 11 p.m. was probably a big clue.  Doh!  But it’s nice to know that she got in trouble too 🙂

When we were on a women’s bodybuilding team last year we got in trouble too because we were too busy talking on the treadmill instead of running intervals on it.  Our trainer yelled, “Quit talking and start running!” and all the other women said, “Ooooohhhhh, you guys got in trouble!!!!”

Because the gym is pretty much like a giant playground and the trainers are the frazzled teachers who have to rein in the students, call them out on their excuses, and get them to graduation day.

So last night when Obidia and I met up we made sure to get our workouts done by 9:30 p.m.  My goals for this week are to stick to my meal plan and get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.

As a preemptive reward I’ve already purchased some really cute booty shorts and a sports bra for my pole dance practices.  Wish me luck on meeting my goals – can’t wait to wear this!

As potential punishment I’ll stick with having to give the Tea Party a donation if I fail, since it worked for me.  (I’m a Progressive Democrat.)

How about you?  How much sleep do you get on average?

Lisa 😉

Lisa Traugott is a Mom’s Choice Award winning writer, fitness blogger, wife and mom of two.  Her book, “She’s Losing It!”  is available at Amazon.com.

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