Having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night then follow these simple rules to achieve a deeper more restful nights sleep.

1. Sleep in a cave
Your room should be cool, dark, and quiet
- Cool – your room needs to be cool in order to properly fall asleep and stay in deep sleep. We all know the hazards of trying to sleep in a hot room (tossing and turning). The body needs cool at night for proper secretion of melatonin, which will than allow for proper secretion of growth hormone. With proper secretion of growth hormone the body has a chance to repair and regenerate properly, which has the added benefit of assisting your efforts to stay young and lean.
- Dark – pitch black not just dark. Having absolutely no light enter your room will assist in the melatonin secretion needed for a deep sleep, even the lowest levels or the smallest amount of light interferes with the circadian rhythms. Use shades over the window, place your alarm clock light on low (if needed) and turn away from the bed. No LED lights from televisions or other electrical equipment – keep it dark.
- Quite – a no-brainer, noise will interfere your sleep cycles and your ability to stay beautiful. If you live in a loud neighbourhood a white noise device can be used to assist sleep.

2. No electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
Implements that emit EMFs disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and serotonin, if you use these items keep them as far away from your bed as possible. This means no TV’s and computers in the bed room – keep the bedroom for sleeping and sex only.

3. Make your room soothing
Your bedroom should be a place of zen not a cortisol stimulating area of stress. Paint your walls a comfortable color (dark) you enjoy, ensure your bed has comfortable sheets and pillows that agree with you and your sleeping pattern. Keep your room clean and avoid creating a home office or junk collection area in your room, again your room is for sleep and sex only.

4. Get it off your mind
Always leave a note pad and pen on your night stand so that before you go to bed you can clear your mind of anything you need to do the following day. How many times has it happened that as you lye in bed you think of something amazing and tell yourself not to forget it in the morning – sometimes it is simply to change the laundry, but if on your mind it hampers your ability to relax into restful sleep. Clear the mind by writing your thoughts on paper before hitting the hay.

5. Calm down
If you have trouble falling asleep it might be best to try calming down and getting into a mindset of sleep before bed. Watching Rambo and Rocky (awesome as they are) before bed is not a good idea as they are to stimulating and up lifting, in order to sleep better one must be ready for sleep. Calming methods before bedtime can be; practicing light yoga (yin style), deep breathing, and reading in bed, sometimes the best thing to do is spend a short while in bed (reading or writing) to bring your busy day to a close before turning the lights off.

6. Shut down the stimulants
Caffeine, alcohol, or any other stimulant (Rambo) is sure to cause problems with restful sleep. Alcohol may originally have a calming effect, but the digestive tract is busy at work digesting the alcohol, which can cause blood sugar issues throughout the night. Caffeine should be avoided past 2-4pm in nearly all individuals as it affects the natural cortisol curve throughout the day.

7. Avoid sugary foods
As most of you know I believe this should not only be avoided before bed, but at all times. Sugary foods 1-2 hours before bed will cause a mid sleep drop in blood sugar, which will then raise the hormones cortisol, adrenaline and glucagon to regulate blood sugar. Once these hormones are released it is highly likely they will arouse awakening. If you are a person who awakens between the hours of 12-2am you might need to consider changing your last meal of the day. Focus on higher protein and fibre meals over sugary insulin secreting meals.

8. Take it easy on fluids
Every bio-sig I complete I ask questions regarding sleep quality. If you are getting up to go to the bathroom at night you are not getting quality sleep. Many times the solution is to stop guzzling water before bedtime and avoid frequent trips to the washroom. If you do need to go to the washroom be sure not to turn on all the lights as any light exposure can interfere with melatonin production.

9. Routine is the key
Try to create a routine for sleeping. Going to bed at the same time each day is key to creating a pattern of restful sleep. Try to be in bed by 10:30-11:00pm and if possible strive for 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Most people think they could only dream of getting so much sleep, but you must consider the benefits of daily energy, focus, health, and enlightenment that come with an extra hour of sleep. Try hard to get to bed one hour earlier everyday if you are short on sleep hours. Many times it is simply about creating a priority towards sleep, this may require one to turn the TV off or put work aside until tomorrow, but eh benefits outweigh the negatives.

In order to increase your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep use these 9 sleeping rules to assist you.

The Kaizen Principle

Borrowed from Japanese philosophy, this usually overlooked principle can help  you begin seeing gains every workout!

“Anyone who has been training for a long time eventually reaches a point of diminishing returns, making it difficult to produce even a five pound increase in a particular exercise.  Although the increase is only five pounds, it’s still too much.  The problem is even more pronounced - and frustrating with exercises that use smaller weights (external rot).”

“In the Japanese language the word Kaizen means “constant and never-ending improvement”.  This word is used in all aspects of Japanese life, whether it is in relationships, learning judo, or improving the balance of trade.  The point here is that the Japanese look for constant and gradual improvement.  The Japanese believe that very small refinements made on a daily basis will compound with interest to bring about in the long run progress that most people will envy.  Interestingly, there is no equivalent in English for the word Kaizen.”

” Applying the Kaizen method to weight training means that instead of making a jump of five pounds, you can make an even smaller jump (such as by just one pound), this makes the weight both physiologically and psychologically easier to handle.  Imagine if you could increase the weight for reps by half a pound a week - in one year that would be a 26 pound gain!  Gets you psyched, doesn’t it?” - Charles Poliquin

I speak of this in class often so think about it next time you are facing a heavy press or a DB ext rotation, maybe 1 pound is something to cheer about or one extra rep.

A. 4 position snatch DL + hang snatch (t) – 10 min

B. Snatch clusters x 4 @ 85-95%

C. Snatch Pulls clusters x 3 @ 90-102%

D. Back squat clusters x 4 @ 87-95%

Week #8 - Day #2

A. Clean and jerk (t) – 10 min

B. Clean and jerk clusters x 4 @ 82-92@

C. Clean pulls clusters x 3 @ 90-100%

D. Front squats clusters x 4 @ 87-95%

Week #8 - Day #3

A. Snatch balance (t) – 10 min

B. Snatch complex x 3-4 @ 75-85%

C. Clean complex x 3-4 @ 75-85%

D. Back Squats x 3-4 @ 75-80%

Week #8 - Day #4

REST

Week #8- Day #5

Max effort attempts – find a max effort Snatch and Clean and jerk.

THIS CAN BE DONE ON FRIDAY OR SATURDAY -

- take time to warm-up properly and work towards a one rep max in both the snatch and then the clean and jerk.  Do not push through pain or potential injury, at minimum play around with finding opening numbers for next weekend.

Week #8 - Day #6

- optional Sunday Group Aerobic workout

** Big thanks to everyone who attended the Movember bring a friend day yesterday at Synergy.  Huge turn out and a huge fund-raising event - thanks all.

**Reminder that next weekend is the last of the rowing seminars put on by James Mulcahy - register now as only a few spots are available.

**Lastly - the next phase of programming features a wave loading front squat program (1x/week) and a Paler method for cleans and snatches.  I look forward to all the progress in the next 5 weeks of training leading up to Christmas.  This 5 week program features two distinct phases of intensification that are sure to produce the same progress as the last program did.  Good luck all.

CrossFit WOD 2011-11-21

Rest Day for the Tiggers

WARM-UP- Coaches choice - Synergy w/u, all new movements

A. 30sec on 30sec off of the following movements for 36min;

- 95,135# deadlift, push-ups, airdyne, KB goblet squats, pull-ups, row, DB alternate press, sit-ups, airdyne

COMP TIGGERS - volume work

CrossFit WOD 2011-11-22

WARM-UP- Coaches choice - Synergy w/u,  Snatch work

A. Snatch (t) – 10 min

B. Snatch 3×5, 3×3 – every 3 min

C. 1 min DB top end burpees, 1 min push-ups, 1 min KTE – rest 2 min repeat 2-3

-a- time to build in load and focus on mechanics of the lifts.

-b- all sets are done across for the 5’s and 3’s.  Do not move up in the sets, as each week you will try to inch your way forward using the KAIZEN principle.

-c- partner up or get in groups of 3 and share DB’s.

YIN YOGA TONIGHT AT 8:00pm

CrossFit WOD 2011-11-23

Weightlifting class at 5:30pm

WARM-UP- Coaches choice - Synergy w/u, 2-3 press, 5-8 pull-ups, 10 pulls on rower x1-2.

A. 4 Press, 12 pull-ups, 45 sec row – every 6 min x 6-7 rounds

-a-use a near max 4 for press (move up and down on sets as needed - try for sets across if you know your numbers), pull-ups need to be unbroken, row at 100% effort.  The time has dropped from 8 min to 6 - try to maintain efforts across all sets.

CrossFit WOD 2011-11-24

WARM-UP- Coaches choice - Synergy w/u, front squat and pull-up warm-up sets

A1. Front squat waves @ 5.3.2 – every 3 min

A2. Pull-ups (supinated) x reps @ 3010 – 30sec after a1.

B. Row 500m – rest 3 min repeat

-a1- waves = do a set of 5, then a set of 3, and a last set of 2 at near maximal loads.  The next wave you will try to move weights up slightly on each set. We will do this every week for 5 weeks.

-a2- as many reps as possible each set - must complete a total of 30 reps across the 6 sets.

-b- score combined times (maintain for best score)

COMP TIGGERS DOUBLE DAY

A. Clean and Jerk 3×5, 3×3

B. Filthy fifty

-a- all sets done across

-b- Time limit is 35 min.

CrossFit WOD 2011-11-25

Rest day for Tiggers

WARM-UP- Coaches choice - Synergy w/u, all movements

A.”Filthy Fifty”

-a- Happy belated B-Day TODD PETERSON - Todd P turned 50 last Sunday.  Filthy Fifty = 50 Box jump, 50 20/24″ Jumping pull-ups, 50 12/16 Kettlebell swings, 50 Walking Lunge, 50 Knees to elbows, 50 35/45# Push press, 50 Back extensions, 50 16/20 Wall ball shots, 50 Burpees, 50 Double unders

CrossFit WOD 2011-11-26

WARM-UP- Coaches choice - Synergy w/u, clean work

A. Clean (t) – 10 min

B. Clean 3×5, 3×3 – every 3 min

C. 3 power cleans @ 95.135, 6 push-ups, 9 air squats AMRAP in 4 min – rest 4 min - repeat

-a-start loading and warming up in this 10min, work on mechanics

-b- all sets are done across for the 5’s and 3’s.  Do not move up in the sets, as each week you will try to inch your way forward using the KAIZEN principle.

CrossFit WOD 2011-11-27

Surprise Group Workout

Tiggers double day workout at 1:30

A. “Nutts”

- Nutts is - 10 HSPU’s, 15 175/250# DL, 25 24/30 box jumps, 50 pull-ups, 100 14/20# wallball, 200Du’s, 500m row for time

The eyeball method of creating a meal

First popularized by the creator of the Zone Diet Barry Sears the eyeball method of eating is a quick and simple method of achieving a proper macronutrient profile for meals. I use this with clients all the time when first putting together an understanding of meal selection as it is so easy to use. Unlike the zone diet I use a paleo diet food selection when creating the meal choices.

Use the steps below to put together proper portion sizes and food selections when creating your next meal.

Step #1 – Choose a protein – make the protein a soul and face protein, which means it should be from an animal source (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, seafood, eggs, etc). Choose a leaner source of meat over a processed or fatty choice (pork loin vs. bacon, chicken thighs vs. sun dried chicken luncheon meat). Select a fist sized portion of meat for your meal (clenched fist).

Step #2 – Choose a vegetable – make your vegetable selection from low starch, low glycemic index and load foods. This is when the paleo food selection lists come in handy;

Choose one or any combination of the vegetables listed above for the remainder of your plate (2-3 fist sizes). The vegetables with (*) should only be chosen once a day. Preferably for better blood sugar and insulin management (along with weight loss) one would only allow these foods in 1-3x/week. Your best choices are greens and other low glycemic index vegetable.

Step #3 – Choose a fat – this is the easy part, if your meat selection was of a higher fat content (ground beef, ribs, etc) there is no need to add fat to your meal, but if your meat selection was a lower fat meat (chicken breast, white fish, etc) then you will need to add a liberal amount of fat in some way to your meal. Choose a small portion of any of the following to add to your meal (1-4 tbsp for most)

Step #4 – Choose a fruit – once a day choose a fruit to add to your meals or as a dessert. Best choices are berries over higher carb load fruits such as bananas and pineapples. Choose a fist sized fruit for dessert once a day. If choosing a fruit for snacks always couple it with a protein or a fat source.

Eating in this simplistic manner will do most people wonders in body composition and mental acuity – look for increased energy, weight loss, and better performance in the gym by following these simple steps.

Chad