"Sleep, Data" Fitness advice from the Borg

The famous not so famous words of Jean-Luc Picard - as Locutous of Borg happen to be some of the best words for those of us desiring to look phit and phab!

But why?

Well, sleep helps you keep looking good for all kinds of reasons. It keeps you functioning well because your body really does need the sleep the doctors have been telling you about. But for weight loss (or looking phab) it's just straight out because you NEED the ENERGY.

Any normal person when they've had enough rest has a bit of jitter in them (normal jittering - not caffeine induced). However, when you don't have enough sleep, you don't move. You spend all day essentially conserving energy because you're tired. When you have enough sleep THEN your body uses up your energy. Very cool, isn't it? (yes, scientific study showed this).

Another reason for sleep is the energy you have to work out with. You know it - if you don't have the right rest - you don't hit your workout full force. And you also know that there's a BIG difference between hitting that workout with enthusiasm and vigor rather than just dragging your butt into whatever workout you're going to do.

So, even if you take no other advice from a Borg, take this advice. SLEEP.

Exercise before bed - Phit and Phinish!

I know - you think I'm CRAZY! You're right! Crazy to be PHABULOUS. And if you want to be, you can too. So, what kind of exercise? The kind that keeps burning calories while you sleep! What's that you say? Burn calories while you sleep? You're high! NO! I'm not! And what is this miracle exercise?

Well... it's not "an" exercise. It is SEVERAL. Anything that builds muscle! Crunches, squats, pushups. But here's the secret. Don't do big routines - do one exercise till exhaustion. Fatigue yourself. Then, if you need to take a shower. Go to bed. Let your body rest - build muscle and burn calories and fat! Trust me, you'll be phit sooner than you think!

And, for you married type couples, there is a GREAT exercise that you can do before going to sleep too. :-D And guys, one particular variant is a killer ab workout that makes my abs burn every time.

Work - Workout

You don't always have to go to the gym to get a workout. Get one right in your cube - especially your abs! Seriously. Try this. Take a deep breath, then blow it all the way out, even using your abs to get every last oxygen atom out. Then, hold your tummy there and squeeze for 2-5 seconds. Do that a few times every 30 minutes and you'll have a pretty good ab starter workout for the day.

And remember - tight abs make you feel uncomfortable if you eat to much - so their helping you with that appetite too!

Phab Phitness - The importance of abs

Hey Phitties!

This is a critical one for you while you're trying to get phit - do your abs! Yes, there are a bunch of reasons to work your abs, many of which I'll cover a different time. For now I'm going to tell you one that is a little thought of secret - it keeps you from eating!

"Huh?" you say. "Really!" I say! "But why?" you ask, "is abdominal work an appetite suppressant?" No! Not as in a chemical one anyway :-) But it does help! Here's the deal - especially when you first start and your abs feel the burn. During the day as your stomach gets stretched in the normal course of eating - you feel it. Your tummy will even hurt - not in a stomach ache kind of way - but in a "HEY!! You're stretching me out!" kind of way. Ironically, you may even feel kind of bloated - even though you're not anymore than usual. And, you could even wonder why your pants feel tight - only to go and check them and find out they aren't! It's your abdominal muscles my phab one! They're working for you!

Now here's the even cooler thing - it's mentally re-enforcing your work too! It's giving your brain signals, and you start thinking - "man, I'm not having that bag of M&M's because I'm not going to undo this!" Watch and see - you'll know it's true!

Tomorrow my Phitties!

- PhillyMac