The Biggest Difference Maker for Building Muscle
August 31, 2022 | Words by Gabe Yanez
If You Don’t Snooze, You’ll Lose
If you’ve missed any of the previous #GetBig write-ups in this series, you can catch them here:
If you’re trying to #GetBig, there’s one thing that’s arguably more important than your training or nutrition.
That one thing is sleep.
Effort Sleep Over Everything
If your goal is to put on lean muscle or improve your body composition, your training and eating will play a significant role in determining your progress. But there’s one other thing that plays a crucial part — your sleep.
Studies have shown that sleep quality will impact not just muscle strength, but muscle hypertrophy as well. A single night of sleep deprivation can induce anabolic resistance, which is fancy science talk for “bye-bye gains.”
Skimping on your sleep is the opposite of #GetBig.
Even if you aren’t necessarily trying to add muscle, lack of quality sleep can lead to unwanted fat gain, which isn’t the type of #GetBig any of us are looking for. Research has shown that, on average, individuals who get less than 7 hours of sleep per night are significantly more likely to experience unwanted weight gain.
One of the reasons this is so common is because sleep deprivation will mess with your hormones, which usually result in cravings and hunger queues that make it difficult for someone to regulate their diet in a way that is conducive to a lean physique.
What it boils down to is that even if you train hard, follow the perfect hypertrophy program (on the NCFIT App, of course), and get all the quality protein and carbs you need but you don’t get enough sleep, then you simply won’t #GetBig.
One Thing to Try This Week
The NCMETCON Olympic lifting cycle on the NCFIT App starts next week. It’s the exact programming Jason himself will use as he trains for the Rogue Invitational in October.
The Cali Bear will be making sure he gets plenty of sleep so he can get fit, #GetBig, and look his absolute best when he hits the floor. So should you!
Set a goal to establish a consistent sleep schedule this week. For both weekdays and weekends, figure out a reasonable time to go to bed and wake up that helps you get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
Consistency is one of the most important things you can do to improve your sleep quality. Dial in your sleep schedule this week and then use that as your baseline over the next couple of months as you follow the NCMETCON Olympic lifting cycle on the NCFIT App.
You’ll be surprised by how good you’ll feel and look.
It’s time to #GetBig! LET’S GO!
