We’ve discovered through the wonders of Twitter that Monday – the mother of all bad days – is officially known as #BenchDay, the 24-hour period in which fitness fanatics and bodybuilders heft insane amounts of weight repeated times through the power of their rippling upper bodies.
Inevitably, some of these steel-chested workout fiends will have a bad day. It’s a problem nearly every athlete faces. One day we’re unstoppable; no weight, defender or distraction can stand in our way. Then, out of the blue, we meet our kryptonite. We can’t lift. We can react to a defender. We can’t seem to focus.
Nothing like a little bench press on Monday morning.
Bedroom Basics: With Less Winks Your Max Stinks
Weightlifters, we’ve got news for you. Bad sleep = bad max bench.
The researchers over at Fatigue Science have discovered that your max bench can drop as much as 20 pounds after four nights of bad sleep.
Your muscles, joints and brain need sleep in order to repair themselves. Gunning for your max bench after a few nights of terrible sleep is like trying to drive cross-country with just a few drop oil in your car. Eventually, things are going to seize up and it’s not going to be pretty.
Two Tips For Better Results
You don’t have to start your week feeling weak: Take a 20-30 minute nap before your workouts. Studies prove that these little bursts of sleep can boost your alertness, increase your reaction time and prolong your body’s ability to perform under stress — the kind of stress that comes with sweating, straining and screaming your way to your best bench press yet.
A photo of 1977 Mr. America Roger Callard spotting a certain Austrian bodybuilder.
Also, make it a priority to sleep at least eight hours a night. Solid sleep is key factor in your body’s ability to endure physical stress. Just a few consecutive nights of poor sleep will make your body reach the point of exhaustion 10% faster.
Imagine those last six minutes of an hour-long workout. You’re straining, you’re pressing, you’re pushing for your goal. Those final minutes don’t have to be torturous. Be intentional about your sleep and you’ll start to see some pretty amazing results.