If I told you by making one simple tweak in your life, you could see the following:
[+] Faster strength gains - your KBs start feeling lighter and you’re lifting heavier bells
[+] More muscle mass - tighter shirt sleeves and here stronger shoulders
[+] Lowered body fat - looser pants
[+] Higher energy - say goodbye to the 2pm crash and the need for coffee or an energy drink
[+] Lower stress, anxiety, and even negative thoughts - and greater peace
[+] Less hunger - and less desire for junk food and other cravings
[+] Less decision fatigue and feeling overwhelmed and more calm, collected, coolheadedness
Would you try it?
And no, it’s not taking the latest “magic supplement.”
And no, it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg.
In fact, financially, it costs you zero.
What is this Deep Magic?
SLEEP.
Now before you brush me off and say you don’t need more sleep, here’s what the research says happens to you when you get less than 7 hours of sleep each night.
Whether you know it or not, like it or not, or agree with it or not, you expose yourself to the following:
1- Reduced cognitive function (including memory problems, decreased concentration, and impaired decision-making).
2- Metabolic dysregulation (including insulin resistance and increased risk of type 2 diabetes)
3- Weakened immune function (increasing susceptibility to infections).
4- Mental health issues (including increased risk of depression and anxiety)
5- Hormonal disruption:
Poor sleep changes key hormones involved in appetite regulation, particularly increasing ghrelin (hunger hormone) and lowering leptin (satiety hormone).6- Insulin resistance:
Sleep loss reduces insulin sensitivity, encouraging fat storage, especially visceral fat.7- Increased caloric intake:
Sleep-deprived individuals tend to consume higher calories, particularly from high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods.8- Reduced energy expenditure:
Sleep loss may reduce physical activity and non-exercise activity thermogenesis.9- Impaired protein synthesis:
Sleep deprivation weakens the body's ability to create and repair muscle tissue.10- Increased cortisol:
Poor sleep raises stress hormone levels, which can promote muscle catabolism (breakdown).11- Lowered testosterone:
Sleep loss diminishes testosterone levels in men, hindering muscle maintenance and growth.12- Hampered recovery:
Insufficient sleep obstructs post-exercise recovery and adaptation.So, as you can see , while your workouts are essential to stimulate the change you want…
Without enough sleep, you won’t entirely see those changes because you can’t recover properly.
How much sleep do you actually need?
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society:
7 to 9 hours a night.
REMEMBER :
It’s not how hard or how often you workout that drives results. It’s how well you restore from those workouts that yields results.That’s why I usually recommend the majority of guys train 3 days a week, for 20 to 30 minutes a day.
At most, 3 days a week for up to 60 minutes if your recovery is optimal and you’re getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
And improve their sleep in the meantime.
If you’re not sure what the best kettlebell workout plans are for 3 days a week, I recommend you try ones that:
[a] Simultaneously “recomp” you - get you stronger, leaner, and more muscular at the same time
[b] Improve your conditioning along the way
[c] Reduce the mental friction of finding the “perfect program”
I leave links to my best programs that will help you sleep like a baby in the description below.
At the end of the day, efficient workouts are important.
But sleeping enough - 7 to 9 hours a night - is like the “cheat code” for the overworked , overwhelmed , Modern Man to get results.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert