I’m also pleased to announce the hiring of a “first” employee to help out at Maki Performance Training. 

Here’s his bio.

With over a decade of physical fitness experience, BCRPA personal trainer, Wayne Litz, understands what it takes to get results. He has served time as an officer in the Canadian Forces training new recruits, and he worked with the US military following the tragic events of 9/11. Wayne has extensive competitive fighting experience as both an amateur, and a professional boxer. He has also worked in the private security field, doing VIP protection for clients such as Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Ice Cube. Wayne specializes in strength and conditioning. In his spare time he enjoys working out, running and training in mixed martial arts.

As mentioned in my last newsletter, I was featured on Shaw TV’s Channel 4. Here’s the footage that was aired last month.

The Art Of Napping - Part I


Two Generations Taking a Nap

“A day without a nap is a day wasted”

It's 1:00 pm. A yawn gets stifled, my eyelids grow heavy, my shoulders droop, and soon I'm drifting off to a place where the grass is green and the skies are blue. It's naptime for me. There's nothing quite like an afternoon snooze to rejuvenate the mind, and, most importantly, the body.  North America may be a ‘productive’ society, but, unfortunately, our overly regulated routines have somehow neglected the napping art.

There are many of us who are not people of the siesta, unlike some Latin Americans and Europeans who view 10-30 minutes of shut-eye in mid-afternoon as a worthwhile tradition. In Mexico and in Greece it's customary to close shop sometime after high noon so shopkeepers can catch a few ZZZs. Not only is napping a practice in many countries, but some of the world’s most influential leaders have been known to practice this custom. While leading a victorious campaign during the Battle of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill took naps. His Italian enemy, Benito Mussolini, also napped, however, it is said to have cost him the war. Napoleon Bonaparte, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and John F. Kennedy have also have been in the ranks of notable nappers (all of them napping, of course, for the benefit of the nation). Seven-time Tour De France winner, Lance Armstrong, napped his way to the podium. His coach, Chris Carmichael says that these "naps were critical” in his overall training plan.

Despite a history of positive views, many today still frown upon this sleep tradition because most of the western world tends to associate napping with lethargy and non-productivity. However times are changing, and there’s now a North American group called the World Nap Organization which proclaims itself as "the nap lobby —an unabashed special interest group devoted to battling negative images of the blissful practice of nap-taking."

The napping art is staging a comeback. The evidence is mounting, and our day-to-day lifestyles are reinforcing the notion that napping does the body good.

If you’re a student, you’re usually up at the crack of dawn, ready to hit class and to get down to learning. You’ve made your meals for the day, head off to train, study, and then hit the sack. If a student is lucky they’ll usually get 6 hours of quality sleep a night. If you’re a college athlete, you’ll have mandatory practices, games, training sessions and course-work. For those of you in the work force who put in an 8-15 hour day, 5-6 days a week combined with several intense training sessions a each week ... well you get the idea ... sleep is a luxury.

For a female, if it’s that time-of-month sleep can become compromised, usually for the duration of the cycle. And, let’s not forget stay-at-home moms and dads (hey, it’s a liberated era) - sleepless nights from attending to a newborn. Did you know that this results in 400-750 hours of lost sleep for parents in the first year? Running the kids to soccer practice and ballet, cooking dinner, and house chores can take quite the toll on the body.

When it comes to making progress in the gym, people take into account their training, nutrition, and supplementation. They spend hours tweaking their routines, finding the right performance-boosting supplements, and making sure, as they prepare and cook their meals, that they are eating the right foods at the right time of day. Unfortunately, it’s the need for quantity and quality of sleep that is often overlooked in a trainee’s routine. Sleeping eight hours a day is not always enough and, even then, the quality may be poor.

The next time you’re in the local Barnes & Nobles or Chapters, browse through the “fitness” and “exercise” section. Notice how many books have been written on the topic of strength training, supplements, and nutrition. Then look at how many have been dedicated to getting a good night’s sleep, or talk about the quality of sleep and its effect on the body in relation to strength training.


If you’re lucky, you might find a chapter somewhere that touches briefly on the subject. The impact sleep has on overall health, body composition, performance, and recovery means that it should rank high on any list of strength-training priorities. It is also equally important that people realize why a nap can do the body good - even after a full 8 hours of sleep a night.

Did You Know?

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) reports that:
The average adult sleeps under 7 hours a night during a workweek.

33% of adults surveyed sleep only 6 1/2 hours nightly.

40% of adults admit that the quality of their work suffers when they're sleepy.

68% say their ability to concentrate is diminished by sleepiness.

19% report making mistakes and errors due to sleepiness.
Sleepy drivers cause approximately 100,000 car crashes annually.

33% of adults surveyed would nap at work, if allowed.

Sleep can be defined as an anabolic state since it increases the process of growth and contributes to the restoration of the immune, nervous, and muscular systems. It is also responsible for maintaining normal levels of cognitive skills such as speech, memory, innovative, and flexible thinking. In other words, sleep is an essential part of life. The world record for the longest period without sleep is 11 days, set by Randy Gardner in 1965. It’s up there with all those other body-abusing milestones, such as denying the body food and water for long periods of time.

To be continued…….



Nutrition Tip:

Simply Spinach
For many, lettuce is a salad's main ingredient. However, if you're looking to boost the nutritional value of your salad, the next time you're grocery  shopping try picking up some spinach instead of the lettuce.
Packed with large amounts of the antioxidant beta-carotene as well as the even more powerful carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, spinach has strong and proven anti-cancer benefits. Spinach leaves are also rich in vitamin C and E, which are antioxidants.


Training Tip:

 

Astrid Desouza ACSM Clinical Exercise Specialist BC Children's Hospital

Powerful Quote


“Emotion is what gets people to shut up and stop making excuses. It gets them to become active and start on the road to a happier and healthier life.”

--Unknown


Business and Class Updates

If you have any suggestions for a specialty class you’d like to see offered, please drop me an email.

Here are the dates for some upcoming classes:

May 3rd 2008 – Maki Fit

Maki Fit: Small groups and intense workouts. Take your physical conditioning to
the next level.


April 22nd 2008 – Fitness Boot Camp 6AM Session


May 12th 2008 – Fitness Boot Camp 7PM Session

Fitness Boot Camp: This isn't any ordinary boot camp. If you're up for a challenge   
you'll love fitness boot camp!


2008 – Awesome Abs Class (date to be announced)

Awesome Abs: Learn over 50 abdominal exercises you can use to strengthen your    
core!

Coming Soon – Spinning

Spinning: Spinning is an aerobic exercise that takes place on a specially designed   
stationary bicycle called (obviously enough) a spinning bike. Spinning burns serious
calories (about 450 in 45 minutes) and offers an awesome aerobic workout that makes
your heart pump fast.

Coming Soon – Kettle Bell Conditioning Class

Kettle Bell Conditioning: Add some variety into your workout life and learn how to
use kettle bells to get faster results.


Until next time,

Maki Riddington
http://www.dynamicconditioning.ca