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Some weeks are just perfect, the end of this cycle and the start of a new Spring Training cycle always hits perfectly EVEN during the week of SPRING FORWARD day light savings time when early mornings hit a little different Check this out:
This is especially helpful for those of you who like to get your workouts done first thing in the morning. Here are some lessons I learned from previous years and what I did this week:
1 – Pre-Schedule the Week – A week before you “spring forward,” start your day 30 minutes earlier. Get to the gym 30 minutes before your normal start time to start the acclimation process one week in advance. This way, you take two weeks to get used to the hour change in the schedule. You will be surprised at how much easier this is. For me, my normal wake-up time is 5:30 am, with a 6 am workout start. The 5:30 start time for the workout felt normal.
2 – Go Later 30 minutes if Possible – If you missed the week to start the process of getting used to the time change, try bumping your morning by 30-minutes if possible the week after you change the clocks. This helps me make a 6 am workout start “feel like” a 5:30 am start rather than a 5 am start. After a week, you can start at your normal 6 am time. Once again, the process of taking two weeks to adjust to the time change rather than a single week.
3 – Select Your Workouts Wisely – Pick your favorite workouts this week. Workouts that you do not need to think about, as they feel normal. Add an extra Mobility Day into your week to help with recovery. My personal favorite is the pyramid workout option, as you can adjust effort and intensity each set. Check out all the ways you can use the pyramid this week as warmups, resistance and cardio workouts, and cooldowns. Or you can do your favorite easy cardio, group training, or lift workout. Up to you. See ideas at the Military.com Fitness Section for hundreds of options.
4 – Consider a Deload Week – This is the perfect week to structure a deload into your week. This means reducing the time, intensity, reps in resistance training, miles in cardio, and weight on your lifts. Over twelve weeks ago, I planned for the last week of our Winter Lift Cycle to end this week. This is a scheduled deload at the end of the lift cycle as we recover for a week to test our max lifts the following week.
5 – Sleep Better Avoid Injury Risk – Did you know that the less you sleep, the greater injury risk you create for yourself? This study shows that reduced sleep duration or disrupted sleep over time leads to more injuries. Whether you feel like it or not, go to bed even though it feels an hour earlier. Start your sleep rituals what feels like an hour earlier and try to avoid staying up to what “feels” like your normal bedtime. This is how we lose that hour of sleep each night this week.
Nap if Possible – If your schedule allows, take a quick 20-30 minute nap in the middle of the day. Sometimes forcing yourself to just sit quietly for 20-30 minutes is all you need to do. If you fall asleep for a few minutes, you need it. If you do not, you get some quiet time, and that always helps with mental health and creative productivity when you get back to work.
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