Well it’s Monday and the start of my week 2 on the Afterburn program, I saw a little progress last week, the main place that I noticed a change was the fact that I lost 1” from my belly!!  I certainly felt the effect of the workouts as well. 

I have a long way to go but it’s a great feeling to have seen progress in the 1^st week. 

This weekend was crazy, I didn’t have one normal night of sleep and I feel very fatigued today on Friday, and Sunday I just stayed up late watching TV, but on Saturday we were at a friends house for a party and didn’t get home until 2am, then having to be up early to run one of the kids to a party the next day, I know that I need to get my sleep in. 

There’s no doubt about the importance of regular and sound sleep for optimum health.  One of the benefits of regular exercise is the fact that it also helps to encourage better sleep patterns. 

By exercising there are benefits such as a reduction in stress levels that will also help you to relax more easily and this in turn will help you to sleep better. 

You should not however exercise just before going to bed as the stimulation that you get from exercise can hinder your chance of going to sleep. 

The best times to exercise are in the morning or early afternoon, for many people this is not always convenient and many people are unable to exercise any time earlier than after work. 

If this is the case then it is still best to exercise as early as possible and allow a little to unwind and relax before retiring for the night. 

As your sleep patterns become more regular from the exercise your energy levels will increase from the additional sleep and this in turn will allow you to exercise more often and for longer periods. 

With exercise and sleep complimenting one another you can make quite rapid gains in fitness and overall health provided you exercise consistently. 

If you don’t focus on getting good sleep, then there is a possibility you could wind up over training if you are exercising intensively. 

Aside from good exercise and good sleep, you must always maintain good nutrition.Nutrition also has a bearing on your ability to sleep well, so as you can see, you need balance in your life to get the most out of it. 

When any element is missing and there is something out of balance all else suffers.Even a little exercise will help a lot over a period of time, as will increasing your sleep and relaxation time. 

I know that I need to get my sleep caught up over the next few days as I don’t want to hinder my progress.