Stress and Lack of Sleep Impacts Everything!

The last three nights have been sleepless, unpleasant affairs. I think its a combination of getting off my sleep schedule while I was off for Spring Break but mostly worrying about my living arrangements. I have to be out of my place by April 15th, and haven't confirmed a new place yet. This is causing some anxiety. I've always been very flexible and go with the flow, but as I get older I get less and less so. This is actually rather heartbreaking for me because I don't want to be that guy who's stuck in his ways and not able to deal with uncertainty. Definitely something I need to work on to regain that youthful openness. I'm in a wicked rut and I need to break out of it. Crossfit has definitely helped, I've met some great people and am learning to push myself harder than I ever thought I could.

So, yeah, I've been stressed and not sleeping and this came to a head in today's boot camp workout. I had a decent run on Monday, burpeepalooza run fest yesterday, so I was sore from those, but still. The last three nights of tossing and turning caught up to me and I struggled from the first exercise to the disappointing end without finishing all rounds of the wod.

Sleep deprivation is a problem affecting many in our go go society. We think sleep is wasting time rather than a key aspect of our health and yes, even our fitness. Adequate sleep has enormous benefits on all aspects of our lives, even helping with weight management. Lack of sleep increases stress and cortisol production, which directly impacts weight loss. Marks Daily Apple has a great post about the importance of sleep.

Here's the bottom line. You may have your diet totally dialed in, you may be totally hydrated, you may have your workouts locked in but if you're skimping on your sleep you're not going to reach your full potential. This can be tough with 5:30 am workouts, getting the kids to bed, chores, etc. but it is critically important to quality of life. Thinking you can make up for lost sleep on the weekend won't cut it, you've got to be consistent each and every night. So, DVR The Daily Show and Colbert Report and get yourself a full 8 hours.

Thoughts on the Halfway Point

Most anyone reading this blog knows I'm doing the I am Crossfit Challenge through Crossfit Central. We're just past the halfway mark and Coach Zach asked us to post our thoughts and progress towards our goals on his blog. Well, I can say that I'm making progress. Haven't done a pull up yet, and need to really practice that over the next 3 1/2 weeks if I want to make that goal. My pants are fitting looser, and I've lost some weight (although pounds is not the focus). Finally, I'm getting faster, I've been able to stay in the same round as the faster people in the group. Haven't kept up, but I'm not getting lapped anymore, which is nice. So, progress is being made.

The thing that sets Crossfit apart from other workout programs and gyms is that it focuses on improving your whole life, not just your fitness. I don't know if this is just what they do at Crossfit Central, or if its part of the larger Crossfit philosophy (or cult as some would call it). I appreciate the hell out of it whatever it is. The first day of I am Crossfit wasn't a gung ho, let's workout whoo hoo kind of thing. It was a very deliberate exercise in goal setting for your whole life, not just 8 weeks of working out. Yeah, that was part of it (a Magic Laser Focus Intensity), but what they really wanted us to think about was 10 years down the road, what we want to be, and how we can get there. I'm a Planner, I help cities look 10 years down the road but I've never done it for myself until that night. Now, I do have a list of goals, a larger direction for my life that I didn't have before. Crossfit is a tool to help you accomplish the goals in your life, its not the be all, end all of your life, if that makes sense.

That's what sets Crossfit apart, yeah, its a kick ass workout that is more effective than anything else I've done, but its a whole life thing, not just the one hour you're at the gym. The other thing that's different is the attitude of the coaches, they're all wicked fit, but they don't have that cockiness and 'I'm the king turd of poop mountain' you see in a lot of big box trainers. They'll kick your ass and push you harder than you thought you could be pushed, and they definitely don't take whining and excuses, but its about making you better, not boosting their own egos.

Anyway, that's thoughts for the day. I'm beat down today, the Endurance WOD yesterday (4.5 miles of 3 minutes at 80%, 1 minute 50%) and Karen today wore me out. I'm hoping it helps me sleep. Sleep has been elusive the last week or so, taking a LONG time to fall asleep. I'm working out, I'm not hitting caffeine in the afternoons, I'm eating right, so I don't know what the deal is. I guess there's some subconcious thinking happening, but I can't figure out what it is.