Want a better night's sleep? Ealing BLAST Fit owner, personal trainer and boxing coach, Matt Hirst, reveals how resistance training, and strength exercises could help.

Resistance Training

You may be going to bed early yet are still struggling to get a good night's rest. Resistance training is one solution believes Hirst.

Hirst says: "Resistance training is putting muscles under tension by contracting and relaxing under control, like lifting a glass of water to drink.

"By putting the glass to your lips you are contracting the bicep and putting the glass back onto the table through controlled extension of the tricep.

"Strength training also leads to better sleep at night as you can get a lot of bang for your buck by working multiple muscles in one go, tiring the body in the process and leaving you needing to burn calories to fully recover.

Hirst adds: "Poor quality sleep can increase the chances of high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and atherosclerosis (fatty deposits building up in arteries). Two birds with one stone.

"By combining resistance training to improve sleep we strengthen the muscles of the body to do everyday tasks with ease like; climb the stairs, carry shopping from the supermarket to the car and into the home."

Squats enage the bottom and hamstrings (credit: Meghan Holmes/Unsplash).

Strength Exercises

Through compound exercises or multiple joint exercises, you can use more than one muscle at once so more energy is used explains the Ealing personal trainer. 

Hirst says: "Two great exercises that you can do anytime anywhere are a Squat – take a kitchen chair. Start by sitting and standing 15 times.

"Learn the correct movement pattern for squat by sitting back through the heels this engages the bottom (gluteus maximus) and hamstrings, bending the knees engages the thighs (quadriceps) and lowering your bottom engages the glutes to the chair.

"When you stand you press through the heels engaging the calf muscles (gastrocnemius/solaus), as you straighten your legs the quadriceps and once standing the bottom (glutes/hamstrings) will be working.

"To increase strength and muscle endurance increase the repetitions to 25, once this target is met with ease try holding the chair and squatting. You will need to bring the reps back down to 15 and build up to 25.

"This is called progressive overload."

Hirst continues: "Press up or Push up. This involves lying on your front placing your hands underneath your shoulders, pulling your feet up so you are bending your toes then lifting your body off the floor.

"This can be done on the knees or knees off the ground depending on current strength levels. 

"Try doing 8-12 repetitions then increase to 15-25."

To find out more about resistance training, strength exercises and BLAST Fit, click here

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