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Want to get strong like these LEGO lifters but don’t how to start?

In this Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training (part of our Strength 101 series), you’ll have both the confidence to start getting strong with resistance training AND a plan to follow.

These are the exact strategies we use with our Online Coaching Clients to help them start strength training, and I’m excited to cover everything you need.

Let us help you start strength training! Learn more:

We’ll be digging into the following:

• How do I start strength training or resistance training?
• What are some examples of strength training?
• Which strength training program is right for me?
• 5 best strength training workouts for beginners.
• How much weight should I lift?
• The 9 best strength training exercises.
• How to know you’re doing an exercise properly (form checks)
• Strength training for weight loss.
• “Just TELL ME what strength program I should do.”

By the way, we’ve combined this article along with the rest of our strength articles into a “Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know” guide.

Grab it free when you join the Rebellion by putting your email in the box below.

How Do I Start Strength Training?

Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.

You’ll look back years from now and thank “Past You” for starting strength training today.

And I promise, you WILL strength train today.

After all, strength training or resistance training doesn’t need to be scary or overcomplicated!

Strength training really comes down to two things:

#1) Movement of any weight against “resistance”(including your body weight) – Doing ANY exercise that pushes your muscles outside of their comfort zone, forcing them to rebuild stronger to prepare for the next challenge.

#2) Progressive overload: doing slightly more than last time (lift heavier weight or do 1 more rep) consistently. Your muscles will constantly have to adapt and rebuild themselves. These microscopic tears (that don’t hurt) force your muscles to go through hypertrophy, meaning they grow bigger and stronger so they can meet the demands of the exercise.^[1]

Coach Jim explains the ins and outs of progressive overload in this video:

That’s all there is to it: do some resistance training and attempt to make it more and more challenging, and you’ll grow stronger.^[2]

• This means if you drop down and do ONE knee push-up right now, technically you’ve done a strength training workout.
• It also means if you then do TWO knee push-ups tomorrow, then you are officially following a strength training routine.

In other words…

Now, there are many different “strength training” and “resistance training” paths.

Like a “skill tree” in a video game (with branching paths and progressions), you can progress up one path, and mix and match movements from others depending on the situation.

These paths depend on your goals and what equipment you have available to you.

What Are Some Examples of Strength Training?

Let’s chat about a few different types of strength training.

#1) BODYWEIGHT TRAINING

Bodyweight training is simply doing an exercise in which your own body is the “weight” you are “lifting.”

Duh.

This is the BEST place for anybody – regardless of weight or age – to start their strength training journey.

Why is this the best place to start? Two big reasons:

A) You always have your body with you (unless you are a ghost, in which case, this is awkward). This means you can work out ANYWHERE with bodyweight training:

• Our Beginner Bodyweight Workout Routine in your living room.
• Our Hotel Workout in a hotel (obvi).
• Our Park Workout in a…well, you get the point.

B) Using your body for resistance training is the most “human” thing ever! By learning to push and pull and hang and squat and lunge, you are doing what your body is literally designed to do.

By getting strong with bodyweight movements, you’re making yourself antifragile and less injury-prone.

Now, it’s SCIENCE TIME!

While learning the movements with bodyweight exercises, you are allowing for proper communication to develop between your neuromuscular systems.

More efficient communication between your neuromuscular systems will result in something known as “proper motor unit recruitment.”

You may be asking yourself: what is a motor unit?

That’s okay because I was asking myself this same question.

A motor unit is a single motor neuron and the muscle fibers it innervates.

You can think of two different types of motor units:^[3]

• We all have small motor units, meaning that a single motor neuron innervates relatively few muscle fibers, and these smaller motor units are good for precise and detailed movements (e.g., moving your fingers).
• We all also have large motor units, meaning that a single motor neuron innervates hundreds of muscle fibers, and these larger motor units are good for generating a lot of force (e.g., getting larger muscle groups like the quads to generate a lot of force to help in sprinting).

When you start strength training, you really are helping your muscles communicate better together.^[4] This is why we recommend starting with bodyweight exercises, to help start this process.

However, bodyweight training isn’t as easy to ‘scale’ the difficulty as some of the other strength training methods (“put more weight on barbell”), but you can get REALLY strong with just bodyweight training.

For example, you can start with knee push-ups, then go to regular push-ups, then elevated push-ups, then even up to things like handstands and handstand push-ups.

You just have to know HOW and WHEN to scale up (we can help there too).

Let us create a bodyweight training program for you!

#2) DUMBBELL TRAINING

Dumbbells are a great first step into the world of weight training and strength training:

1. Most gyms will have dumbbells, even if it’s a basic gym in your apartment complex.
2. A set of dumbbells doesn’t take up a lot of room, which means you can have a pair at home without a large footprint.
3. Dumbbells make it easy to add difficulty to a bodyweight movement: holding dumbbells while doing lunges, for example.
4. Dumbbell exercises can be less intimidating than barbell training for some, and are a step towards barbell training.
5. Dumbbells have an added stabilization challenge,^[4] and will point out muscle imbalances pretty easily (“oh my right arm is stronger than my left arm.”).
6. Dumbbells allow for single-arm and single-leg exercises to be performed. This can allow you to strengthen any muscle imbalances and can come in handy especially after an injury.
7. You can scale easily. Once the 10-pound weights become too easy, pick up the 15-pound ones!

#3) KETTLEBELL TRAINING

A kettlebell is essentially a cannonball with a handle on it. They come in any weight imaginable, don’t take up a lot of room, and can be used in dozens of ways for a great compact workout.

Our 20-minute kettlebell workout has 8 simple exercises you can do with just one weight.

Although there are “adjustable kettlebells,” you’ll most likely be working with a single kettlebell, and then adjusting your movements for “progressive overload” (making the workout slightly more difficult each time).

If you are a member of a gym, they’ll probably have multiple kettlebells that you can use to level up.

#4) BARBELL TRAINING

Regardless of sex or gender age, if your goal is to get strong quickly, use 20 seconds of courage and get comfortable training with a barbell (I’ll help you, I promise):

1. “Progressive overload” is easy – you simply add weights to either side of the bar, allowing you to progressively lift more and more weight each week.
2. It’s much easier to go heavy safely – especially for lower body movements like the squat and the deadlift.

The biggest downside to barbell training is that in order to train at home, you need to have purchased a squat rack, a barbell, a bench, and enough weights for your house or garage (which can be an expensive investment, especially when starting out!).

If not, you definitely will need to join a gym.

WHICH RESISTANCE TRAINING PATH IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Not sure which path to pick? You’re not alone – this stuff can be overwhelming. Check out our 1-on-1 Coaching Program. We get to know you and your goals, will check your form via video, and make adjustments based on your progress!

Let us build a strength training workout for you that fits your busy life! Learn more:

Which Strength Training Program is Right for Me?

So, what’s the best workout program to start as a beginner?

Realistically, it’s the one that you will ACTUALLY do.

Barbell training might be optimal in terms of building pure strength quickly, but if you don’t see yourself getting to the gym regularly – or you’re too self-conscious to enter the free weight section (for now) – no problem!

Start with bodyweight training.^[5]

Conversely, bodyweight training might seem convenient and easy to start now, but if you can’t motivate yourself to work out at home, you might be better off joining a gym.^[6]

So let’s get you a workout program!

As we cover in our “How to Find the Perfect Workout Plan (for you)”: MOST beginners will be best served by following a “full-body” or “total body” routine, 2 to 3 times per week, with a day of rest in between each workout.^[7]

This full-body workout will have 4-5 big compound movements.

A compound movement is an exercise that recruits LOTS of muscles simultaneously and forces your body to work in unison. These compound exercises are considered multi-joint exercises meaning that they involve more than a single muscle group.^[8]

An example would be the barbell squat, which recruits every muscle in your core, butt, and legs to work together to lift the weight.

This is WAY more efficient – and effective at building pure strength – than doing 5 different isolated leg exercises.^[9]

Why do 5 exercises when 1 exercise will get you better results in 20% of the time?

To answer your next question, let me tell you about how many sets and reps you should do as a beginner!

As we explain in our “How Many Sets and Reps” guide:

• Reps in the 1-5 range build super dense muscle and strength.
• Reps in the 6-12 range build equal amounts of muscular power, strength, and size.
• Reps in the 12+ range primarily build muscular endurance and size and also cardiovascular health.^[10]

If you want more, Coach Jim breaks down different set and rep ranges in this video:

Many beginner strength programs will encourage you to keep things simple, doing just 5 sets of 5 reps for each exercise.

Personally, I encourage people to aim for a weight that they can lift for 8-10 reps. This gives you a chance to really work on your form and lift safely!

The max lifts will come later, my friend. You gotta learn to walk before you can run!

“Staci, which workout plan is best for me?” 

It depends on your goals!

If your main goal is general fitness and fat loss, doing a circuit training workout will likely help you reach your goals (make sure you see our section below for “strength training for weight loss”).^[11]

If your main goal is to get stronger and/or put on muscle, following a more traditional, pure-strength-style gym workout is going to get you there faster.

TRUTH BOMB: ANY strength training workout will help you reach nearly any goal provided you do two things:

1. Eat correctly for your goals too. How you eat will account for 80-90% of your success or failure when it comes to weight loss or bulking up.^[12]
2. Increase the difficulty of your workouts. This is that “progressive overload” stuff we were talking about earlier. Doing 1 more bodyweight squat, lifting 5 more pounds, or completing your circuit 10 seconds faster than last workout. By forcing your body to constantly adapt, your muscles will never get complacent and have to keep burning extra calories and rebuilding themselves stronger.

Depending on your current situation, and how quickly you’re looking to cut through the “trial and error” and get expert guidance, I might have an interesting solution for you.

We have a pretty killer 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program here at Nerd Fitness. You’ll work with a coach that will build a workout program for your body type and goals, check your form to make sure you’re doing them safety, and even help plan out your nutrition too.

We help busy people transform from newbies to strong badasses! Learn more:

The 5 Best Beginner Strength Training Programs

“Alright Staci, are there any ‘out of the box’ beginner workout programs I can start following now?”

Yup! Let me share with you some of our suggestions:

Here are 5 resistance training workouts you can follow TODAY. Pick the level that you feel most comfortable with, and then level up when you feel ready:

#1) BEGINNER BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT:

Our Beginner Bodyweight Workout has a variety of rep ranges to promote endurance, strength, and cardiovascular health.

Complete one set of each exercise and then moving directly to the next exercise:

• 20 bodyweight squats
• 10 push-ups
• 20 walking lunges
• 10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug)
• 15-second plank
• 30 Jumping Jacks
• Repeat for 3 rounds

Want to stick with bodyweight training? When you’re ready to level up, check out our advanced bodyweight training circuit.^[13]

Otherwise, you can move onto weight training when you feel comfortable!

#2A) BEGINNER NERD FITNESS DUMBBELL WORKOUT

If you are just getting started with dumbbells and you’re looking for a beginner workout program to follow, this is our Level 3 Gym Workout, “Dumbbell Division”:

• 10 goblet squats
• 10 push-ups
• 10 dumbbell rows per side

I knew you’d ask, so here is a Goblet Squat video explanation (from Nerd Fitness Prime):

And here is our video on how to do dumbbell rows:

#2B) BEGINNER NERD FITNESS KETTLEBELL WORKOUT

Our Beginner Kettlebell Routine is a workout you do anywhere you have room to swing a kettlebell.

So, probably not in a phone booth or a closet or a bathroom stall. But other than that, pretty much anywhere else.

Complete 3 Kettlebell Workout Circuits:

• 8 Halos (each side)
• 10 Goblet Squats
• 8 Overhead Presses (each side)
• 15 Kettlebell Swings
• 8 Bent Over Rows (each side)
• 6 Front Rack Reverse Lunge (per side)

#3) BARBELL TRAINING: 2 DAY WORKOUT SPLIT

As we cover in our “How to Train in a Gym” guide (where we take you from “lost sheep” to “barbell badass”), this routine is a much more focused weight training, strength-building workout that gets your feet wet with barbell training. Click on ANY exercise to learn how to do it properly.

NF BEGINNER BARBELL STRENGTH WORKOUT: DAY A

Do 3 rounds of:

• 10 barbell squats
• 10 push-ups
• 10 bodyweight rows

NF BEGINNER BARBELL STRENGTH WORKOUT: DAY B

Do 3 rounds of:

• 5 barbell Romanian deadlifts
• 10 push-ups
• 10 dumbbell rows per arm

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER POPULAR STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAMS?

#1) “Starting Strength” is considered the gold standard beginner barbell weight training program by many. We highly recommend you pick up the actual book if you are serious about barbell training – it’s one of the most important training books you can ever read.

#2) Strong Lifts 5X5: A solid workout program that starts you out very slow, with just the barbell, and helps you master form before you get too heavy. It also keeps things VERY easy with “do 5×5.” Strong Lifts has been around for a long time and is a solid program.

#3) Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1: This program allows you a little more freedom to do exercises that you enjoy, or work on personal weaknesses, because you choose some of the assistance work.

Note: You can modify any of the barbell training programs to be done with dumbbells, if that’s what you have at home!

Lastly, you can always write your own workout plan! I wrote my own workouts for a decade and it taught me a LOT about training and health.

We do have our own 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program where you’ll work with a coach that will build a strength training workout program for your body type and goals, check your form on each exercise via video, and even help you plan out your nutrition too.

Want step-by-step guidance and form checks? Learn more:

How Much Weight Should I lift?

We have a FULL resource on how to determine your starting weight for lifting, but I’ll give you the gist here.

The simple-to-learn but tough-to-implement answer: lift enough so that you can get through the set, but not too much that you have NO fuel left in the tank at the end.

And then, try to lift sliiiightly more than last time.

Here are two common questions on strength training:

#1) How much weight should I start with?

• If you are using dumbbells or a kettlebell, always err on the side of “too light” versus “too heavy.” You want to learn the movement correctly and build correct form.
• If you are training with a barbell, ALWAYS start with JUST the bar, no matter the exercise (By the way, a standard barbell weighs 45 pounds).

#2) How fast should I add weight to the bar?

Here’s what we teach all of our coaching clients: add the minimum amount of weight each week you can, even if you THINK you can lift more. It’s better to finish a workout full of momentum and say “I can do more!” than defeated and saying “that was too much, crapola.”

Think of it this way, even if you are adding just 5 pounds per week to the bar, within a year you would be lifting 300+ pounds!

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recommends a similar approach:^[14]

• For less trained people (i.e., beginners), it is recommended that for upper body exercises you increase the load by 2 – 5 pounds and by 5 – 10 pounds for lower body exercises.
• For more trained people (i.e., advanced), it is recommended that for upper body exercises you increase the load by 5 – 10 pounds or more and by 10 – 15 pounds or more for lower body exercises.

So go SLOW. Even slower than the NSCA recommends if needed.

Team NF’s Steve even bought little half-pound weights and increases many of his lifts by just 1 pound per week. It’s a big part of how he transformed (jokingly) from Steve Rogers to Captain America.

And if you are looking for this content in easily digestible form, make sure you download our free Strength 101 Guide when you join the Rebellion below:

The 9 Best Strength Training Exercises to Learn

If you’re new to all this “strength training” stuff, hopping into a program and going from zero to sixty might be a recipe for failure.

Instead, be patient, and take the time to learn these movements first.

I’m going to share with you the 9 best strength training exercises that every beginner should master (scroll down for full video and explanations!):

• 1. Push-up: uses every push muscle in your body (chest, shoulders, triceps)
• 2. Bodyweight squat: uses every muscle in the lower body (quads, hamstrings, glutes, core)
• 3. Bodyweight row: works every “pull” muscle and helps prepare you for a pull-up!
• 4. Pull-up or chin-up: the best “pull” exercise in history! Everybody should have a goal to get their first pull-up.
• 5. Bodyweight dip: advanced “push” movement that targets your push muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps) in a different way than push-ups.
• 6. Barbell squat: the best bang for your buck on muscle building. recruits nearly every push muscle in your whole body, and great core workout.
• 7. Barbell deadlift: the favorite exercise of every coach at Nerd Fitness. Uses every “pull,” leg, and core muscle in your body.
• 8. Barbell benchpress: as basic and powerful as they come. Uses every “push” movement in your upper body and can get you strong as heck!
• 9. Barbell press: press the bar above your head! Targets shoulders and triceps more than the chest.

All of the exercises listed above are considered functional (closed-chain) exercises. That means they relate to our everyday movements and can be used to predict our success in sports, recreational and occupational activities, and activities of daily living.^[15]

When attempting all of these above-listed exercises, aim to master the movement and perform the exercise through its entire range of motion (ROM).

Why?

Because it will decrease your risk for injury, activate all of the appropriate muscle groups, and result in greater muscle hypertrophy.^[16] 

Let’s go over these now.

Click on any of these exercises to get a FULL explanation of the movement, step-by-step:

1) The Push-Up: The best exercise you could ever do for yourself when it comes to using your bodyweight for push muscles (your chest, shoulders, and triceps):

2) The Bodyweight Squat: This exercise serves a dual purpose: it is the foundation for building strength AND helps build proper mobility. If you are going to ever do barbell squats, you need to work on hitting proper depth with a bodyweight squat first!

3) The Inverted Bodyweight Row: Until you can get your first pull-up or chin-up, these exercises are GREAT to start building your pull-muscle strength: your back, biceps, and forearms.

4) The Pull-Up and Chin-Up: Once you can support your bodyweight above the bar, the world becomes your playground. No strength training routine should be without pull-up or chin-up work! (Click here if you can’t do a pull-up or chin-up yet?)

5) The Bodyweight Dip: As you start to get stronger with push-ups and need to find a way to increase the challenge, consider doing dips – warning: these are very advanced, but incredible strength building exercises.

And now we’re into the best weight training exercises:

6) The Barbell Squat: Probably the best exercise when it comes to building strength and muscle throughout your whole body. It also burns crazy calories and makes life better. This is a MUST:

7) The Barbell Deadlift: Maybe the best exercise of all time. Actually no, it IS the best exercise of all time. It’s certainly the most primal: “pick the weight up off the ground. Done.”

This is a very technical lift, so make sure you read our article on how to do it with proper form:

8) The Barbell Press: Press a barbell above your head. This recruits all of the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and arms in order for you to lift the weight over your head.

As a bonus, you need to really flex and brace your core, which gets those muscles working too.

9) The Barbell Bench Press. Lie on a bench, and lower a barbell until it almost touches your chest. Pause, and press it back up towards the sky. Repeat! And get strong.

NOTE: All exercises were explained according to the guidelines that have been established by the NSCA.^[17]

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: commit to trying ONE of these movements in the next week. Use 20 seconds of courage, recruit a friend who has lifted or trained before, and try your best.

And if you want somebody to help you put these into a workout program, teach you HOW to do these movements properly, and have the confidence to know you’re training correctly for your goals…

Let us create a workout program that fits your busy life!

How to Know You’re Doing a Strength Training Movement Properly (Form Checks)

Always start out with just your body’s weight and make sure your movement is correct!

• If it’s a barbell movement, use a broomstick (or PVC Pipe).
• If it’s a dumbbell movement, use two sections of PVC or something else that is light and small to simulate a dumbbell.

When it comes to movements like squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press, your form is crucial. Develop good habits with lightweight and you will save yourself months of frustration later and will protect you from injury.^[18]

If you’re struggling with certain elements of a movement, don’t get frustrated! Remember, proper communication between your neuromuscular systems needs to develop.

Things will start to improve.^[19] 

How do you know if your movement is correct?

Do regular video form checks! Record yourself and watch the video.

Alternatively, an expert reviewing your specific movement can be invaluable. 

If you’re looking for someone who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on your progress, you can check out our 1-on-1 Online Personal Training!

I’ve had an online coach for 4 years and it’s changed my life.

Never wonder if you’re doing a movement properly! Get form checks from our coaches:

You could also get expert guidance in person: Look around at your local strength and conditioning gyms and see if you could hire a coach (here’s how to find a good personal trainer) for one or two sessions just to go over the basic movements.

If you can’t do either of those two options, no big deal! Videotape yourself and compare it to the videos here in the articles. You can also post your video to the form check section of the Nerd Fitness Forums.

When I started, I really liked practicing all of the movements at home because I could watch a video online at the same time as I was watching myself do it in a mirror. Studies have found this can actually help!^[20]

Strength Training for Weight Loss

So you’re looking to lose weight, and tired of hours of cardio (me too).

And you’re wondering if strength training for weight loss – by following one of the workouts in this guide is a viable solution.

Or, gasp – will strength training make you too bulky? (SPOILER: it won’t)

Yes, Strength training will help you lose weight IF you do two key things for effective weight loss:

• Calorie restriction: eating fewer calories than you burn every day^[21]
• Strength training with progressive overload (picking up heavier stuff)

As we point out in our “Cardio vs Intervals vs Weight Training” article, strength training is the MOST efficient method for weight loss.

Not only that, but you can find study after study after study that shows you the benefits of strength training for weight management when combined with “calorie restriction.”^[22]

As we cover in our “Why Can’t I Lose Weight?” article, here’s why eating a caloric deficit and strength training is SO magical when combined:

When you strength train – by picking up something heavy – your muscles are “broken down” during the exercise itself, and then they rebuild themselves stronger over the next 24-48 hours.

Guess what happens during those 24-48 hours?

Your body will divert as many calories consumed as necessary to “Rebuild Muscle!”^[23]

It also diverts additional calories to “Burn as Fuel” to handle this increased “muscle rebuilding” activity.

This means two amazing things:

• Your metabolism is revved up for this time period, burning more calories than normal.
• Rebuilding muscle is a calorie-taxing activity!

Not only that, but when you eat a caloric deficit, your body doesn’t have enough calories to fuel all the day’s activities. In these instances, your body will pull from your stored fat to make sure all the work still gets done.

This is the trifecta of physical transformation victory:

• You get stronger and keep the muscle you have.
• You burn through the fat you’re trying to get rid of.
• You’re decreasing your body fat percent and keeping your muscle = look good naked.

In other words, strength training + eating right is the BEST path for weight loss out there! And yes, in certain situations, you can actually lose weight AND build muscle at the same time.

Coach Matt explains how to gain muscle WHILE losing fat in this video:

So how do you put this into practice? Pick one of the strength workouts in this article. Calculate your daily caloric needs. Learn about healthy eating. And start.

In other words…

Pick up something heavy, and eat a vegetable.

These are the types of things we work on with our 1-on-1 Coaching Clients: helping them lift weights confidently and eat correctly for their goals! Let us help you:

Let our coaches create a custom strength training and weight loss plan for you!

“Just Tell Me What Strength Training Program to Follow!”

Okay! Unless you are collecting underpants, you should now have a workout program you want to try out!

“Staci, this is a lot, can you just TELL me what to do?”

Okay fine.

Here are the steps again for you:

STEP #1: PICK YOUR WORKOUT PATH:

A) If YOU ARE TRAINING AT HOME. Pick one of these 3 based on what equipment you have:

• Beginner Bodyweight Workout (no equipment)
• Kettlebell Beginner Workout
• Dumbbell Division Workout (Level 3 of Gym Guide)

B) IF YOU ARE TRAINING IN A GYM: Amazing! I love gyms.

Read our “How to train in a gym” guide and go from Level 1 to Level 6 over the next month. Gym closed? Here’s how to build a home gym.

STEP #2: TRY A NEW EXERCISE: In addition to following a workout program, I’m gonna push outside of your comfort zone – that’s where real growth happens.

Learn ONE new movement this week.

Pick one of the exercises below and try it out!

• How to squat
• How to deadlift
• How to bench press
• How to do the overhead press
• How to do a pull-up
• How to do a push-up
• How to do an inverted row

Here are 42 bodyweight exercises you can do too.

STEP #3) HIRE A YODA: If you are somebody that just wants to be told exactly what to, how to train for your goals, and are good at following directions, consider hiring a coach.

I’ve been working with an online coach since 2014 and it has changed my life – and I do this stuff for a living!

• Read our guide on “Is a personal trainer worth it?”
• Consider the NF Online Coaching Program!

STEP #4) JOIN THE REBELLION! If you like how we do things around here at Nerd Fitness, we’d love to have you in our community of misfits, mutants, and rebels!

Sign up in the box below and I’ll send you our free Strength 101 guide:

No matter what you do today:

Don’t be afraid of doing anything wrong – truth be told, the majority of the people in the gym don’t have any idea what they are doing, and are just as nervous as you are!

Muster up your 20 seconds of courage if you need to, and let me know in the comments how it goes!

What questions do you have about getting started?

So, what’s the biggest thing holding you back from starting strength training?

-Staci

PS – Check out the rest of the articles in our Strength Training 101 series:

• Strength Training 101
• Strength Training 101: Finding the Right Gym
• Strength Training 101: How Much Weight Should I Be Lifting?
• Strength Training 101: How to Build Muscle Quickly
• Strength Training 101: How to Squat Properly
• Strength Training 101: How to Deadlift
• Strength Training 101: How to Bench Press
• Strength Training 101: How to Do a Pull-Up
• Strength Training 101: How to Do a Bodyweight Row
• Strength Training 101: How to Do a Dip
• Strength Training 101: How to Overhead Press

photo source: LEGO bench pres, tonobalaguer © 123RF.com, Stormtroopers lifting, Chris Christian:Strongman, W_Minshull: Stormtroopers in Gym, Lego Lifting, Rainstorm, Kristina Alexanderson: Teddy Love, 

The post 5 Best Strength Training Workout Routines For Beginners (Home & Gym) first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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You’re here because you want to get better sleep.

Well my friend, you’ve come to the right place! 

We believe proper sleep is so critical for health, we discuss it with each one of our coaching clients. Today, we’ll share our tips for sleeping like a log with you too.

Want help engineering the perfect night’s rest? Have a Nerd Fitness Coach create a plan!

Here’s what we’ll cover in our Ultimate Guide to Getting Better Sleep:

• Why do I need to sleep? (Why sleep is awesome)
• How much sleep do I need? 
• What does good sleep look like? (The perfect night)
• What are the stages of sleep? (REM isn’t just a band)
• 10 Tips on how to get BETTER sleep (Plus the single best advice on better shuteye)
• How to get MORE sleep
• How to wake up (The NF Sleep Calculator)
• Am I a Night Owl or a Lark? (Why am I NOT a morning person?)
• Should I take naps? (How to nap during the day)
• What is sleep apnea? (What’s the best treatment for sleep apnea?)
• What is second sleep? (Waking up in the middle of the night)
• 4 Tips and tricks to hack sleep 
• Start sleeping better tonight (Next steps)

Let’s get right to it so you can go hit the hay.

Why Do I Need to Sleep? (Why Sleep is Awesome)

Sleep is freaking important, and you should get more of it!

Article over, I’m going on break!

Kidding.

Before we cover why sleep is important, let’s talk about what happens when you don’t get enough.

For example: If you manage to only get four hours of sleep, a sleep-deprived body can actually act similarly to an intoxicated body. ^[1]

Getting less sleep than average regularly? This is correlated with increased body fat percentage, more issues with insulin sensitivity, and even a disproportionate decrease in lean muscle mass when eating a caloric deficit.^[2]

We all know missing sleep can make us grouchy, miserable, unfocused, and unproductive.  

I know I’m going to have a crappy day in the gym when I don’t get enough sleep the night before. I know not sleeping enough AFTER a workout day can further hinder the muscle-building process. So, what else happens when you don’t get enough sleep?

Here are some potential consequences of forgoing sleep:

• Brain shrinkage. Studies have found a correlation between sleep deprivation and brain atrophy.^[3] While correlation doesn’t prove causation, it’s believed that disrupting sleep impacts our ability to restore and heal our organs, including our brains.
• Raised blood pressure. Insufficient sleep might increase your blood pressure.^[4] A lack of sleep can impact your central nervous system and your body’s ability to regulate blood pressure. 
• Increased risk of obesity and diabetes. Certain metabolic diseases, like diabetes, are associated with sleep deprivation. This study found that disrupted sleep might influence our hormones, perhaps increasing our chance of insulin resistance.^[5] 
• Shortened lifespan. When you add up the increased risk of disease from too little sleep, it’s no wonder that a meta-analysis found a lack of sleep is associated with an increase in all-cause mortality.^[6]

Not good. 

Conversely, let’s talk about the awesomeness that is sleep. Here are the benefits associated with getting enough shut-eye:

• Sleep will enhance your memory performance and creative problem-solving skills. You know, those things that make you smart.^[7]
• Sleep can boost your athletic performance. And we all know appearance is a consequence of fitness.^[8]
• Sleep triggers the release of human growth hormone (HGH), which plays a huge role in muscle and cellular regeneration.^[9]
• Sleep cuts your risk for the common cold and other basic illnesses.  Less sick days at work = more productivity, more awesome, more leveling up.^[10]
• Sleep makes you more resilient to daily stress..aka more willpower!

Moral of the story: Sleep is awesome.  

This is going to lead to a natural question…

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

There’s some debate on exactly how much sleep a person needs.^[11]

But there are some best practices.

7 to 9 hours is widely accepted as the ideal target for a good night’s rest. The National Sleep Foundation promotes this range, and researchers in the UK did a study that corroborated the recommendation.^[12]

We’ll roll with 7 to 9 hours as an ideal target for a good night’s sleep.

I should note, that there is a small percentage of people who have a “rare” gene that allows them to get by on 6 hours of sleep or less.

“Steve, I’m sure I’m one of those mutants who only needs 6 hours of sleep. Sounds like I’m good to go, right?”

As much as we all want to be part of the X-Men…

I used the word rare there intentionally because only about 4 in 100,000 people have this specific mutation.^[13] 

Realistically, you probably don’t have the special gene that makes you need less sleep. Sorry. 

This is why the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society both recommend “healthy adults” get at least 7 hours of sleep.^[14]

Knowing you need to get 7 hours of sleep is one thing. But knowing is only half the battle…

So let’s get to the root of the problem for most: 

“I know I need to sleep more, but my day is too busy and I just can’t get to bed sooner or wake up earlier.”

First and foremost, you’re not alone. According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly a third of all working Americans get six hours or fewer of sleep a night.^[15]

Does any of this sound like you?

• I am always freaking tired, and I need five cups of coffee to get through the day.
• Even on days when I get enough sleep, I wake up groggy.
• I get to ‘bed’ but I toss and turn and it takes me forever to fall asleep.
• I hit snooze half a dozen times before miserably crawling out of bed.

Let’s see if we can fix these issues.

What Does Good Sleep Look Like? (The Perfect Night)

Let’s imagine a perfect night:  

You go to bed at a time that you’re happy with. You’re not stressed out because you didn’t just watch The Walking Dead, you’re reading a good fiction book in bed that’s putting you closer to sleep rather than checking your smartphone or screwing around on the internet (damn you Twitch.tv).

You sleep uninterrupted through the night. You have kickass dreams.

When you wake up, whether naturally or with an alarm…you immediately get out of bed, without a single snooze, and you feel damn good.  You then crush your morning routine and dominate your day.

If you’re looking at your screen and laughing right now, you’re not alone. I’d guess this is a pipe dream for a huge majority of our society because they’re not sure how sleep actually works, and thus have NOT made sleep a priority.

It’s time to start looking at sleep as one of your most important tasks. Like I said, we value it so much here, that we bring up sleep duration and quality with every single member of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program.

How do you fit more sleep into your busy life? Have a Nerd Fitness Coach create a plan!

What Are the Stages of Sleep?

Like the Indiana Jones movies, sleep can vary in quality.

Some types of sleep can be great, while some sleep can be crappy (and potentially involve aliens).

Let’s take a quick look at the different stages of sleep first.

We have Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep, and Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep:^[16]

• Non-REM Sleep Stage 1: Where you’re kind of asleep…but not really…but working on it. This lasts about 5-10 minutes.
• Non-REM Sleep Stage 2: Your heart rate slows, your body temperature decreases, and you start to drop further into slumber…this can last about 20 minutes or so.
• Non-REM Sleep Stage 3 and 4: also called “slow-wave sleep,” and each can last up to 30 minutes. These stages are where you get “deep sleep.”
• REM Sleep: This is the point of the night where your eyeballs flail around your eye socket. It’s also when dreaming occurs, and one of the most important stages for mental functioning the next day.

Your body goes through these stages in order, but as you repeat sleep cycles (which are 90 minutes), the duration can shift dramatically.

Sleep Junkies provides a pretty good graph of different sleep cycles (in their article on sleep and alcohol), which we’ll borrow below:

In this example of “Cycle 5” the sleeper barely spends any time in “deep sleep,” but much more time in REM sleep. 

Our bodies are cray like that. 

What’s with the different stages of sleep?

• During the deep stages of NREM sleep (3 and 4), our bodies build bone and muscle (like after you strength train), repairs tissue, and boosts our immune system.^[17]
• When your body kicks into REM sleep, this is when your brain has increased activity and leads to dreaming, while your body is the most ‘paralyzed’ and knocked out.  Some studies say that REM is most important for restoring brain functions. ^[18]

What’s crazy is that your entire morning can be dictated by what stage of sleep you were in before waking up.  If you’ve ever only slept a few hours and woke up feeling great, or conversely slept plenty of hours but woke up groggy, this could explain it!

Don’t worry, I’ll explain exactly how to stop this from happening with the Nerd Fitness Sleep Calculator.

But first…

How to Get Better Sleep (The Single Best Advice on Better Shuteye)

We have a circadian rhythm (a daily biological clock) that ebbs and flows throughout the day.

Our body uses outside stimuli and our own activity to produce certain hormones at certain times to make our body more prepared for the required functions at that time (alertness vs restfulness).

Look at it from an evolutionary perspective – way back in the day (which was a Wednesday):  

• When the sun rose, our bodies are signaled “the day has begun! get cracking!” We reduce the hormones that make us sleepy, and produce more hormones that allow us to do the things that need to get done.
• As the sun went down, our body starts to produce more melatonin, which produces that sleepy feeling and encourages us to rest/recover. Our only option for light back then was a candle or campfire. If that went out, we’d have moonlight and nothing else.
• While sleeping, our bodies knew to cut back on urine production, decrease body temperature, decrease heart rate, and muscle activity. Our brains are still highly active during our sleeping.

Unfortunately, these days, our bodies aren’t tied to the rise and fall of that giant ball of gas above us.

Instead, we can use electricity, alarm clocks, computer screens, smartphone screens, and all other sorts of outside stimuli to adjust our natural sleeping schedule.

This means that our bodies often have no effin’ clue what time it is!

Outside of our circadian rhythm, we have another biological system that tells us when to go to bed: the chemical adenosine.^[19]

Think of it as “sleep pressure.” As soon as you wake up, your body starts to produce adenosine. When it hits a certain threshold, you get tired and start thinking about your pillow.

You really want your circadian rhythm and adenosine buildup in sync. When they’re not, it’s terrible.

You may have experienced it: jetlag comes about when you’re in a different part of the world than your home, so the change in daylight throws off your circadian rhythm.

For example, let’s say it was daylight when I left London and it’s daylight when I arrive in New York 10 hours later. 

But your sleep pressure system doesn’t know this, so it’s trying to send you to bed, despite it being high noon.

Here’s when things can really go haywire: you finally get to bed in New York, but your circadian rhythm is still linked to London (which is now morning), so it starts making you more alert despite being nighttime in Manhattan.

And insomnia ensures…

This brings us to the single best advice on getting better sleep: do what you can to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.^[20] 

Even on weekends whenever possible.

This helps your circadian rhythm and adenosine buildup stay in line with each other. Things get awful when these two systems are out of whack.

This isn’t our only piece of advice on getting better sleep!

Here are 10 more tips on engineering a perfect night’s rest:

#1) Avoid screens as you get closer to bedtime. Why avoid screen time? A couple of things to consider:

• There is some evidence that the light emitted from electronic devices interferes with our circadian rhythm.^[21] Artificial light, specifically blue light, is thought to confuse our body’s internal block. To capitalize on this concern, companies are now selling blue light-blocking glasses, which are advertised as sleep aids. Studies done on the effectiveness of these blue light blockers are mixed.^[22] 
• What else can be going on? Our devices are designed to monopolize our attention, which means we spend more time on our phones instead of sleeping. We’ve all been there. This is why there’s an association between social media use and sleep deprivation.^[23]

#2) Consider purchasing red lightbulbs to use in your bedroom lamps, so your bedroom is a place of soft light rather than bright/harsh light.^[24]

#3) Keep your bedroom cool (but not too cold). Outside of light, our bodies use temperature as a signal to go to bed.^[25] It gets colder at night, so this shift in temperature tells our body it’s time to go to sleep. Personally, I’ve found that keeping my bedroom cool helps me fall asleep. It’s been a real game-changer. What’s the sweet spot? Experiment a little here, but shoot for somewhere between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit (15-19 Celsius). Just don’t go too cold, which can also disrupt your rest. 

#4) Consider getting black-out curtains for your bedroom windows, especially if you live in a city.  Living in a city, there’s always something bright and shiny happening outside my window – it wasn’t until I purchased super dark curtains to cover up my windows that I noticed an improvement in my ‘fall-asleep time.’

#5) Earplugs or a white noise machine might be a good idea. Sounds and other forms of ear pollution can be a distraction when you’re trying to sleep. White noise machines might drown some of this out, and studies show they do help, but some good ole fashioned earplugs could do the trick too.^[26] 

#6) No TV in bed.  This might be incredibly difficult for you if you’ve been falling asleep to TV for years.  Instead of falling asleep with the blue glow of a TV at the foot of your bed, read a book – trust me, it will put you right to sleep.^[27] 

#7) Get in the habit of reading fiction. Reading puts me to sleep within a few minutes most night, though only if I’m reading fiction. When reading non-fiction, my mind starts to race with all of the new ideas and things I could be working on. Either read real books or read on a Kindle, no iPads!   

#8) Buy the right TYPE of Mattress for you: I slept on a soft mattress with two mattress pads for a few months years ago and wondered why I woke up with lower back pain every day. Turns out, my back was jacked up, and the soft mattress made things even worse. Since switching to a firm mattress, I wake up without back pain. Lesson learned here: I’m not smart.

#9) A lot of this can depend on HOW you sleep! Are you a side sleeper? Back sleeper? Stomach sleeper? Turns out there are some evolutionary reasons why some styles work better than others! Personally, I use the “half-military crawl position” outlined by Tim Ferriss (scroll down to tip 11 for the position).

#10) Have allergies? Try a hypoallergenic pillowcase! Your allergies could be affecting you while you sleep, and having the proper pillowcase can make a world of a difference.

How to Get More Sleep

So we’ve covered how to get BETTER sleep, what if you also need to get more of it?

In order to start getting more sleep, sleep must become more of a priority. If you constantly stay up too late because things need to get done, evaluate how your time is spent after work. Seriously, think about it!

• Are you doing the important tasks first? Or are you messing around on the internet and not starting your tasks until late in the evening.
• Are you watching late-night shows long after they’ve become enjoyable, simply because your DVR records them?
• Are you checking your smartphone while in bed, watching Twitch, or using your laptop to watch more shows you don’t really care about on Netflix?

Yes, I understand we have parents who read Nerd Fitness and have to stay awake and function on minimal sleep (I commend you, and wish you luck!).

However, for many of us, less sleep is often a result of disorganized priorities and poor use of our time.

Here are the best practical tips for giving you the greatest chance at getting into bed earlier:

• Don’t drink caffeine after lunch if possible. Caffeine can have an effect up to 6 hours after consumption. We love caffeine for many reasons (in moderation); however, you want to make sure it’s not consumed too late or your body will revolt.
• Turn off the electronics sooner.  I have to enforce a “laptops closed by 8PM” or a “TV off after 10PM” rule on many nights or I never get to bed. I get lost in Internetland far too easily.  Putting in actual barriers really helps.  If you find yourself checking Facebook and Twitter and other sites incessantly, BLOCK YOURSELF from those sites after a certain time.
• Stop watching crap TV shows! Just because it exists doesn’t mean you need to watch it. Pick a FEW shows you watch on Netflix, but be wary of the “auto-play” next episode! Netflix is counting on you to be lazy to watch another episode accidentally instead of getting sleep.
• Shift things by 15 minutes every week. If you want to get to bed sooner, don’t just try to get to bed an hour earlier than normal. You’ll probably lie in bed for that whole hour wondering why you can’t fall asleep, stressing yourself out and making things worse (remember our lesson on circadian rhythm). I shifted my pattern by waking up 15 minutes earlier and getting to bed 15 minutes sooner. Then I repeated that process over a series of weeks. Eventually, you can shift your bedtime by an hour or two, but do it gradually!

How to Wake Up (The NF Sleep Calculator)

Is there any more annoying sound in the world than the “beep beep beep” of an alarm clock?  

Well, maybe this.

But you get the point.

So here you are, dreaming about riding a dragon, doing improv with Liam Neeson, and playing poker with Iron Man and Spock…and that damn alarm clock wakes you up. You are now incredibly groggy and miserable.

Here’s what’s happening: Remember earlier how we talked about different sleep cycles? Depending on which cycle you were woken up during, your body can struggle to move from “asleep” to “wide awake.”

• Wake up in the right phase and you can feel energized and ready to go.
• Wake up in the wrong phase and you will feel lethargic and sleepy.

Because we’re often waking up at times when we’re not ready to wake up, timing can be everything when it comes to getting out of bed.

Have no fear! Let’s give you a timetable to base your sleep schedule on, so your alarm clock isn’t so jarring.

Here are some assumptions we’ll use:

• You need about 15 minutes to fall asleep.
• A sleep cycle is 90 minutes.
• You want 5 or 6 sleep cycles (our 7-9 hours range).

THE NERD FITNESS SLEEP CALCULATOR

Wake up: 5am

• Bedtime for 5 Sleep Cycles (7.5 hr): 9:15pm
• Bedtime for 6 Sleep Cycles (9 hr): 7:45pm

Wake up: 6:30am

• Bedtime for 5 Sleep Cycles (7.5 hr): 10:45pm
• Bedtime for 6 Sleep Cycles (9 hr): 9:15pm

Wake up: 8am

• Bedtime for 5 Sleep Cycles (7.5 hr): 12:15am
• Bedtime for 6 Sleep Cycles (9 hr): 10:45pm

You get the gist. Try to time your alarm clock to a natural break between sleep cycles.

Technology might help here too!

• Set a “go to bed” alarm, rather than a wake-up alarm! Remind yourself WHEN you should go to sleep. Bonus points if you can rig it to also shut off your wifi so that you actually have nothing exciting left to do in your house except read a book and go to sleep!
• Try a dawn-simulator alarm clock. Rather than waking yourself up in pitch black with a disgusting beeping noise, why not gradually rise as if there was a natural sunrise in your room?

Feel free to sing the first line of “Circle of Life” at this point. I just did.

Also, DON’T SNOOZE!

Instead of snoozing, set your alarm for 30 minutes later and SKIP snoozing entirely. If this is an issue for you, put your alarm across the room so you need to physically get out of bed to turn it off! 

Here are a couple more tips to help your alertness in the morning:

1. Still feeling groggy? Go for a walk first thing.  A mile every morning, if you can. Heck, do it while walking to Mordor! Walking outside and seeing that blue sky can trigger your body to release the hormones that encourage you to feel more awake and alive.
2. Consider blue light therapy during the day. Productivity guru Tim Ferriss swears by it, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, so I’ll be testing one out during the winter months to see if my mornings are marked by increased energy. If you’ve used one and had positive/negative experiences, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Am I a Night Owl or a Lark? (Why Am I Not a Morning Person?)

According to studies, about 1 in 10 people are true morning people (“larks”), while 2 in 10 are considered “night owls.” The rest fit somewhere in the middle as “hummingbirds.”

What this means: Some of us are more alert at certain times of the day and naturally want to rise earlier or stay up later. ^[28]

Now, the difference between the two extremes isn’t as DRASTIC as we’ve made it out to be.  Humans can never be truly naturally nocturnal – we don’t have night vision (yet…).

We’re not programmed to operate during the middle of the night.  But, we CAN use our natural tendencies to help us be more efficient and productive during certain parts of the day.

We can change and adapt. Just like those who successfully work a night shift job (tips on that here), many who consider themselves a night owl may find they can become a morning person if they set themselves up for success.

I used the excuse for years of being a “night owl” to screw around all day and work from midnight to 4 AM each night, when it really just required a shifting of my priorities and productivity hacks.

What this all means: Identify your biological clock and try to adjust around it if possible. However, if your job requires you to get up early or stay up later, most of us can make an adjustment. Don’t let your poor habits blame “being a night owl” like I used to.

Should I Take Naps? (How to Nap During the Day)

Although generally not part of a day here in the States, we’re actually programmed to desire a quick nap in the early afternoon.^[29]

In other countries, naps are more socially acceptable (Siesta? Si, por favor!). If you feel bad that you get tired in the early afternoon, it’s not because you’re lazy. It’s because you’re naturally wired for naptime.  Now, you might still be lazy, but it’s not related to your nap schedule.

So, behold the power of the power nap:

Didn’t get enough sleep last night? Only have 20-30 minutes for a quick break? Try the caffeine-fueled power nap.

Fun fact: If you’ve slept less than normal, taking a 90-minute nap the following day could lead to an increased amount of REM sleep in that nap.^[30]

What Is Sleep Apnea? (What’s the Best Treatment for Sleep Apnea?)

Sleep apnea is a condition where someone periodically stops breathing while sleeping.

While there are a few different versions of sleep apnea, the most common is “Obstructive Sleep Apnea,” which occurs when throat muscles become overly relaxed. 

A telltale sign of obstructive sleep apnea is loud snoring, although not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea can potentially be pretty serious, what with the whole not breathing thing going on. It depends on the severity of the condition.

• If it’s mild, it could be mostly harmless.^[31]
• If it’s serve, not breathing correctly could majorly disrupt sleep, to the point of increasing the risk of certain diseases.^[32] 

How do you know if your sleep apnea is mild or severe? 

Unfortunately, the only way to really be sure is to head to the doctor. If you go to your primary care physician, they will likely refer you to a sleep specialist to find out.

If you feel tired in the morning despite getting plenty of sleep, and a partner or loved one complains that you snore, it might be worth looking into a sleep apnea diagnosis.

I will mention that being overweight can contribute to obstructive sleep apnea, so weight loss could be a possible treatment.

If weight loss is your goal, then you’ve come to the right place. We specialize in helping people achieve sustainable weight loss. 

I’ve got a couple of resources to help you start your journey:

1. How to Lose Weight (Without Dieting): check out our guide on the 5 rules for sustainable weight loss. If you’re not sure where to start, start there.
2. Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: if you want a trained professional to tell you exactly what to do, check out our coaching program. Many clients jumpstart their weight loss journey with the help of a NF Coach, and the results they’ve achieved can be incredible. 

In the meantime, try a different sleeping position (like the aforementioned half-military crawl position to keep your passages open).

What Is Second Sleep? (Waking up in the Middle of the Night)

Biphasic Sleep is sleeping in two distinct periods.

We’re gonna go back in the day again: during winter months, nighttime could last 12-14 hours.

With our bodies’ production of melatonin (the “sleepy time” hormone) kicking into high gear when that sun drops, people had nothing else to do (no TV, PS4, or iPads) and would fall asleep early. Then they would wake up for an hour or two in the middle of the night to read, pray, or think, and then fall back asleep for another 4-5 hours before waking up for the day.

If you’ve ever gone to bed at a normal hour, and then woke up in the middle of the night without being able to fall back asleep for an hour or so, you know what I’m talking about.

Here’s the thing: this is actually quite natural!^[33]

Rather than freaking the heck out and lying in bed wondering why you can’t fall asleep…consider it something that is more common than our current sleep schedule.^[34] Don’t be afraid to turn on the light (red light!) and read a book or use the time for meditation until you can fall back asleep.

This one ‘mental shift’ alone can keep your stress levels down and let you get back to sleep faster and provide you with BETTER sleep.

4 Tips and Tricks to Hack Sleep

#1) Macrodozing:

I stumbled across the BEST biohack for optimal human performance.

It’s tricky, but here’s what to do:

Lie in bed with your eyes closed, for like, 7-9 hours.

If you can actually pull this off, productivity for the next 16 hours will be INSANE.

I call it “Macrodozing.”

— Steve Kamb (@SteveKamb) January 31, 2020

😉

#2) Clear your mind, Neo.

I often spend my nights in bed thinking and worrying about all of the things I need to do the next day. Instead of stressing out about it, take a minute and write down the things you need to do the next day. Then set it aside.

A notebook, a post-it note, an Evernote file, whatever.

Do a brain-dump and clear your head so you can focus on reading A Game of Thrones without thinking about the next day’s tasks.

#3) Want to control your dreams? It’s called “Lucid Dreaming,” it’s possible, but requires work. I’ve only been able to do it once, but haven’t given up hope that it can become a more common occurrence! Ultimately, this allows you to live out a real-life version of Inception.

#4) Have way too much time on your hands and not constricted by societal norms?  Try Polyphasic sleep  and then tell me how it goes 🙂  It didn’t work for Kramer, but it might work for you!

(But it probably won’t).

Start Sleeping Better Tonight (Next Steps)

Like, anything, that which gets measured gets improved.

Now, if you’re somebody that isn’t really detail-oriented, just start by picking ONE or two changes above, and focus on building that Hard Hat Habit. However, if you like to nerd out about certain details, why not nerd out about your sleep?

Starting tomorrow morning, when you wake up, recap the previous day with a journal entry:

• What time did you wake up, and what time did you actually get out of bed?
• How many times did you hit snooze?
• After work, how much television did you watch?  After you finished watching, did you go right to bed?  Did you fall asleep with the TV on?
• How long did you lie in bed before actually falling asleep (obviously this will be tough to tell, but you can estimate).

A quick recap on what to do:

• Change one or two things about your current strategy.
• Turn off the computer 15 minutes earlier.
• Stop watching TV in bed.
• Read fiction.
• Limit the amount of blue light and screen activities that amp you up at night.
• No more snoozing.
• Set the alarm clock across the room.
• Go for a walk in the morning outside.

If you want to use technology: F.Lux for your computer, red bulbs in the bedroom, Sunrise alarm clock for waking up without disturbing deep sleep.

That should just about do it for today’s article. 

If you’re looking for where to go from here, I’ve got some options for you. But I’m only gonna tell you, because you’ve been a good sport this whole article.

NEXT STEPS IF YOU WANT TO GO FARTHER! 

#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them lose weight, get strong, and level up their lives!

We take sleep so seriously, we discuss it with each and every client. 

#2) If you want an exact blueprint for getting in shape, check out Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

If you follow our Sleep missions, you’ll learn to improve your night rituals while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.

Try your free trial right here:

#3) Join our amazing free community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion! Not only is it free to join, but we’ll provide you with loads of free goodies when you sign-up:

Now, I’d love to hear from you:

• What questions do you have about sleeping?
• How have you learned to be better at it?
• What are you still struggling with?
• Have you tried sunrise alarm clocks or blue-light devices?
• What are your favorite sleep aids or sleep hacks?

Let’s hear it!

-Steve

###

gif sources: Gremlins, Storm, GI Joe, Yogi, South Park, South Park II, What time is it, Armageddon, Morning Bugs, Night Vision, Bugs Insomnia, Buddy, Bill Murray, Snoring Homer, Patrick Sleeping.

photo sources: Sleep Cycle, Tired Lego, Sleeping Lego, Sleeping Puppy, Sleeping Baby, Sleeping Cat, Sleeping Koala, Sleeping Bunnies, Side Sleeping Lego, Sleeping Kitty, Owl, late alarm clock, Sleeping Tiger, Notepad, Laughing Buddha, 

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All of us have plenty of stress in our lives.

In the modern world, it’s almost a given.

If you find yourself responding by “stress eating,” know that you are not alone.

One of the top issues faced by clients in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program is emotional or stress eating. It actually seems to increase in occurrence year over year.

You’re not alone in this. Learn how a Nerd Fitness Coach can help.

Today, we’re going to show you exactly how we address emotional eating with our clients, including when it’s – GASP – actually okay to stress eat. 

Here’s what we’ll cover in today’s guide:

• What is stress eating? (a video from NF Kitchen)
• What causes stress eating? (Lesson #1: Playing Detective)
• How do I stop mindless eating? (Lesson #2: The Stress Response Menu)
• How common is stress eating? (Lesson #3: Learning Self-Compassion)
• Is it ever okay to stress eat? (Next steps)

Let’s jump right in.

What Is Stress Eating? (A Video from NF Kitchen)

The above video from Coach Justin comes from the Nerd Fitness Prime “Mindset” video series. 

Justin covers three important lessons I want to highlight, but before we do that, we should ask ourselves a question: 

“What exactly is stress eating?”

Stress eating is consuming food in response to negative emotions like fear, anger, or sadness.

When we stress eat, food is being used to solve a problem. Now, unless we’re actually hungry, it’s likely a problem that food itself isn’t meant to solve.

That’s stress or emotional eating.

Here’s what compounds the whole problem: stress eating itself can make us feel guilty. We often feel terrible once our spoon hits the bottom of the pint of ice cream.

This can drive more negative emotions, which can trigger even MORE stress eating.

And the pattern continues.

We’ll talk about ways to break this cycle in a moment, but before we do, we need to create some tools to identify it in the first place. 

What Causes Stress Eating? (Lesson #1: Playing Detective)

You may have been surprised in our video above when Coach Justin gives permission to stress eat.

Counterintuitive and seemingly counterproductive, I know. But this is going to be important for two reasons.

How to Approach Stress Eating:

Step #1: we need to curb the guilty feelings about stress or emotional eating. 

I started this guide off by highlighting the frequency of stress eating amongst our Online Coaching clients. 

You are not the only one struggling with this.

Most humans do.

And robots with human-like emotions and taste buds

We’ll come back to this idea again, because ending the shame of emotional eating will be critical for moving forward. 

Step #2: allowing ourselves to stress eat will help us learn why we do it.

We’re going to be playing detective here, to see if we can piece apart your actions and routines.

At the end of the day, our lives are a cumulation of habits. Stress eating is one such habit.

So let’s learn about it!

To do so, we’re gonna record some Emotional Eating Notes. 

During an episode of stress eating, it’s important to ask:

• What am I doing?
• What am I feeling? (Both physically and emotionally)
• What am I thinking about?
• What time is it?
• Where am I?
• Who am I with?

Also, gauging these at different times can be helpful too.

How is your stress looking:

• An hour or two before the eating episode?
• Right before it?
• During it?
• Right after it?

The purpose of these Emotional Eating Notes?

Look for patterns!

Perhaps you’ll notice some of the following:

• “After my recent Tuesday morning conference call, when I got grilled by my company’s leadership, I grabbed some chocolate chip cookies. This happened the week before too.”
• “Around 2pm, when I get the ‘afternoon slumps,’ I normally grab a Coca-Cola. This little boost gets me through the end of the day. This is almost a daily practice.”
• “Last Sunday evening, when thinking about the start of the work week, I had a couple of glasses of wine. When looking back at my notes, this takes place at the end of most weekends.”

We’re looking for patterns to help us understand what drives our stress eating. 

The most important thing about this process: withholding judgment.

We’re looking at our notes for clues into our psyche. Whatever we captured is okay.

If you order pizza every Thursday after talking with your overbearing mom (of course, she means well), step one is to recognize it.

Oftentimes, this awareness step alone can help shift behavior. “Oh, I’m reaching for a beer like I normally do after ending my workday. Typical Me.”

After creating some notes on what spurs our emotional eating, it’s time to think about some alternatives for coping with stress.

How Do I Stop Mindless Eating? (Lesson #2: The Stress Response Menu)

After documenting what sets off our stress eating, we need to formulate a plan on what to do when our anxiety rises.

That means it’s time to build…a Stress Response Menu!

Our Stress Response Menu will be a list of actions or activities you can do to de-stress outside of eating.

Ideally, you’ll do them before an eating episode, but they can be done during or after the fact too.

In other words, if you only realized you were stress eating when your hand reaches the bottom of the Doritos bag, no problem, you can do your stress response activity right then. 

The purpose of the Stress Response Menu is to reward yourself with a small moment of self-love, whenever your anxiety levels are too much.

Examples for a Stress Response Menu:

• Close your eyes and take five deep breaths (Coach Justin’s go-to move)
• Drink a large glass of water
• Take a short walk
• Go listen to one of your favorite songs
• Do a quick stretching routine
• Write in your journal
• Play with your dog
• Shout at the sky

The more the activity from your Stress Response Menu can match your personal goals, the better. 

In other words, if you’re trying to build muscle, some push-ups might be the perfect de-stressor. 

Just make sure it’s something you won’t dread doing. 

A combination of a “de-stressor” and a “reward.”

This is important, as Coach Justin mentions that many of his clients only reward themselves with food. The self-love they practice only takes place in the kitchen. 

Our menu above will help us develop some more options, not solely based on food.

To make the most of your Stress Response Menu:

#1) Make the activities short and easy. 

You should feel confident that you can do every item on your list. So avoid activities that will take longer than 10 minutes to complete. 

Also, set yourself up for success by hacking your Batcave:

• If you’re going to journal when stressed, keep your diary open on your work desk.
• If you’re going to drink water before any emotional eating, keep your full glass near you. 
• If you’re going to take a short walk, keep your kicks near the door.

Don’t set yourself up for failure by picking overly complicated or burdensome activities.

#2) Place your Stress Response Menu somewhere visible. 

Once you make your list, print it out and place it in your kitchen or pantry (or wherever you typically stress eat). 

You could also write out a couple of your favorite activities and attach them to your refrigerator. 

If it’s right in front of you, it’ll be harder to ignore (however, it’s okay to ignore it from time to time, as we aren’t striving for perfection).

Just please don’t write it and then stick the list in the junk drawer that opens to another dimension.

You never can find anything in that drawer.

#3)Track your usage of the Stress Response Menu. 

This will help us in two ways:

• First, by tracking your usage, you’ll start to feel better about using the SRM. You’ll see an accumulation of all the times you successfully deployed a stress response, helping you visualize the momentum you’re building. 
• Second, the data will help you understand your patterns of emotional eating. Maybe five deep breaths steered you away from ice cream but the large glass of water did not. You can then use this information to update and revise your response plan.

For the first point, Coach Justin has his clients keep a “Jar of Awesome.”

Every time they have a small win in the day, like taking five deep breaths instead of chugging soda, they place a marble or small token in a jar. After a while, the jar will have a decent amount of marbles or “small wins” in it.

This will then stand as a visual reminder of all the progress being made, proof of their ongoing wins.

Want to start a “Jar of Awesome” with a NF Coach? Learn more here!

How Common Is Stress Eating? (Lesson #3: Learning Self-Compassion)

The American Psychological Association has found that about a third of Americans respond to stress with food.^[1] 

This research was done BEFORE the global pandemic.

If you find yourself binging in response to stress, know that you are not alone here.

Heck, both clients and NF Coaches turn to food and alcohol for comfort every now and again.

Personally, somewhat recently I mindlessly devoured an entire tub of Animal Crackers after a stressful week. It was only when the bag was gone did I understand what just happened.

So yep, many of us (even fitness “experts”) are prone to stress eating.

Now, don’t take this as a free pass to stress eat. 

If the behavior goes against your goals, it’s something we want to work towards improving.

But there’s a reason they call it “comfort food.” Food can often be used to make us happier.

At the end of the day, we’re all emotional bags of meat on this floating hunk of space rock, and we’re doing the best we can. 

Give yourself a bit of a break, my friend.

You’re here, you’re reading, and you’re trying. That’s great!

This will bring me to my last point with our handy guide:

Is It Okay to Stress Eat? (Next Steps)

There are times when food is the perfect response to stress.

It’s something Coach Justin mentions in his video.

“Stress eating” might be appropriate if: 

• After a long workday, a glass of wine with cheese helps you unwind.
• To celebrate the coming of the weekend, you have an ice cream party on Friday night.
• The week already seems long, and it just started, “Taco Tuesday” might help you survive until Friday.

The important thing here? 

“We are making a choice.” 

We are choosing to deal with stress or anxiety with food. By making it an intentional activity, we can remove the guilt around emotional eating.

Food can be fine as a reward, as long as it’s us controlling the behavior, and not the food itself.

In addition, if we can recognize the action (or plan for it), we can then adjust our calories before and after and not go off the rails. 

(You can calculate your recommended total daily calorie intake here, by the way!)

If it seems like you aren’t quite there yet, start with your Emotional Eating Notes and your Stress Response Menu.

Even just the process of taking notes on specific episodes of stress eating may be enough to slow down the behavior.

Remember, no matter what happens:

• You are not a bad person if you stress eat.
• You are not a bad person if you forget to take notes.
• You are not a bad person if you ignore your Stress Response Menu.

You are not a bad person (unless you’re a Death Eater, but come on, you know what side you’re on). 

If you need any help along the way, we are here for you.

We have three specific paths to continue with Nerd Fitness:

#1) Our Online Coaching program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.

As I said before, “stress eating” is the number one issue faced by our coaching clients, so we know exactly how to help recognize and address the habit.

You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you:

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

#2) If you want an exact blueprint for leveling up your nutrition, check out Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

If you follow our Mindset missions, you’ll learn to de-stress while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.

Try your free trial right here:

#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.

Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, the Nerd Fitness Diet Cheat Sheet, and much more!

Alright, I want to hear from you:

Have you been stress eating more over the last year?

Do you have any tips or tricks to interrupt the pattern?

What’s your favorite way to de-stress?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

P.S. Make sure you check out A Nerd’s Introduction to Mental Health for more.

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Photo Source: Plant LEGO, beer5020 © 123RF.com, Programmer, On the couch, LEGO hot dog stand, 

The post How to Stop Stress Eating: 3 Uncommon Tools for Ending Emotional Eating first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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