Intense training and sleep deprivation?

IronMom · 10-05-2009, 10:08 AM

This is for all those sleep deprive mamas that are also training intensly. I am an advance athlete with sports goals and really struggling with exuastion due to my baby waking every hour and wonder how other athletes deal with this. I wonder to what extent the stress of my workout is on my body being in sleep deprivation. I imagine perhaps the possibility of not being able to recover as much. I am due for an intense HIIT session as well as chest/back/abs and I am melting as I write this, wondering how I will muster the energy to put my gym clothes on and actually get to the gym. I missed two days last week. I know I needed the rest but I LOVE my training too.

Ha, my mama-brain is a whole other story! It's AMAZING how your memory fails without sleep. My brain is moooosh!

freebirdmac · 10-05-2009, 11:32 AM

Unless you have a nanny, or a very helpful hubby, you'll eventually figure out you can't serve two masters. It'll run you into the ground

IronMom · 10-05-2009, 12:34 PM

I'm gonna play it by ear from day to day. I'll just get a maintenance workout on days I'm tired. There's no sense in hitting it so hard that I stress my body since it can't repair as well without proper sleep. There's no help here with baby so no end to the delema at this point. It will end-some day.

What about supplements? Any that can assist in repair or sleep? I'm taking ZMA at night, I always got such good sleep before baby with it.

freebirdmac · 10-05-2009, 12:45 PM

Besides BCAAs and glutamine I'm not sure. Getting to sleep has never been a problem for me. It's getting enough sleep on a regular basis that has been a problem (and my kid is now 17!).

You may need to lower your standards a bit for awhile and give yourself permission for earlier bedtimes and naps. By this I mean so what if the house isn't as clean as before. Or the dishes sit a day or two. Anything that reduces your workload and eases your mind about getting looser on the things around you helps. Then take those naps. Sleep when the baby sleeps as much as you can. It will get better in time. You just don't want to kill yourself before it does.

IronMom · 10-05-2009, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebirdmac

Besides BCAAs and glutamine I'm not sure. Getting to sleep has never been a problem for me. It's getting enough sleep on a regular basis that has been a problem (and my kid is now 17!).

You may need to lower your standards a bit for awhile and give yourself permission for earlier bedtimes and naps. By this I mean so what if the house isn't as clean as before. Or the dishes sit a day or two. Anything that reduces your workload and eases your mind about getting looser on the things around you helps. Then take those naps. Sleep when the baby sleeps as much as you can. It will get better in time. You just don't want to kill yourself before it does.

Yeah, good advice. So what about recovery topic? How much CAN a person push their body without adequate sleep? I think our bodies are amazing but am uncertain how much to push myself.

stephaniealthea · 10-18-2009, 06:35 AM

Caffiene before a workout is sometimes helpful (and I say sometimes, because if you're long-term sleep deprived it may not perk you up at all, as well as the following caffiene "crash" can make you feel more tired)

I'd say just do the best you can- let your motivation keep you going- it's not going to make you feel any more alert, but it'll make you put your socks on and go. Try to stay positive about it (i.e. instead of trudging through the workout thinking about how tired you are, think how proud of yourself you are for doing it despite being tired, and how that makes you a rock star.)

I think too, once you get settled into a new routine (both as a mother and an exerciser) your body will adapt...my best friend just had a baby and she used to sleep upwards of 12 hours a day and now gets maybe 2-4 hours, but she's now used to it and she's tired, but can keep going.

smdiskin · 10-18-2009, 06:52 PM

You poor thing.... baby waking up all the time like that is not fun...
Do you know why he is waking?
Mine wakes for bad dreams and loneliness or hunger...
When he was about 8 weeks old started trying to stretch the gap between meals and getting him to eat a little more each time... and by 12 weeks he was able to happily go up to 4 hours between meals at night... by 20 weeks he could go 6+ hours which gave me 6 hours of glorious sleep.... and he has slept through most of the time since then.... now sleeping 8-10 hours at night and can even occasionally be persuaded to sleep up to 11 hours... I found that he was much happier in the bed alongside me.... I know co-sleeping is not for everyone and there have been studies showing a link to higher rates of cot death/SIDS... however a very high proportion of these deaths could have been prevendted if the parents had not had a few drinks before... At the beginning he actually slept on top of me for a few hours most nights... so sweet... and now sleeps beside me, but I have to be careful that he is not under the covers as they are too heavy for him.... he doesn't sleep there every night or all the time... just when he wants and for me it is lovely too.... we both get a nice nights sleep this way...
It may help...
Either way until you start getting more sleep you may have to accept that your workouts may not be quite what you would like... as you may end up injuring yourself or the workout may simply be counterproductive as the body needs recovery time to grow etc...
Good luck with the baby...