Having trouble sleeping?

They say on average most healthy adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best. But, if you are somebody like me you often find yourself scrolling through your phone late at night and then the next day complaining that you are tired. Am I right? So, because I was up until midnight or later my day is a complete struggle. My solution to that is to come back to my dorm after my classes are finished and take a nice long 3-hour nap. That 3-hour nap that I took has now messed up my sleep schedule once again because now I am not tired enough to go to bed at a decent time.

Lack of sleep can cause confusion, lower your immune system, and effect with your ability to get tasks done. People do not understand that sleeping is a habit just like eating healthy and exercising daily. Now I’m not saying that you missing a few hours of sleep is going to kill you but if you continue to miss the needed hours of sleep regularly this can cause an increase in serious health concerns.

Below are some tips to help you get better sleep and stay asleep.

1. You can schedule your sleep, set up alarms on your phone just in case you get carried away with different tasks during the day which will remind you to get into bed in an hour. That way you can prepare yourself and get ready to transition into getting in bed a lot more easier.

2. Try to stay off of your phone before bed. When using your cell phone it produces a blue light which affects your internal clock. When you are on your phone it will cause you to be more alert when you should be winding down. Also, you can find yourself losing track of time while your scrolling through your phone which will cause you to stay up past the time you were trying to sleep.

3. Exercising on the regular will also allow you to go to sleep better. If you find yourself being exhausted from your workout during the day you will find it very easy to fall asleep at night because your body is tired.

4. Lastly, I would suggest using sleeping apps that track your sleep cycle. These sleeping apps allow you to use different settings such as an alarm clock that progressively gets louder so you can wake up from your sleep in a calming way.

Hopefully you find this helpful, any questions or concerns feel free to contact me!

Coach Q

Importance of stretching

When it comes to the fitness world a lot of people overlook the importance of stretching. For me, I have always struggled with stretching. Whether it be before my basketball practices/games or going to the gym to work out. It is always something I overlooked because it was almost an annoyance for me. I honestly hated it so much that when it came time to actually start stretching before or after my games I would rush through them just so it would be done with. I paid for not stretching though… I was always pulling my hamstring or groin all the time. Those injuries could have been prevented by simply stretching those parts of my body. This is something I majorly regret because I was out for 2 months due to a severely pulled groin muscle from basketball. I needed this experience to open my eyes to see the importance of stretching how a lot of injuries can be prevented.

I just wanted to give you guys some quick tips on why you should implement stretching into your daily activities. For one, study’s have shown that stretching decreases stress. This is very important because a lot of times we are overwhelmed with different things but if we can take 10-15 minutes out of our day and focus on our breathing while we stretch it is shown to decrease stress. Another benefit of stretching is that it reduces pain and stiffness. I know a lot of times after our workouts we are already sore and we can feel our body start to lock up but it is important that we take some time before and after to stretch the muscles that we feel need it the most.

One of the biggest things I have always wanted to know is how to minimize the wear and tear on my joints. Being a college basketball player and constantly moving, I always wanted to find ways to help my body. One thing that I noticed is that a lot of times if one of my muscles are being overworked it is because of a particular injury which can be compensated by stretching. That is something that I did not realize until later in my career that I wish I learned sooner. Most importantly it improves the range of motion on certain muscles. Some things you can do for this is to use a foam roll which is designed to work out your knots in your muscles.

Any questions or concerns you may have, feel free to contact me

Coach Q

Workout tips for beginners

Everyone who goes to the gym has two agendas in mind, they either want to lose fat or they want to gain weight. The hardest part when wanting to make a lifestyle change is consistency. Someone once told me a little piece of advice that has stuck with me. That advice was the only person who can stop you, is you. Till this day I truly do live by that statement. During my basketball career, I learned that I had to somehow get an advantage over everyone that I played against. One of the things I learned was how to plan my workout and stay consistent with them. Waking up at 5 AM to train was one of the hardest things I had to do at first, but then, I realized that once I dedicated myself to doing it every day it became easier.

So, one of the first things that I suggest doing is going to the gym every day (7 days a week). Even if it’s going in there and doing something productive for 30 minutes, and on the 7th day you go in and use that as your recovery time and stretch. It’s the idea of being consistent that is most important. Another thing I suggest is to stay loose while you’re at the gym. Focus on the muscles you are exercising and relax the rest of your body. Being too uptight can hinder your results. When I first started working out, I would always overly concentrate on certain workouts wasting unnecessary energy whereas now when I go in there I can focus on my body and figure out what is tight and what I need to focus more on.

Some things that I would advise you not to do in the beginning is be glued to the treadmill. When you are constantly just walking or running on the treadmill you will get bored and tired of it. Once this happens your motivation to go to the gym will start to decrease and you will find yourself not wanting to go to the gym all at all. Therefore, you will begin to make excuses as to why you can’t go. A popular line that I am sure all of you have heard or even have said yourself is, “I’ll just go longer tomorrow,” or “I’ll just go harder tomorrow.” When in reality there should never be a time when you are “going harder” every time you hit the gym you should be giving it your all. That’s if you’re serious and you really want results. The last thing I suggest is going to the gym with a positive attitude. As long as you have a positive outlook while you work out, you will enjoy the results more. Of course, your body is going to be going through aches and pain but as my dad once told me, “If it were easy everybody would do it.”

Hope you find this information helpful, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube fitness page as I will be providing free weekly workout videos. Any questions or concerns feel free to contact me

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4w3oinzSGf_GWcu8tWWrlQ

Best Regards,

Coach Q

Treat yourself

In today’s society, we can all agree that social media plays an important role. I feel as if people are always trying to impress each other and are always looking for validation. Along with social media and keeping up with the latest “trends,” there is real life. Real life consists of running errands, work, family/friends, and everyday activities. Life always eventually catches up with us and we have to take a step back and think, “when was the last time I did something for me?” All of our life stressors pile up on us which leads to making bad decisions. These bad decisions consist of take-out food, unhealthy snacking, not exercising, drinking alcohol, and smoking for some. Think about it, I’m sure you could name a couple of people that you know that say “I need a smoke” or “I need a drink” when they are in a stressful situation. I know I can! It is critical that we take time for ourselves and try and break these bad habits that can cause major health issues and unfortunately death. I am not here to bash anyone who has these habits let me get that straight. My goal is for you to be a better you — A healthy body is a happy body.

If you’re reading this and you find yourself in a situation where you feel like you are not making the best life decisions for yourself… think about these tips.

1. Be comfortable in your own body, there is always room for improvement but self-love is always number one.

2. Take time for yourself — go to dinner, stay home and watch a movie, do what you love.

3. Do not rely on other people for YOUR happiness.

4. Think of activities that you enjoy doing. Now go and do them.

5. Take pride in yourself and don’t settle for less. Whether it is in relationships, jobs, friendships don’t allow yourself to be treated less than your worth.

6. Cut ties with toxic people. Make sure everyone that is around you is supportive in what your goals and aspirations are.

7. Love yourself.

Hope this article encourages a lot of you, any questions or comments feel free to contact me. Stay blessed

Coach Q