Time for chi...and sleep

Now, the only time I’ve used the word ‘chi’ is as an abbreviation for a Chinese takeaway. *Basic man klaxon*

So no-one’s pretending Court House trainer Colin Ayliffe’s latest subject is the height of sophistication.

BUT this week, as part of the holistic section of the six-week Lose the Gut programme, I’ve been getting in touch with my spiritual side.

But fellow basic men, do not turn the page over in disgust. Stay with me, for this week I have been educated.

For the unhealthy among us — see last week’s eating habits article — I thought getting rid of the beer belly would involve copius amounts of vein-busting, hernia-wrenching on all the sparkling modern gym  equipment at Court House.

Well, to a degree, it does (see week three and four’s  schedule above right, which will be explained in more detail next week). But there’s more.

“When people ask what the most important thing to do if they want to get fit is?” Colin says, turning all headmaster-like, “I tell them sleep.”

Jog on, I thought. Have a day off. What’s this clown on about? Ryan Gosling didn’t get that six-pack of his from tucking himself in at 10pm on a regular basis. Fact. Surely?

Well, if I can drag the ladies’ thoughts away from Gosling — not PG, I’m sure — for a minute, here’s why sleep is important.

After all the gym sessions, work stress etc during an average day, the body repairs itself best between 10am and 2am because of the natural daylight cycle and your hormonal response to it. The posh term for this is circadian health.

“Sleep,” Colin continues, now sounding more like a second-hand car dealer, “is the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to improved health. And it’s free.”

To help me get to sleep at the desired time he then proceeded to go through three ‘chi’ exercises in different zones of the body – QiGong Toe Touch (NOT a dish at Sung Sing, apparently), Alternating Leg Drop (avoid short shorts in the gym for this one, just sayin’) and the Energy Push (think X-Men). They’re explained in detail with this article at www.bermudasun.bm. 

The final part of the holistic aspect of Losing the Gut is diet, which was touched upon last week. Depending on your propensity to gorge on, for example, pasta or meat you are either a Carb or a Protein type. I’m a mongrel – let’s say hybrid – of both and go down as a Mixed metabolic type. As ever, confused.

Therefore, I have to ‘fine tune’ my meals. This requires listening to your body. 

Getting hungry quickly, craving fat or protein or feeling tired-but-wired means I need to cut back on the carbs. Feeling sluggish, craving sweets or having a heavy gut means I need to cut back on the protein.

As a rule then, my main meals have to have something with ‘eyes’, like chicken, fish etc, as well as  something with ‘no eyes’, like fruits or vegetables.

And just like the first time you see the sunset in Somerset, I have to say, it’s been a revelation. 

Whether the gut is shrinking or not, I feel a hell of a lot better.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got to drop a few QiGong Toe Touches and Push some Energy.

This is the third weekly ‘Lose the Gut’ column over the coming six weeks. For more information email Court House head trainer Colin Ayliffe at cayliffe@courthouse.