Can you make good gains with like 6-7 hours of sleep as a beginner?
- Thread starter wishwish55
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- bodyweight fitness
@dimefractal It's hyperbole. Of course you can make some form of gains on less than 7 hours of sleep, but for the vast majority of people you'll be hurting recovery and thus gains. Sleeping enough is the laziest way to improve gains, assuming your diet and training are on point.
stillsearchinggod
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@dimefractal I hope you are right, I have young kids so I’m about a decade away from getting more than 6 a night.
dimefractal
New member
@stillsearchinggod That's part of why my sleep is bad 
@dimefractal what a load of shit. you try to peddle your very rare ability to get good gains with 6 hours of sleep when there is a massive difference between 6 to 8 hours of sleep.
and no, @wishwish55. you won't make good gains with 6-7 hours of sleep.
and no, @wishwish55. you won't make good gains with 6-7 hours of sleep.
dimefractal
New member
@dimefractal you have a very rare advantage.
also, OP asked if one can gain good gains with 6 -7 hours of sleep.
also, OP asked if one can gain good gains with 6 -7 hours of sleep.
dimefractal
New member
@dimefractal For me it’s that way with protein intake. I’ve been 60g off my optimal protein intake for years, and I’ve still gained dozens of pounds of muscle despite that.
stalis2003
New member
@dimefractal You obviously can make gains with bad sleep. I've known a few jacked Natty's who only sleep 4 hours a night.
But with that being said...
It's probably the single most studied variable in all of exercise science.
It's clearly not bro science.
But with that being said...
It's probably the single most studied variable in all of exercise science.
It's clearly not bro science.
@wishwish55 I heard struggle with poor circumstances vs don't bother trying. Struggle with poor circumstances is the answer to this and many other things in life.
@wishwish55 As long as you're rested your getting enough sleep.
But some general advice. Be careful of trying to over optimize.
If you follow the general points of
But some general advice. Be careful of trying to over optimize.
If you follow the general points of
- progressive overload,
- giving a muscle group 48-72 hours rest between workouts
- making sure you have a decent amount of protein in your diet
- making sure you're generally eating enough calories
@wishwish55 As a beginner anyone can make good gains to be honest, your body just respond very well at that stage.
Will it be as good as if you got proper sleep, nutrition, optimal routine etc...no, but you will still see a difference. It will just get hard when you're past that stage, because you'll need to start dialling these things down.
When I started my sleep was awful and my nutrition sub par and I was still pleased, although I didn't do body weight specifically but if loaded correctly, the principle are the same.
You should bother for multiple reasons, rule number 1 being something is always better than nothing. It's great for your health in spite of physical changes and you will still make progress, maybe just a little slower than if yiu optimised.
Will it be as good as if you got proper sleep, nutrition, optimal routine etc...no, but you will still see a difference. It will just get hard when you're past that stage, because you'll need to start dialling these things down.
When I started my sleep was awful and my nutrition sub par and I was still pleased, although I didn't do body weight specifically but if loaded correctly, the principle are the same.
You should bother for multiple reasons, rule number 1 being something is always better than nothing. It's great for your health in spite of physical changes and you will still make progress, maybe just a little slower than if yiu optimised.
lukenine11
New member
@wishwish55 If you're getting 6 hours of actual sleep it's probably fine. If you're in bed for 6 hours and take a while to doze off then you're most likely not getting enough and it is definitely not going to be optimal.
@wishwish55 Ok so, obviously we side with science on this, you will be inefficient. But! Personally, I have built an impressive physique over the years while suffering from a horrible sleeping schedule (mostly self inflicted). Sure, it probably took me longer than other people, but unless you are competing for something, who cares? Enjoy the journey and gains will come. For reference I'm 27 and training around 8 years now, do some very heavy lifts and mostly go for aesthetics since I enjoy it. It definitely won't take you this long necessarily. You don't have to do everything perfectly, fix diet, programming and sleep as much as you can and it's enough. Not everyone is a fitness influencer with time and energy to devote solely to this.
@wishwish55 Of course. I have an awful sleep schedule and am happy with my progress so far as a beginner. I've learned to kick up to a handstand against a wall for the first time, went from 10 pushups to 25 (and am now working on harder variations), went from 0 to 5 pullups, and hit 100 bodyweight squats which I can do now after stretching. Before I couldn't keep my heels on the ground. (I'm now starting on harder variations).
My eventual goals are to be able to do one armed pushups, one armed chin ups, pistol squats, and hand stand pushups. And then I'd like to maintain that level. But I'm not in any rush to get there.
It's probably slower than it could be if I had a better diet and better sleep schedule. But if you are steadily improving at something and you do it long enough, you'll make a lot of progress.
And if you genuinely can't get the sleep, then your options are inadequate sleep with exercise or inadequate sleep without exercise. I guarantee the former will put you in a better spot over time.
My eventual goals are to be able to do one armed pushups, one armed chin ups, pistol squats, and hand stand pushups. And then I'd like to maintain that level. But I'm not in any rush to get there.
It's probably slower than it could be if I had a better diet and better sleep schedule. But if you are steadily improving at something and you do it long enough, you'll make a lot of progress.
And if you genuinely can't get the sleep, then your options are inadequate sleep with exercise or inadequate sleep without exercise. I guarantee the former will put you in a better spot over time.
@wishwish55 the myth that we need sleep is just a lie propagated by big pillow.
@wishwish55 As a rule of thumb, if you’re making progress and muscle soreness goes away quickly you’re good to just keep going. Once progress stalls and muscle/joint pain becomes chronic that’s when you really need to cut back and focus on recovery.
@wishwish55 You should intuitively and from experience know what your optimal sleeping amount is.
I haven't slept 8 hours since I was 13/14 (I'm 35). My optimal amount is 7 hours. I don't see significant impact from sleeping 6 hours, but I still try to hit 7.
The occasional 5 hours of sleep has no noticeable impact in my perceived restfulness, but it's definitely a problem if it happens more than once a week.
If I only sleep 4 hours the impact in terms of both perceived tiredness and actual capacity to lift weights in the gym that day are very clear.
I haven't slept 8 hours since I was 13/14 (I'm 35). My optimal amount is 7 hours. I don't see significant impact from sleeping 6 hours, but I still try to hit 7.
The occasional 5 hours of sleep has no noticeable impact in my perceived restfulness, but it's definitely a problem if it happens more than once a week.
If I only sleep 4 hours the impact in terms of both perceived tiredness and actual capacity to lift weights in the gym that day are very clear.
jefferyjohnson
New member
@wishwish55 there's a study that found muscle grows more during day than when you sleep. From what I gathered, sleep is for your full system recovery. Sleep is obviously very important.