The holiday season is the time of the year during which staying fit can be a challenge for many people. The period from Halloween to the New Year’s Eve is filled with parties, family reunions, travels and other social activities. During this time, many gym regulars may drop their form and fitness. Combined with the possible lack of sleep, unhealthy foods and having a few more drinks than usual – the possibility of losing focus is quite high. That is why it is necessary to find that extra edge that will enable the body to maintain a proper balance during the festive period. The various dietary supplements can certainly help in this process. However, it is important to know which products you need to take and when.

When trying to build muscle and make gains, you’re told to focus on killing it in the gym and eating out protein and calories. But there’s a crucial third leg to the muscle building trifecta that’s often neglected by trainers, coaches, and even athletes themselves -- sleep.

In fact, sleep might the most important facet to muscle growth. Make no mistake, you’re not going to grow if you’re not eating enough or progressively training harder and heavier in the gym, those are certainly necessary, but sleep is even more important than diet and training.

Here’s why sleep is so critical when trying to build muscle:

What tends to be the most difficult part of keeping the tushy tight is the dieting. It’s easier to diet and eat all the right things when you see a finish line for the clean eating. As if having a finite time frame makes it easier to wrap your mind around not cheating and eating the food you’re supposed to in order to keep the tight summer body you’ve worked really hard for. The workouts that are done in the gym is usually the easier aspect of keeping and maintaining the physique that you want.