It is important to get a full 8 hours of sleep every day. Here are some tips to create and maintain a healthy sleep habit:

• Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during holidays.
• Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 8 hours of sleep.
• Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
• Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
• Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.
• Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.
• Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
• Avoid consuming caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
• Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.

What you put into your body is your body’s fuel. Here are some simple tips to help you consistently eat healthy:

1. Eat breakfast every day
   ‍This will increase metabolism, energy levels and help avoid snacks between meals. Pick something ‘grainy’ and add protein, for example porridge or Weetbix with fruit and milk. OR Wholegrain toast and eggs/baked beans/banana, peanut butter.
2. Eat regular meals
   ‍At least three each day to help manage hunger and extra snacking. Include some starchy carbohydrate (bread/rice/potato), protein (meat/fish/egg/beans/dairy) with veges and fruit.
3. Plan your lunch
   It’s cheaper to take your own homemade lunch and avoids making rushed decisions and being tempted by less healthy options.
4. Snack smarter
   If you’re not hungry between meals, you don’t need snacks. If you do feel peckish, reach for a piece of fruit or small handful of nuts (30g), a cup of soup or, low fat milk/yoghurt, vegetable sticks or grainy crackers with hummus/cottage cheese.
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5. Be mindful
   Take your time and notice what you eat. Eating fast, on the run and while distracted can lead you to eat more food than you realise, or need. Did you know: it takes 30 minutes for your stomach to tell the brain that it’s full.
6. Water is always best
   It’s free from the tap, healthy, good for the environment and good for you. You need 6 to 8 cups of fluid each day, some of these can be from food, coffee, tea, milk as well as from water.
   
7. Fill up on vegetables and fruit
   For extra fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They are also low in energy (calories), are packed with goodness and help prevent heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, and some cancers:

Stretching is the deliberate lengthening of muscles in order to increase muscle flexibility and joint range of motion. Stretching before and after exercising and training is very important for your body’s wellbeing as it decreases the risk of injury as well as muscle soreness. Here are some tips to proper stretching techniques:

1. Warm up first
   Stretching muscles when they’re cold increases your risk of pulled muscles. Warm up by walking while gently pumping your arms, or do a favourite exercise at low intensity for five minutes.
2. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds
   It takes time to lengthen tissues safely. Hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds — and up to 60 seconds for a really tight muscle or problem area.
3. Don’t bounce
   Bouncing as you stretch can cause small tears in the muscle, which leave scar tissue as the muscle heals. The scar tissue tightens the muscle even further, making you even less flexible — and more prone to pain.
4. Focus on a pain-free stretch
   If you feel pain as you stretch, you’ve gone too far. Back off to the point where you don’t feel any pain, then hold the stretch.
5. Relax and breathe freely
   Don’t hold your breath while you’re stretching.
6. Stretch both sides
   Make sure your joint range of motion is as equal as possible on each side of your body.
7. Stretch before and after activity.
   Light stretching after your warm-up followed by a more thorough stretching regimen after your workout is your best bet.

If you find yourself sore or injured from a day of PT at ATC Military Prep, the best mode of recovery is RICE.
RICE is an acronym that stands for REST, ICE, COMPRESSION, ELEVATION.

• Rest
  As soon as an injury occurs, it is important to stop what you’re doing and have a break. Pushing through the pain will only cause additional damage over the long-term.
• Ice
  Ice should be applied immediately following an injury and during the recovery process. Ice reduces pain and swelling and can slow bleeding (if applicable). Ice should be applied directly to skin (wrapped in a towel etc) for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day the first few days following an injury.
• Compression
  Compression reduces swelling.
• Elevation
  Compression reduces swellElevation takes advantage of gravity. Keeping the injured area above the heart can reduce swelling by allowing extra fluid to drain. When sitting down or icing the injured area, you should elevate the injured area on pillows.

If you want to stay healthy and performing at your highest level throughout your time at NZSE College and beyond, corrective exercises need to be prioritised in your training. In order to remain healthy and injury-free, it’s very important to help prepare your body with some prehab exercises before training. Using an effective and efficient program that targets your weakest points will minimize the likelihood of injury, and even limit the severity of injuries if and when they do occur. Everyone will get their usual aches and pains along the way to training hard, but the real goal is to avoid the big injuries that will keep you from training for prolonged periods of time.

Rehabilitation is about reducing pain or regaining function after an injury, illness, or surgery. Rehabilitation exercises are an important part of overall recovery, and they help restore strength, range of motion, and endurance. The overall goal of rehab exercises is to restore someone to their former activity level and strength. Rehabilitation exercises are also crucial for preventing future injuries. There are specific exercises to help with different parts of the body that have been injured, if you need any assistance, it is advised you seek professional help from a registered Physiotherapist. However, for simple tips, you can ask NZSE College staff to show you some simple stretches and movements that may be useful. Also, check out this useful resource that shows you which exercises will help with a specific injury.