Energy levels

mattonfire

I'm sure most of us have experienced a diminished energy level at some point or another. You're at the gym or working out either on the bike, treadmill or elliptical, but your energy just isn't there.
Normally, I do about 60 minutes of cardio at a pretty brisk pace, but today I could barely move my feet. All I could think about was getting home and going to town on last night's leftovers.
What causes this fatigue? Is it just needing a break or am I missing something in my diet? It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while I just want to leave the gym and take a nap. What can I do to keep my energy levels up?

kicklikeaGIRL

I know what you mean, it sometimes happens to me when I'm running or when I'm teaching my kickboxing classes. For me, my lack of energy comes from something in days prior...whether it was lack of sleep, lack of nutrients, or pushing myself hard everyday, and not resting. The way I have tried to overcome that is to get at least 7-8 hours of rest...that is what I personally need to function properly and sustain my energy. It may be different for you, but find out what amount of sleep will keep you most alert and energized. I also try to eat healthy, as I'm sure you are doing. And I also take a full rest day each week...mine is typically Sundays. I rest completely from exercise. I may do some light yoga and stretching just as a relaxer...but I do not do any vigorous activity. This rest day helps my body to recover from the vigorous exercise that I put myself through during the week. I also take a little snooze on Sundays to boost up my energy as well.

I will say, that sometimes even though I do everything I can...I have some days where I'm just "not feelin it"...but I try to push through as hard as I can, and then go home and relax and prop my feet up and just chill. I mean, sometimes we have stressful and busy days at work/school/home where we are just drained....it happens..its life! Don't let the initial "lack of energy" keep you from working out. Because typically on a stressful day I go exercise and then feel SO much more energized.

And...usually when I'm working out after work all I can ever think about is what I'm going to have for dinner...but that might just be because I loooove food.

mattonfire

Yeah, I'm a big food lover, too. But I am eating more healthy and really have cut down on the amount of meat on my plate, which probably is lowering my protein intake, and therefore lowering my energy. Actually, I only try to have chicken or fish two-three times a week. Other than that, my diet is mostly vegetarian.
Also, I do notice that if I don't get a solid 7 or 8 hours of sleep, I'm pretty much useless the entire next day. I guess the good thing is that these drops in energy only happen once in a while. I don't think I could motivate myself to continue working out if I felt drained every single day.

Othos

It sounds like you need more protein, either from meat or other sources. From what I've read, it's especially important to get lots of protein if you're working out regularly.