Women Strength Training

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One month in and EXHAUSTED...

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bellis107
bellis107 Posts: 8 Member
in Social Groups
Hi All!

I'm new to this community and have some questions I was hoping to get some feedback on. About a month ago I did a radical overhaul to my eating & fitness habits (or lack thereof). I began lifting heavy 3x per week, doing sprints 3-4 times per week, and eating clean. I average between 1800-2000 calories with about 140-150 grams of protein (a little higher on lifting days). I currently weigh 230 and my goal weight is @160's depending on what that looks like when I get there. Anyways, here is my dilemma... I am exhausted!!! Just completely fatigued and moving slow, feeling a little lethargic. I have Fridays off and last Friday I barely got out of bed. Seriously, I get home from work and take a 30 minute nap before my work-out. I know the sluggishness that comes with detoxing from sugar and it feels similar but through my muscles too. Is this [still] just a normal response to such radical changes? I was hoping to wake up feeling energized one day soon. Do you have any idea when that will happen? I'm LOVING the new habits. My clothes are beginning to fit differently and I'm feeling stronger everyday except for this part. Please tell me it gets better!!!

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  • awkwardsoul
    awkwardsoul Posts: 222 Member
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    I'm guessing you aren't eating enough, especially since you are doing a lot of activity. I weigh 30 less than you and I'm eating the same amount on lifting days and I only lift 3 times a week and don't do any cardio! When I started I wasn't tired, just DOMS pain for a few weeks.

    Calculate your TDEE/BMR, dont' use what MPF says as it's too low. You can also buy a heart rate monitor and see how much calories you getting through. For me, a 40 minute lifting session was over 500 calories burned, which is nuts!
  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,754 Member
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    Ditto to what awkwardsoul suggested and adding make sure you are getting lots of water. If you are sprinting outside in the heat also your sodium should be slightly higher than usual as well. Muscles need sodium, it is not a 'bad' thing.
  • bellis107
    bellis107 Posts: 8 Member
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    Yeah, I am [mostly] past getting DOMS. Now it's just an all over fatigue. I'm drinking enough water and my sodium intake is good. So I need to eat more. Hmmmm... I'll try that for a few days. Thanks!
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
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    Eating might be helpful but another option you consider was giving yourself another day to rest. You might need a little break (we all do every now and then) or maybe you could find a way to get 2 rest days in instead of just one. Depends on your schedule and such, but something to consider.
  • AbbeyDove
    AbbeyDove Posts: 317 Member
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    Hi there,

    I'm with DawnEmbers on the extra day to rest. High intensity sprinting is, well, intense, and likely requires more recovery than you appear to be getting. Maybe try some lower-intensity days, and an extra rest day. How's your sleep?
  • bellis107
    bellis107 Posts: 8 Member
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    Ok... I skipped sprints yesterday, ate a few hundred calories more and gave my body a rest. I've decided to switch things up and do sprints after my lifting session which worked out excellent tonight. I read an article (on bodybuilding.com I think) about the benefits of fasted cardio and it also mentioned that doing cardio after weight training burns more fat since you've already depleted your glycogen reserve. I kicked butt tonight and I feel great!!! Refueling now. :) Oh, and my sleep is decent (6-7 hours), but could be better. I'm a single mom with 3 teenagers so I'm just in survival mode there. Power naps are my friend. Thanks y'all!
  • charitys_aloette
    charitys_aloette Posts: 42 Member
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    MFP definitely does not calculate activity properly. I lift several days a week and do crossfit on top of that. (MFP would give me either no calories or very few calories for lifting... I do olympic, complex lifts for 40 plus minutes at a time. It didn't make any sense.) Another member told me about www.healthstatus.com/calculate.cbc. It's much more accurate at calorie expenditure... It's very important to eat for your workouts.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    You DO need carbs to fuel your workouts. Are you doing the low-carb thing?
  • bellis107
    bellis107 Posts: 8 Member
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    No low carbin' for me!!! I am trying to cycle my calories though. I eat more [complex] carbs on my workout days and a little more protein and less carbs on recovery days. Thanks for the link @charitys_aloette.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Have you had any blood work done lately? Sometimes eating in a deficit can mean that you aren't getting the amount of nutrients that you need. Active women are at risk for things like iron defficiency so worth having a check up with your Doc to make sure.

    Also, in terms of the exercise you could try having a de-load week. Don't need to stop completely but just back off on the intensity for a week and see if you feel better. Some people like to program these in regularly (every 4-8 weeks). Another approach is to take them intuitively when you need them (this is better for experienced people).
  • jesha00
    jesha00 Posts: 29 Member
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    When I was lifting heavy 3x a week I had the same experience. Someone mentioned that I was taxing the hell out of my central nervous system, which can leave you feeling really run down. You are doing a double-whammy to yourself with the added sprint days. You might want to rearrange your workout routine so that it is doable.

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