GIRLS - maybe TMI question - gym fatigue and PMS?

Yep. Some push until they pass out. I lighten my eating and don't exercise. It makes me cramp unmercifully. Every body's different but this is my philosophy.

More water while working out maybe.

I've noticed a difference in my workout when it's that TOM but I do two things that make a BIG difference in the way I feel (1) I start taking a low dose asprin a few days before I start. I think this helps with my aches and pains. and (2) I increase my water. Chewing a sugarfee gum helps me feel more hydrated too (I don't know why but I feel better when I do).

I wish you the best.

Eva

Yeah, I fatigue much easier while I'm PMSing. I do what Bootzey does and go easy on the calories I consume so I don't have to work out as hard.

Oh yeah! Up your lean protine and keep your diet as clean as you can manage. Know thy self. Do what you can and try to be understanding of the stress your body is under. I have a mirena and experience this as well. At first I was a bit perplexed but after a while my workout fatigue became one of the ways that I knew that I was going to have a period and I just adjusted my expectations. Keep at it!

I get this way towards the last few days of my workouts per week. You probably need to rest more. I notice the day after my rest days I tend to have WAY more energy than when I workout 3 days in a row.

Here is a good article on why you should make sure you have these rest days:
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/RestandRecovery.htm

Most athletes know that getting enough rest after exercise is essential to high-level performance, but many still over train and feel guilty when they take a day off. The body repairs and strengthens itself in the time between workouts, and continuous training can actually weaken the strongest athletes.

Rest days are critical to sports performance for a variety of reasons. Some are physiological and some are psychological. Rest is physically necessary so that the muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen. For recreational athletes, building in rest days can help maintain a better balance between home, work and fitness goals.

In the worst-case scenario, too few rest and recovery days can lead to overtraining syndrome - a difficult condition to recover from.

What Happens During Recovery?
Building recovery time into any training program is important because this is the time that the body adapts to the stress of exercise and the real training effect takes place. Recovery also allows the body to replenish energy stores and repair damaged tissues. Exercise or any other physical work causes changes in the body such as muscle tissue breakdown and the depletion of energy stores (muscle glycogen) as well as fluid loss.

Recovery time allows these stores to be replenished and allows tissue repair to occur. Without sufficient time to repair and replenish, the body will continue to breakdown from intensive exercise. Symptoms of overtraining often occur from a lack of recovery time. Signs of overtraining include a feeling of general malaise, staleness, depression, decreased sports performance and increased risk of injury, among others.

Short and Long-Term Recovery
Keep in mind that there are two categories of recovery. There is immediate (short-term) recovery from a particularly intense training session or event, and there is the long-term recovery that needs to be build into a year-round training schedule. Both are important for optimal sports performance.

Short-term recovery, sometimes called active recovery occurs in the hours immediately after intense exercise. Active recovery refers to engaging in low-intensity exercise after workouts during both the cool-down phase immediately after a hard effort or workout as well as during the days following the workout. Both types of active recovery are linked to performance benefits.

Another major focus of recovery immediately following exercise has to do with replenishing energy stores and fluids lost during exercise and optimizing protein synthesis (the process of increasing the protein content of muscle cells, preventing muscle breakdown and increasing muscle size) by eating the right foods in the post-exercise meal.

This is also the time for soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments) repair and the removal of chemicals that build up as a result of cell activity during exercise.

Long-term recovery techniques refer to those that are built in to a seasonal training program. Most well-designed training schedules will include recovery days and or weeks that are built into an annual training schedule. This is also the reason athletes and coaches change their training program throughout the year, add crosstraining, modify workouts types, and make changes in intensity, time, distance and all the other training variables.

Adaptation to Exercise
The Principle of Adaptation states that when we undergo the stress of physical exercise, our body adapts and becomes more efficient. It’s just like learning any new skill; at first it’s difficult, but over time it becomes second-nature. Once you adapt to a given stress, you require additional stress to continue to make progress.

There are limits to how much stress the body can tolerate before it breaks down and risks injury. Doing too much work too quickly will result in injury or muscle damage, but doing too little, too slowly will not result in any improvement. This is why personal trainers set up specific training programs that increase time and intensity at a planned rate and allow rest days throughout the program.

Sleep Deprivation Can Hinder Sports Performance
In general, one or two nights of poor or little sleep won't have much impact on performance, but consistently getting inadequate sleep can result in subtle changes in hormone levels, particularly those related to stress, muscle recovery and mood. While no one completely understands the complexities of sleep, some research indicates that sleep deprivation can lead to increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), decreased activity of human growth hormone (which is active during tissue repair), and decreased glycogen synthesis.

Other studies link sleep deprivation with decreased aerobic endurance and increased ratings of perceived exertion.

Balance Exercise with Rest and Recovery.
It is this alternation of adaptation and recovery that takes the athlete to a higher level of fitness. High-level athletes need to realize that the greater the training intensity and effort, the greater the need for planned recovery. Monitoring your workouts with a training log, and paying attention to how your body feels and how motivated you are is extremely helpful in determining your recovery needs and modifying your training program accordingly.

PMS is a Bi**h isnt it?!
Some of the things I do to counter fatigue:
1. Add coffee or green tea to my regimine of fluids (use non fat creamer and artifical sweetner)
2. Get 8 - 10 hours of sleep! (sometimes I have to sneak a nap in as well)
3. Protien shakes after a workout and load up on more protein to keep the muscle fatigue away.
4. Find a motivational person to keep you going throught the work out and help you with the cravings!
5. Keep a stash of good dark chocolate in the freezer for emergencies (I like Godiva!)

Good Luck and Don't Give up!!

I feel your pain. Yes, it does effect your energy level. I'm on a 90 minute a day cardio routine and I felt it today because I started my monthly two days ago. I felt exhausted while doing my routine today. The thing that helps me get through the pain and the exhaustion ... I take fat burners when feeling menstrual/sluggish/tired. I use Lipodrene with 25 milligrams of Ephedra.

They work wonders.

yes! and i also sweat a lot more because of water retention. but it's good to exercise during your period lightly because it helps with camps. Just listen to your body!

Good topic!! I just finished a very modest 30 min attempt at a workout. Feel exhausted,never even thought of that!!! Ah the joys of being a girl lol !!!!

Ohhhh ya. My motivation during that special time is SHOT, my appetite turns ravenous, and I tend to gain a few lbs from water retention. I push through and work out anyway, but fatigue and muscle weakness stops me from being able to give it my all! Exercise anyway. It will improve your mood and make you feel much better!

^^ 100% agree...this is me to a TEE! Well, plus I get a little mean - but that's ok too lol