Feel Tired During or After Your Workout?
Happy Monday Squadies! One of the BEST benefits of working out is the energy it gives you. If you follow me on Instagram you have probably heard me talk about how ENERGIZED working out makes me feel. Once we start moving, our hearts pump faster, helping the blood circulate through our bodies, bringing more clarity and ENERGY. But what if you don’t feel that energy and clarity but instead, feel tired during or after your workout? First off, you SHOULD NOT be feeling tired during or after your workout. Feeling tired often has effects on your progress and your results. You begin seeing results when you PUSH the lean limits. If you’re feeling tired, you WILL hit your limit a lot sooner and will not be getting the most out of your workout.
How do we go about turning this around?
There are many reasons why you might be feeling tired during or after your workout. For the most part, this tiredness can be pointing to a health issue or something that is effecting your health in another area of your life. This can be something as simple as dehydration or can be something more serious, such as depression or anemia. Today I will be going through some of the possible causes for your tiredness during or after a workout and how you can begin to feel energized again!
Hydration
You’ve heard it all before - staying hydrated is a SUPER important part of living a healthy lifestyle. Our bodies are mostly made up of water, as we need it for our body to function properly. Without enough of it, we can experience symptoms such as nausia, dizziness, irritability and you guessed it, tiredness or fatigue! Make sure to drink plenty of water BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER your workout, especially before and after.
Sleep
Having the proper amount of sleep is super important. Lack of sleep can cause both short term and sometimes long term problems, especially if you are consistently lacking sleep. One of the common short term side effects of lack of sleep is, of course, tiredness, fatigue, and grogginess! All of these symptoms can have a negative impact on your workout and can cause us to feel exhausted either during or after your workout. Typically, we need around 7-8 hours of sleep a night! If you are someone who lives a busy life and finds it hard to get a decent amount of sleep, try coming up with a nighttime routine. Having a routine can be a huge help in getting to sleep fast and waking up feeling refreshed! You can also check out how I wake up early and stay productive and get more tips on a better sleep HERE. With the fall season beginning, now is a great time to start implementing a new routine to carry us through the fall and winter months, helping us stay energized and feeling our best despite the cold weather!
Diet
The foods we put into our bodies greatly affect the way that we FEEL! When it comes to the foods that we eat, there are so many factors that play a role in how we are feeling such as WHAT we eat, HOW much or little, and WHEN we choose to eat. Our bodies NEED the proper nutrients in order to function properly. If we are eating tons of sugar and processed foods we will be left feeling fatigue and tiredness. If we are eating too much or too little, this can also cause us to feel tired. Eating too many heavy foods forces your body to use up its energy to digest the food. Eating too little leaves out bodies with nothing to absorb and use as fuel for energy. If you are feeling tired AFTER your workout, this could have to do with your post-workout meal. Did you eat enough? Did you incorporate healthy carbs and proteins to fuel your muscles?!
How do we fix this?!
This one is not so much of an easy fix since it can be a variety of different things within your diet. The best thing for you to do is look at your diet and answer these questions:
- Do I eat enough healthy foods throughout the day, foods that will give my body the macronutrients it needs?
- Do I eat TOO much throughout the day? Are these foods processed carbs or high in sugar?
- Do I eat the proper foods (healthy carbs, protein, and fats after my workout?
If you find that you are not fueling yourself properly by eating too much processed carbs and sugar or you find that you are not eating enough of the RIGHT foods to satisfy your body's needs, this could be the cause of your tiredness! If you are COMPLETELY confused and do not know how to answer these questions or go about changing it, consider getting professional nutrition help! Leansquad offers easy, tasty, and of course LEAN meal plans that can help you get on track with your eating habits! Check out our meal plan options here!
Over-training or No Recovery time
It is no secret that our bodies need time to rest. If you workout on a regular basis, it is SO important that you give your body what it NEEDS - some time to rest and recover. Although it may feel like you are fine with overworking your body at first, IT WILL CATCH UP TO YOU! This can come in the form of injuries, muscle pain and again you guessed it, feeling tired during or after your workouts. To start fixing this, we need to start giving ourselves REST DAYS. On these days, focus on stretching and light exercises such as walking or swimming. Make sure you are also stretching after your workouts to ensure your body gets what it needs to recover properly and fully.
Tried all these things and are STILL feeling tired during or after your workout?
It might be time to see a doctor
If you are still feeling tired, this could mean that there is a more serious underlying health issue causing you to feel fatigued. Some of these issues include anemia, depression, anxiety, or thyroid issues. When we feel tired, this is our body telling us that we NEED something, whether it is something simple, such as more sleep or more water, or something less obvious like lack of iron or vitamins such as vitamin D or C. The most important thing is to listen to your body and do what you have to in order to STOP the fatigue and start feeling your best again!