5 Reasons Why Exercise makes you Tired and not Energized

Feeling tired and experiencing a lack of energy is very common after exercise. Perhaps your intuition already tells you what’s happening in your case, but you’re here to confirm if it’s true or not.

Basically, exercise makes you tired and not energized because sometimes muscles go out of energy and the central nervous system loses its capability to keep moving them. As a result, muscle fatigue becomes the driving force that makes you feel lethargic.

But that’s not the only reason. There are five common reasons, and we will cover them in this post.

5 Causes of Tiredness After a Workout

Feeling tired after a tough training workout is absolutely normal. But if it feels abnormal, some common reasons could be:

1. Pushing Yourself Too Hard

Just as too much water can harm a plant, working out beyond your physical capability, which may seem doable in the heat of the moment, can lead to extreme fatigue.

That, as a result, will lead to longer tiredness, muscular injuries, and no energy ultimately leading to not working out at all…

So it’s better to workout really hard only occasionally, maybe 20-30% of the time but in the long run workout only as much as your body can bear.

The video below illustrates the surprising reason our muscles get tired:

If you enjoy working out multiple times a day, it’s better to focus on low- to moderate-level exercises.

Because in these exercises, your body takes energy from adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, a molecule that uses oxygen to keep you moving.

Remember no pain no gain is only a myth, push yourself only as hard as your body can take the pressure.

For a beginner, it is better to start from gear 1 and build from there. And as you grow in strength, make sure that with lifting gears, you are also taking care of good food and rest.

2. Not Eating Correctly

Food to the body is as important as water is to life on Earth. Both pre and post-workout meals are essential for physical nourishment.

You need a whole-food-based balance of carbs, healthy fats, and proteins, to make the full recovery process a success.

Not only your diet has a direct impact on muscles’ ability to recover after a workout but also on your energy levels.

Fix your diet and the issue of feeling tired and not energized after a workout will get resolved to a greater extent.

Some foods and advice that can help you post-workout are in the video below:

3. Not Drinking Enough Water

60% of our body is made up of water. Drinking water has many benefits. Some of them are listed here.

Your body loses a huge amount of fluid during a workout. As a result, it is obvious that you will get dehydrated.

A study revealed that tiredness and lethargy can hinder muscle recovery if dehydration is not managed properly.

Water is the best drink to rehydrate but if you are not too fond of it, mix things up and drink some coconut water, sports drinks, fruit juices, flavored water, etc to fulfill your hydration needs.

4. Medical Condition

In most cases, the bad feelings after exercise can be fixed with a few pre and post-workout changes.

However, this isn’t always the scenario. Some people have medical conditions that slow down the process of recovery.

It could be conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, COPD,  or sleep apnea.

Issues with the thyroid and heart can also be given the blame for it.

In such cases, it is better to workout strictly on the instructions of a physician.

Even if there is some minor health problem and you feel it is causing you trouble in workouts, consult the doctor for it.

Do not take your health lightly, and do not attempt to manage medical matters on your own.

5. Not Taking a Proper Rest

Your muscles grow outside the gym. What you did inside is just the input.

Same is the case with energy levels.

Between two heavy workouts, make sure that you get a good sleep. It has many benefits.

Not only will it release growth hormones but also speed up the recovery and repair process of your muscles.

It is commonly seen in new workout enthusiasts that they are too pumped to exercise and they don’t care if they are taking enough rest.

Check out a video below on the importance of taking proper rest after a workout:

Some other Post Workout Issues and their Solutions

1. Exhausted after a workout the next day

Getting exhausted after a workout is a common thing. The body went through a lot of pressure and is now craving food and rest.

Sometimes being in the zone and body fully pumped up, we workout harder than usual.

This is not felt at the time but later when the brain is more aware, it starts giving signals of tremendous tiredness.

Even on the next day, that exhaustion is felt in the body.

A solution to this problem is tricky because it is either tiredness or procrastination.

If you are still tired, a solution to this problem is more rest and food. You have to give your body some more time because if you push it to workout thinking “no pain no gain”, it will only harm your body.

That no pain no gain is only a myth and encouragement for self to get injured.

Procrastination, on the other hand, needs to be handled differently.

One effective way to manage procrastination is by using the 5-second rule, a self-management technique introduced by Mel Robbins.

Mel Robbins is a motivational speaker and bestselling author who popularized the productivity technique called the “5 Second Rule.”

The 5 Second Rule is a simple but powerful tool that can help you overcome procrastination and take action towards achieving your goals.

It works by counting backward from 5 to 1 and then immediately taking action toward your goal.

The idea is that counting backward from 5 gives you just enough time to overcome the mental resistance and hesitation that often prevents us from taking action, and the act of taking action immediately afterward helps to cement the behavior and make it more likely to become a habit.

2. Sleepy after Morning Workout

There are majorly 5 reasons behind it:

  1. You are new to the morning workout routine
  2. Your body is not yet used to workouts
  3. You are not drinking enough water
  4. It’s a medical condition
  5. You are not well rested

The most common is the natural reaction of the body to hibernate for a while so that physical energy can be restored.

In the worst case, it could be a medical condition that requires a doctor’s attention.

3. Post Workout Muscle Fatigue Symptoms and their Solutions

If you are new to fitness, you will surely go through all these Muscle Fatigue Symptoms:

  • soreness
  • localized pain
  • shortness of breath
  • muscle twitching
  • trembling
  • a weak grip
  • muscle cramps

And it’s totally OK to experience these problems. You just have to keep going.

Remember why you started and keep in mind that if you left in the middle, it will be even more difficult to restart the fitness routine again.

All the muscle fatigue symptoms listed above are temporary.

Only pain, the extraordinary pain is not normal, and it’s a sign of injury that needs medical attention.

The more you involve yourself in healthy habits, the more you will get comfortable with them.

Moreover, exercise is not only good for your physical health but also your mental health.

Do anything and everything that keeps you motivated to stay in a workout regime because workout habits are not built easily and if lost, it is very difficult to restart them.

Conclusion:

You don’t feel energized after working out because of 1 or more of 5 basic reasons:

  1. Pushing yourself too hard most of the time during workouts.
  2. Not maintaining a proper meal plan with workouts.
  3. Not drinking enough fluids, especially water.
  4. Medical Condition.
  5. Not resting enough between workouts.

Although the medical condition makes it tough. But besides that, if there is a will there is a way.

There needs to be a balance in your workouts. Don’t go too hard on yourself.

Eat a diet that fulfills your proteins and carbs needs. Drink enough water and make sure that you are getting proper sleep between the workouts.

Within weeks you will see the results, and there won’t be any issues of not feeling energized after workouts.

Your tiredness can also be due to work overload or tension. Check out this article on whether it is good or not to workout when you’re tired.

Also check out the 6 ways you can reduce work stress in a 1-minute video below:

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