“If you keep falling off the workout wagons because of post-workout fatigue, these simple strategies may help”
Some days, you hit the gym with your best mood and energy level. You feel powerful and energized and finish up knowing you gave it your all.
Other days, you find yourself struggling. You work as hard as possible but you are practically exhausted. Trying to shake off the grogginess, you like there is nothing you can do. So you end up feeling even more exhausted.
If you often feel extremely exhausted and drained out after an exercise routine, it’s about time you do something about it.
Following are some tips to boost your post-workout energy levels.
- Eat before and After a Workout
It is extremely important to eat healthy foods both before and after an exercise routine. This is to fuel your body and replenish any lost vitamins, minerals, and calories.
Try eating a small snack almost an hour before you hit the gym. If you plan on exercising for less than 60 minutes, prefer eating carbs to get a quick burst of energy. A piece of toast or a bagel will work just fine.
But if you plan on hanging around in the gym for more than an hour, choose a carb source that takes longer to fully digest, for example, bananas.
Thirty minutes after you work out, remember to refuel your body with a snack that contains both carbs and proteins. Yogurt with fruit is a perfect example of post-workout snacks.
Snacking after a workout session will help replace the glycogen stores depleted during exercise. Consequently, you will start feeling energized once again.
- Maintain Adequate Hydration
When you exercise, you obviously sweat. Sweat majorly consists of water that you need to replenish as soon as you finish the exercise. If you don’t, you are soon going to develop dehydration which will make you even more dizzy and lethargic.
“Replenishing the water lost as sweat during exercise is important to prevent post-workout fatigue”
Start drinking water three hours before exercising. Try drinking 3 cups of water during these three hours.
Remember to drink one cup of water every 20 minutes during exercise. After exercise, remember to drink 3 cups of water for every pound you lost.
- Get Proper Sleep
If you are burning the candle at both ends, it may be entirely impossible for you to exercise. Spending your nights studying or working instead of sleeping makes your body deprived. This makes you feel even more tired after a workout.
So make sure that you get seven to eight hours of sleep. You need to give your muscles some time to rest, recover and rebuild and sleeping is the best way to do it.
- Take a Shower
Taking a shower after a sweaty session at the gym has a lot more benefit than you think. A nice cold shower helps decrease inflammation in the muscles. This inflammation can otherwise cause discomfort and pain.
Hit the showers as soon as you finish your session at the gym. Be sure to use cold water.
- Listen to Upbeat Music
Listening to upbeat music can make you happier. It may even boost your overall wellbeing. [1] So keep the music on, especially after a workout. You may even listen to some upbeat tunes while you are working out
- Drink a Post-workout Protein Shake
Consuming whey protein right after a workout is great because it provides your body with all essential amino acids. It contains high amounts of leucine, the key amino acid that greatly influences the process of muscle rebuilding.
“Leucine, a key amino acid in whey protein helps rebuild muscle and improve strength”
Gulp down a cup of protein shake as soon as you finish working out to help your body recover itself.
- Warm up Properly
Your body needs to warm up properly before engaging in any intense exercise. If your body feels fatigued after exercise, it might be because you are not warming up properly.
Especially if you are working out in the morning, Spare at least 10 minutes to warm up properly.
There are different ways to warm up such as by performing jumping jacks or leg circles.
- Play it Safe
In very rare cases, post-workout exhaustion or fatigue might be a result of an underlying medical condition, for example, mononucleosis or fatigue syndrome. So if you experience any other medical symptoms other than exhaustion, contact your doctor immediately.
In a Nutshell
Follow these tips regularly to maintain your energy levels even after a strenuous workout. If these remedies don’t work out for you, don’t hesitate in contacting a doctor.