Post-Workout Fatigue: How to Help Your Body Recover
Have you ever found yourself extremely exhausted after every workout session? Is it to the point where you can’t move or want to sleep where you are? If you have, then you’re experiencing post-workout fatigue.
While being tired after exercising is normal, feeling so drained all the time after working out could pose some negative effects to your fitness regime. It can even prevent you from following a good workout schedule and decrease your overall productivity.
Let’s discuss more what post-exercise fatigue is, what causes it, how to prevent it, and what to do to alleviate the tiredness when you finish your routine.
What Is Post-Exercise Fatigue?
After a moderate or intense workout session, you will feel very tired to the point that you want to go to sleep or pass out. This is called post-workout fatigue. It’s normal to feel energized or be tired after exercising.
However, if you do experience exhaustion after every session, it would be hard to get the most out of your efforts and your workout progress will be negatively affected. You would want to avoid this from happening.
Why Does It Happen?
There are 3 major causes of post-workout fatigue. One is that your muscles run out of energy. Our muscles require adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to contract and working out decreases this energy source. Once depleted, you would be left with no strength to move.
The second cause is that your central nervous system (CNS) loses its charge. To make your muscles contract, your CNS sends signals to your muscles for movement. Think of your CNS as a battery. The more it keeps on sending signals through your muscles through a prolonged exercise session, the more its power is decreasing. Hence, the feeling of drowsiness.
Blood flow and hydration are very important for muscular movement. Without proper hydration, our bodies will have a slowed metabolism for energy production and transportation - and this results in our muscles having a slower recovery process.
5 Ways to Beat Post-Workout Fatigue
1. Hydrate properly before and after a session
As mentioned, hydration plays a vital role in producing muscle energy after a workout session. You must immediately drink water or sports drinks that are rich in electrolytes after finishing your sets. Getting hydrated before exercising also gives you more energy for the session to come.
2. Eat after a workout
Whether you are hungry or not after exercising, always eat a post-workout meal. Better yet, always have protein balls in your gym bag as snacks. Protein is essential for muscle recovery and is one of the primary ingredients for ATP production along with water, fats, and carbs.
3. Change your workout schedule
Your post-workout fatigue could be caused by the time of the day you do your exercise. While morning workouts allow you to start the day energized, this isn’t the same case for everyone. If you notice yourself having difficulty functioning during a morning session, consider moving your workout schedule during the afternoon or evening.
On the other hand, if you find it hard to sleep the night after exercising, you should work out early in the morning.
4. Don’t push yourself too hard
Everyone has their limits and pushing yours would only cause severe fatigue. Always stick to a realistic workout program. Being able to do your sets doesn’t mean you should do more. There is a significant difference between increasing the difficulty of your workout as you hit a plateau and overexerting yourself.
5. Get adequate rest
For your nighttime rest, always aim to get 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This will make your muscles recover faster while giving them more endurance to function well during and after an exercise session.
Nutrition, hydration, and rest are essential to keeping yourself functional after a workout session. That’s why you should always eat a balanced diet, drink a lot of water, never skip a meal, and get those zzz’s every night. Bring a bottle of water everywhere you go and put your devices away an hour before going to bed.
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