Do you ever feel tired and worn down? Do you struggle to get out of bed some mornings? Do you get drowsy in the middle of the day? After work, are you too tired to go to the gym — or really do anything at all — except sit on your couch and watch TV?

We’ve all felt exhausted at one point or another during our busy days, and most of us just accept it as a routine part of life or a symptom of getting older. When that feeling becomes chronic fatigue, it can hinder your performance at home, work, or school – and it could also be preventing you from achieving your fitness goals at the gym.

Fortunately, there are many simple ways to boost your energy, and some of these ways can even slow the aging process. Read this blog to learn about what fatigue is, some common causes of fatigue, and how to fight them so that you have plenty of energy to exercise at our Thornton gym!

What Is Fatigue?

Fatigue is more than being tired sometimes after a long day at work — it’s being chronically tired for most of the day, every single day. The symptoms of fatigue can hamper our ability to achieve our fitness goals and prevent us from maintaining a healthy weight. The symptoms of fatigue include:

Chronic tiredness and sleepiness
Memory loss and short-term memory problems
Slower reflexes and reaction times
Dizziness
Moodiness and irritability
Impaired decision making and judgement
Sleep that isn’t refreshing
Difficulty with focus and concentration
Headaches
Unexplained joint and muscle pain
Extreme exhaustion after mental or physical exercise
Low motivation

Why Do You Feel Fatigued?

Most of the time, fatigue can be traced to your daily habits and routines. The first step toward fighting fatigue is to take an honest assessment of lifestyle factors that could be making you tired. These include:

Excessive physical activity
Not enough physical activity
Jet lag
Alcohol or drug use
Medications such as cough medicine or antihistamines
Not getting enough sleep
Unhealthy eating habits

Sometimes, fatigue is a symptom of underlying conditions that require medical treatment. It’s important to rule out an illness that could be causing your fatigue. Unrelenting exhaustion could be a sign of many health problems, some of them serious, including:

Anemia
Anxiety
Cancer
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Concussion
COPD
COVID-19
Depression
Diabetes
Heart disease
Obesity
Persistent pain
Stress
Traumatic brain injury

Once you and your doctor have determined that your fatigue is not the symptom of an illness, it’s time to trace the sources of your fatigue and try to address them. Ask yourself:

Am I eating a nutritious diet that aligns with my fitness goals?
Am I limiting my alcohol consumption?
Am I getting enough sleep?
Am I experiencing sleep disturbances caused by noisy neighbors, a snoring partner, or a stuffy bedroom?
Am I getting plenty of exercise at the gym?
Am I allowing my muscles to rest enough after each workout?
Am I experiencing a great deal of stress at work?

In most cases, fatigue can be linked to one or more of these issues, which means you’re not destined to a lifetime of fatigue and failing to reach your fitness goals. There’s a lot you can do to prevent fatigue and recharge your life!

Fatigue Caused by Overreaching and Overtraining at the Gym

Some fatigue is a normal part of the training process at the gym, but if fatigue becomes acute or chronic, it could be caused by overreaching or worse, overtraining. These conditions occur when there is an imbalance between the stress of exercise and recovering from that exercise.

If you want your training at the gym to work, you want to fatigue your body during your workout. And then, with adequate rest and recovery, your body bounces back and even overcompensates. You feel stronger, faster, and in better condition in the days and weeks that follow – you have improved!

But when you reduce the amount of rest and recovery you get between workouts and add in more training, your body can’t bounce back as easily. Your barbell feels heavier, you can’t make it through spin class, and cardio machines wear you out after a few minutes.

Overreaching is a temporary fatigue that occurs after heavy or intense workouts. The symptoms of overreaching include feeling ill, not being able to sleep, and moodiness. Overreaching won’t have a significant impact on your gym performance. If you recognize overreaching in its early stages and allow your body to regenerate properly, your condition will return to normal. However, if you don’t allow your body to recover fully, and continue to train hard, it could lead to overtraining.
Overtraining is chronic extreme fatigue. It’s a serious condition that’s caused by prolonged, high-intensity, high-volume, repeated, and monotonous training sessions. Overtraining can result in serious disorders that can take years to heal.

Some compare overreaching and overtraining to yellow and red traffic signals. If you feel the symptoms of overreaching, be on alert. If you feel the symptoms of overtraining, stop and make sure to let your body recover without delay.

What are the signs of overreaching and overtraining at the gym?

The main signs of overreaching and overtraining at the gym are extreme tiredness, slow recovery, and loss of performance. Even if you intensify your training at the gym, your performance will continue to decline. This is your body’s signal to you that it can’t adapt to your training sessions and you need immediate rest.

Other signs of overreaching and overtraining include:

Increased blood pressure
Decreased concentration
Inflammation
Abnormal heartbeat
A very high resting heart rate
Nervousness and emotional instability
High anxiety
Excessive sweating while training
Loss of appetite
Decreased interest in training

If an athlete fails to pay attention to these alarms and continues intense training, new symptoms may appear including low blood pressure, depression, low resting heart rate, increased sleepiness, and low blood sugar levels. These signals require urgent rest and changes to the athlete’s training to prevent more serious, lasting disorders.

How do I avoid overreaching and overtraining at the gym?

The best ways to avoid overreaching and overtraining at the gym are to:

Achieve the optimal combination of training and recovery
Get plenty of sleep
Eat a healthy diet with plenty of protein and other nutrients
Use tools like cryotherapy, hydro massage, medication, and active recovery

If you’re focused on improving your health and fitness, it’s critical to understand that your efforts will go to waste if you don’t achieve the proper balance between training and recovery.

Fatigue Caused by Not Exercising Enough at the Gym

At the other end of the spectrum are people who don’t get enough exercise. If you want to avoid fatigue, your fitness plan at the gym can help you accomplish this. It sounds counterintuitive, but exercising at the gym can increase your energy and brain function, reduce your stress and anxiety, improve your mood, self-confidence, and mental health, and keep you mentally sharp.

When you’re tired, the last thing you might feel like doing is going to the gym for a workout, but many studies show that exercise boosts energy levels. Exercise also improves the efficiency of your lungs, heart, and muscles which gives you more energy for any kind of activity.

Fatigue Caused by Inadequate Sleep

If you’re struggling to stay awake in the afternoon or lack the energy to go to the gym, poor sleep might be to blame. Losing out on sleep is known to cause slower thinking patterns and reaction times, memory issues, and indecisiveness. Well-rested athletes, on the other hand, have better reaction times, fewer injuries when training, athletic longevity, and faster running times.

One study showed that sleep-deprived adults have reaction times up to 50% slower than when they are rested. This same study found that one very poor night of sleep is comparable to being legally intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.10%!

The importance of sleep on your well-being can’t be underestimated, and healthy sleep habits are critical to preventing fatigue. Research shows that regularly getting 8 hours of sleep per night is key to being alert and minimizing fatigue. If you want to combat fatigue and maximize gains at the gym, make sleep a priority.

Try to set a regular bedtime and sleep 7-8 hours per night.
Exercise daily, preferably earlier in the day, which can improve sleep quality.
If you do fall short on shut eye at night, take a brief afternoon nap. Napping restores wakefulness and improves performance. Even a 10-minute nap is enough to boost energy.

Fatigue Caused by a Poor Diet

Surprisingly, fatigue can come from eating the wrong foods as fuel. It seems logical that calories give us energy, but the type of calories you consume matters. Junk food, alcohol, and an inconsistent diet can all contribute to fatigue.

It turns out, not eating enough and overeating can both contribute to fatigue. Choosing the right foods and eating them throughout the day in moderate, calorie-controlled amounts can help you manage your nutrition, blood glucose levels, and wakefulness.

Maintain a well-balanced diet that includes:

Fresh fruits and vegetables
Lean proteins like chicken, turkey, and fish
Whole grains and complex carbs
Nuts and seeds like almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds
Water, which is essential for optimal functioning of the body, and electrolyte-rich sports drinks that can replace nutrients lost while sweating
Daily vitamin and mineral supplements if you think you’re not getting everything you need from your food
Bananas, which are packed with potassium, vitamins, fiber, and the perfect amount of carbs to give you a boost of natural energy

Replace Your Fatigue with Fitness at AFAC Gym

In this blog, we’ve covered the most common reasons for fatigue like overtraining, not exercising enough, not getting enough sleep, and poor dietary habits. There might be other factors affecting your energy levels, but the good news is, many of them are under your control. Achieving your fitness goals depends on it!

At AFAC gym, our personal trainers are here to assist you with all your fitness questions. We can help you design the perfect strength training and cardiovascular exercise program to suit your goals, needs, and fitness level. We understand that you want results from your fitness program, and we’re here to support you!

To learn more about becoming a member of AFAC gym — the best gym in Thornton, Colorado — please stop by or give us a call anytime. We’ll be happy to assist you. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.