There is no doubt that regular physical activity is crucial if you want to live a healthy life. However, as most people are active participants in the 21st century “rat-race”, the hectic and busy lives often leach much of our energy, both mental and physical. Eventually, when preparing to train, many individuals face problems in finding the power to get started and continue workout sessions at sufficiently intense levels.
Sure, you can begrudgingly do an at-home workout, drag yourself to the gym or a fitness class with virtually no energy, and go through the motions for the sake of completing your daily to-do list. Although you will spend time doing exercises that will likely lead to a bad workout, leaving you feeling tired, sluggish, and counting the minutes until it’s over. Luckily, there are few simple things you can do to amp up your energy and slay the game next time you will hit the weights or the treadmill. Let’s highlight five ways to get your energy levels up, and give yourself an extra added pep just in time for your workout.
Change Your Workout Plan
The lack of energy and fatigue might be signs of overtraining, which means that the body hasn’t had a chance for recovery, and any more training can have a negative impact. It’s believed that the person should adjust the workout plan every 3-4 months and also change the workout time. If you used to visit the gym on the weekend, consider working out in the middle of the week after work.
What’s more, sometimes spontaneous training can relieve physical and emotional tension and give needed energy. Set yourself free from all rules, work out without a specific plan, and just have fun. At the same time, if feeling fatigued continues, make it an off day and refrain from hitting the gym if you’re only going to do a half-hearted workout. If you still decided to work out in a tired state, use lighter weights than usual to reduce the risk of injury.
Fuel Up Properly
Healthy dieting is a high source of energy to keep you going during long hours of training sessions. The food you eat is transformed into power through the metabolism process, while each type of food is responsible for a certain purpose in the body. Combining healthy fats with complex carbohydrates and protein for a pre-workout snack is a great way to enhance your energy and provide your body with essential nutrients and fuel to perform at maximum capacity.
Also, it’s best not to eat right before a workout, which can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. During an intense workout, your muscles are under a lot of stress, while the stomach will be trying to digest food simultaneously. The pre-exercise meal can comprise of 300-600 calories and should be consumed nearly three to four hours before a strenuous workout. Even if you aren’t hungry, it’s crucial to eat prior to a long workout by having a small snack like fruit an hour before the session.
Drink Enough Water
Since you tend to lose a ton of water through perspiration, staying hydrated is one of the best ways to ensure you don’t feel sluggish during your exercise. Dehydration can trigger weakness, dizziness, and even nausea. It also means you won’t get the most out of your training session and achieve all your gym goals, so it’s vital to stay properly hydrated and replenish this loss.
Water is the essential nutrient for our bodies that provide proper processing of nutrients, mostly carbohydrates. If carbohydrates won’t be stored in sufficient amounts, necessary training energy will also be compromised. Further, fully hydrated muscles are able to generate force, making them stronger and more capable of maintaining numerous muscular contractions. When training without enough water muscles can accumulate waste products and must be flushed to function correctly again.
Be sure to bring a big water bottle with you wherever you go as a reminder to drink consistently within the day. Try to drink between 2-4 litres of clean, fresh water to ensure optimal hydration. Start chugging the water as early as you can before your workout and keep on drinking during your exercise session, especially if you haven’t been hydrating enough throughout the day.
Take Supplements
When it comes to energy and focus, proper supplements may help to boost your performance during the workout. They are usually consumed thirty minutes before the training and make your workout more effective. Consider trying out the following energy-enhancing supplements:
- Caffeine. Caffeine is a popular product that may help to improve endurance, power, and muscle recovery. Studies show that caffeine boosts energy for a while and might be useful for delaying the time of muscle fatigue, releasing pain-decreasing endorphins, and lowering lactic acid build-up. Caffeine is considered a stimulant that naturally increases your heart rate and boosts energy levels. It also activates the amount of adrenaline in your system, supplying extra glucose and oxygen to your muscles, which can give you a serious boost in energy and performance during strength training sessions;
- CBD Oil. This natural supplement is a well-known aid in case of pain, muscle soreness, stress, lack of energy, and sleep disturbances. CBD is known to interact with the complex, cell-signalling endocannabinoid system of the body, which is involved in most processes occurring in an organism. Due to the positive effect on the endocannabinoid system, CBD benefits can help to reduce anxiety and stress levels, regulate the sleep cycle, relieve pain and chronic aches, improve mood, energy, and endurance, and even speed up post-workout recovery;
- Multivitamins. Being deficient in either vitamins or minerals might result in an inability to function at maximal efficiency. Since multivitamins include vitamins and minerals necessary for energy generation, such a supplement can help to promote better fitness results. The multivitamins are loaded with several blends like the enzyme and probiotic blend improve food digestion while the cardiovascular blend maintains the cardiovascular system. Multivitamins help to enhance circulation, activate endurance, and support overall heart health during tough physical activity.
Make A Killer Playlist
Many people find that they can increase energy levels and get ready for a training session by turning on their favourite music. Research also shows that listening to your favourite tunes before working out can reduce feelings of fatigue, allowing you to push your limits and challenge yourself to do more. Whether you are in your car on the way to the gym after just waking up or after work, make sure to turn on some fast-paced music and turn up the volume.
As an alternative, you can create an energising mix or a playlist of songs (rap, techno, or mellow classical) on your iPod that you know going to make your mood soar through the roof and leave you to feel like a fitness rock star. Music affects your workout, mood, and energy in the best way possible, so add some of your favourite songs, pop those earbuds in, and receive some major benefits during your training session.
