My Secret to Keeping Energy Levels High and Staying Consistent With Exercise

This is the fourth post in the series – Making Exercise a Lifestyle

via GIPHY

Do you want to make exercise part of your lifestyle but just can’t find the energy some days? Are you simply too tired to workout some days?  Are you bored of doing the same workout routine?

There have been countless days I’ve struggled to find the energy after work to go workout.  The workday can be draining and all you want to do is take a nap, eat, and lounge on the couch with a movie.  Some days I’d push through it, some days the nap won.  Some days, the nap, in my car, at the gym parking lot won.  Yep!  That’s happened. 

When I end up feeling absolutely drained toward the end of my workday, I think about why.  What have I been eating lately?  What have I been doing all week?  How much have I worked out in the past 6-7 days?  I like to do a full analysis as to the root cause of why I might be feeling a lack of energy.  

Throughout my fitness journey, I’ve learned what my body is capable of and what I can do to mitigate the infamous energy slump.  I’ve gone through many ups and downs and have taken note of what maintains high energy throughout the week, while still feeling like I’m getting a good workout in.

So, What’s The Trick?

After years of making exercise part of my lifestyle, I’ve learned where to push myself and where to redirect my efforts.  What I mean by that is, some days I feel fresh and ready to take on hill sprints or CrossFit, other days I need to move with a bit more ease with a slower distance run or yoga.  I couldn’t do this without listening to my body.

Be Mindful And Know Your Limits

If there is anything that my yoga practice has given me over the past seven years, it’s learning how to be in tune with my body and how it feels on a daily basis.

Your body fluctuates every day.  Depending on what you have put your body through in the days or weeks prior, any number of factors could dictate how you perform in your daily work or exercise.  That is a huge thing to take into consideration. 

Listening to your body means asking yourself, does anything hurt?  Are all joints functioning properly?  Do I feel balanced?  Do I feel clear headed?  When is the last time I took a rest day?  What counter balance and recovery strategies could I do to make me feel better? 

That body-mind connection isn’t just some voodoo hocus pocus.  TUNE IN.  What hurts, aches, is tight, or immobile?  Did weights do that?  Was it running?  What recent habits or patterns might have caused the way you are feeling?

Maybe you have your main workout you love.  For me, it’s CrossFit.  But that wears me down pretty quickly.  I have to listen to my body to know if CrossFit is a good idea that day or perhaps a trimmed down version, or something else entirely.  More on that in a moment. 

Knowing Your Limits Is Key

Adding more weight for your lift, running that extra mile, or attempting a new balancing pose wouldn’t be possible without knowing your limits.  At the same time, reducing the weight, running a shorter distance, and just taking child’s pose should be taken just as seriously. 

The last thing anyone needs is to injure themselves because they “should have been able to do a 200lb back squat today.”  Just chill bro!  It ain’t no thang if you can’t get your PR every day.  You are doing this fitness thing for the long-haul, right?

Working out as a lifestyle means being able to be active the rest of your life.  When we stop moving,we stop living.  However, that doesn’t mean I have the expectation that I need to exceed all my prior workouts.  It is most definitely okay for me to ‘fail’ at a workout I might have excelled at in the past.  Every day is different.

Knowing your limits and finding a balance is what makes all the difference. 

If you generally feel good and you’ve made a clear assessment of your body, but you are still feeling the energy slump semi-regularly, have no fear, there is an alternative plan…

Diversify Your Workouts

This has to be my #1 secret to making fitness a lifestyle.  Diversifying your method of exercise is the key to maintaining an exercise lifestyle that so many miss.

When the words “workout” “exercise” or “fitness” come up, what image pops into your head?  That one gym that you belong to?  The one path that you run?  The one studio you bought a membership at?

Have you stuck with the same gym for more than 5 years?  The answer I most often hear is, “No.”

Variety Is An Essential Part Of The Human Experience

A big reason I have maintained a health and fitness-oriented lifestyle is because I have diversified my workout activities.

While I do weights and functional training, I also alternate with yoga and running, even though there is already a lot of variety in my functional training workouts. 

While I love CrossFit, working out that intensely just isn’t sustainable for me for more than 3-4 days in a row.  Introducing a counter activity every week such as yoga, helps me maintain activity while giving my body the break that it needs.

Take squatting for example.  Maybe you love to squat – front squat, back squat, air squat, you name it and you do these every day.  Your body will first become sore from the compound movements, then you will become fatigued doing that movement.  From there, you may start compromising your form.  Once you compromise your form you are relying on certain muscles that may not be intended to take that burden.  Soon enough, you feel a pain in your lower back, knee, or hip and now cannot do any exercise due to being in recovery.  

While you should do what you enjoy, like I mentioned before, listen to your body.  Think about what you’re doing to your body on repeat.  Whether you run daily, lift heavy, or do HIIT, repeating the same movements puts your body through the wringer.

These are undoubtedly amazing workouts, however, consistently “beating” your body up like that is naturally going to take its toll.  When we put ourselves through an intense workout every day, be mindful that it might start to feel exhausting after a few days.  Again, listen to your body. 

It’s Not Just Physical

We are naturally conditioned to need variety in our lives.  Could you eat the exact same thing every day?  I sure couldn’t.  The repetitive nature of the same workout not only wears your body down, but also your brain. 

When you have just done exercise form A to your body three days in a row, your body is probably starting to break down from exercise form A in the form of sore muscles, exhaustion, and well, …boredom.

While that boredom may not be apparent in the early stages of your new gym routine, over time it will.  Therefore, having a variety of types of physical activity makes a major impact in sticking with a fitness routine, ultimately making it a lifestyle.

Again, do what you love.  If you hate weights, don’t do weights, or whatever form of exercise you dislike.  But even if you love running, hiking, or swimming, chances are you might want to mix it up at some point.  Either your body or your mind is going to want that variety.  

When we do the same routine over and over, the same old, same old feeling begins to set in.  Once that feeling is introduced, it will more than likely come back into your brain.  Slowly but surely, it adds an excuse.  Now you have a reason not  to go…

When you have a second or third option in your bag of tricks, the excuses seem to fade away.  The thought of, “I’m too tired to go to the gym.”  Now becomes, “I’m too tired to go to the gym, but I can handle a Pilates class.”  To give you an idea of a formula that works, check out the graph below.

Here’s An Example:

For me that translates to CrossFit Monday – Wednesday, run or sprint on Wednesday, possibly and off day on Thursday, CrossFit Friday, a long run Saturday (quite possibly to CrossFit and back), and maybe yoga on Sunday if I skipped one of those days for a rest day.

I have my main gym I love going to, but I know I can’t sustain that type of activity and keep my energy levels high.  I diversify my workouts to keep a consistent activity level but also to have enough get-up-and-go to get through the week. 

Carbohydrates Are Not The Enemy

I’m about to disagree with all the keto lovers out there.  ***Gasp***

Do you have low energy slumps?  Are you eating complex carbs? 

Any nutritionist knows carbs = energy AKA brain food.

I was a high protein/fat eater before all the keto hype.  I started to have major energy issues to the point I would have to leave work early or go take a nap in the middle of the day.  I finally went to the doctor it got so bad.  After a series of questions around my lifestyle habits and health history she asked, “Are you eating carbohydrates?”  “Well… No.”  She told me to start with that, see how your energy changes.

And guess what, like magic, I never had that issue again.  I’ll go into more detail another time.  But to give you the goods, here are the main carbs I incorporate into my regular nutrition to maintain high energy:

• Oatmeal – Steel cut or rolled oats
• Quinoa
• Rice – Any rice except minute or “quick,” invest in a rice cooker because convenience
  
• Sweet potatoes – all colors
• Any potato
• Starchy veggies

Get the full list of complex carbs here!

Eat a veggie with every meal, at least two meals a day should have a serving of one of the above complex carbs.  If I want to workout that day, to give me ample energy, I need to have at least one serving of complex carbs before my workout (unless I wake up to go workout immediately).

RECAP:  The Keys To Maintaining Your Energy And Making Fitness A Lifestyle:

• Listen to your body, know your limits
• Diversify your workout activities
• Eat complex carbs!

Let me know any other strategies you have to maintain energy in the comments section – the more knowledge shared, the better for all!

This is the fourth of a five part series, next I’ll wrap up the Making Fitness a Lifestyle series.  Check out the next post – Stick to Your Fitness Routine: How Long Does It Take to Make Exercise a Lifestyle Habit?

Disclaimer:  All opinions are my own.  This post is intended for educational, inspirational, or entertainment purposes only.  I am not a doctor, the content on this blog is not intended to be substituted for medical advice.