Why You Feel Tired During Your Workouts

​​Picture this, you head to the gym looking forward to your workout. You know how great you’re going to feel afterward. Working out has always helped you feel grounded, strong, energized, and ready to take on the day!

But something different happens. You hop onto the treadmill or warm up, feeling pretty good. Next, you head over to the weights. Everything starts out just fine, but as the minutes go by, instead of getting into a groove, you’re feeling weak and tired.  

Bone tired…

“Just let me get through these next few sets so I can get home and crash! As a matter of fact, I don’t really need to do those last 2 exercises. I’m done.”

Any of this resonate?  

It happens to everyone. We have good days and we have bad days. It’s when this starts happening on a regular basis that it’s time to take a hard look at what else could be going besides just being tired. 

It’s important to note that as we get older it takes longer to recover from one workout to another. Our muscles take longer to repair and get stronger, which means we need more rest. 

As women over 50 it’s important that we get enough rest and recovery if we want to increase our strength and improve our body composition. 

Of course, there are other factors at play here too that you need to be aware of so you know what to look for. 

Questions to Ask Yourself

• Are your workouts too intense?
• Are you dehydrated?
• Not getting enough calories?
• Not getting enough protein?
• Not getting enough carbs?
• Do you lack muscular endurance?
• Do you lack cardiovascular endurance?
• Incorrect breathing? 
• Are your rest intervals too short?
• Not enough sleep – the night before or chronically getting poor sleep?
• Under a lot of stress?
• Not enough recovery time between workouts?
• Thyroid issues?
• Do you have an Illness?
• Are you anemic?

Any of these could make you feel completely wiped out during or after a workout. If you’ve got 2 or 3 of these happening, you’re really fighting an uphill battle. To discover what’s wrong you need to be a bit of a detective – track, analyze, adapt. And then rinse and repeat until you find the culprit.

Take some time to track how you’re feeling before, during and after your workouts along with what you ate, how you slept, and if you were under any stress.

But let’s go a little deeper; you want to make sure you’re getting to the root cause, so you don’t have to deal with this again, right? 

Nutritional deficiencies can really disrupt your workouts, leaving you exhausted and unable to make any gains. 

Let’s take a look.

Common Vitamins and Minerals

These common vitamins and minerals are needed to perform at your best and some foods that are high in each. 

• Vitamin B (B6, B12, Folate, thiamin, riboflavin) converts food into energy. Sources include black beans, lentils, or peanuts.
• Vitamin D is needed for muscle contraction. The mitochondria can regenerate energy, Sources include sun, egg yolks, and fortified foods.
• Potassium is an important electrolyte which works with sodium, making sure your muscles and nervous system work properly. It balances water through your body. Sources include sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, and tuna.
• Iron carries oxygen to your muscles. Sources include spinach, broccoli, raisins, fortified cereals, and eggs.
• Magnesium is a powerhouse that is a component of 300 enzymes involved in energy metabolism. Sources include leafy greens, almonds and quinoa.
• Zinc is important because low levels can zap your energy, limiting oxygen uptake. Sources include chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, and quinoa.

It’s important to note that slow and steady wins the race. Don’t run off to buy each one of these supplements. You could be wasting your money if you’re not actually deficient in it, and you should always consult your doctor before taking anything. For example, did you know too much Magnesium can lead to an irregular heartbeat? 

Too much zinc can lead to nausea, dizziness, headaches, upset stomach, vomiting, and loss of appetite. If you take too much zinc for a long time, you could have problems such as lower immunity, low levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol, and low copper levels.

And signs of too much vitamin D are nausea, vomiting, weakness, headache, frequent urination · painful muscles, and kidney damage.

When it comes to your health, always consult your physician first before making any lifestyle changes. 

If you are struggling with extremely low energy while working out, start at the top of this list and work your way through it one item at a time. 

Keep a log of how you feel and you’ll be back in full force before you know it.