Physical training helps boost your energy level and overcome mental fatigue. However, you can overdo it in the gym or on the track to the point where all your training is actually causing physical and possibly mental fatigue. The overcome existing fatigue and low-energy challenges and make real, lasting improvement, pay attention to the signals from your body, sticking with a training schedule that works for you. Also make sure you get adequate rest, both for you body and mind.
Muscle Fatigue
Training, whether it's for a marathon or a bodybuilding exhibition or just an extensive workout, can lead to muscle fatigue, a localized condition where the chemical makeup in the muscles can no longer make the muscles perform at a particular level of exertion. To avoid such problems, trainer Harley Pasternak, MSc, ACSM, recommends making sure your diet adequately supplies your body with sufficient carbohydrates and proteins. Endurance training requires an approximately 60-40 ratio of carbs to protein, while strength training is more of an even split. Staying hydrated before, during and after your workout is also vital to avoiding muscle fatigue.
Fighting Fatigue
If you suffer from the kind of fatigue that isn't related to a serious medical condition, such as heart failure or chemotherapy for cancer treatment, daily aerobic training can help decrease that feeling of listlessness and low energy. You should find that you can do more, whether it's playing a sport or some other activity requiring some physical effort, for a longer period of time before feeling any sensation of fatigue.
Training and Rest
The more you push your body during training, the more your body needs sleep as well as adequate rest to allow muscles to recover from an extensive workout. Physical training should give you more energy during the day and help you sleep at night, provided you don't work out shortly before going to bed. Rest periods are also important during your workout to avoid fatigue. If you push yourself hard in a particular exercise, take a minute or two to catch your breath and allow your muscles some recovery time before you ask them to perform again.
Considerations
If you work out regularly and are often feeling physically fatigued, you may have a medical condition such as thyroid disease or anemia, which is characterized by low iron levels in the blood. A viral infection, such as mononucleosis, can also be at play. Feeling mentally fatigued can be caused by stress, anxiety and depression. Take a moment to note how you feel day in and day out, and if you feel fatigued, regardless of your activity, share your feelings and symptoms with your doctor. If you do exercise regularly, note how that activity has or has not affected your energy levels or feelings of being fatigued.
