Exercise going well, but feeling run down

[TisTheSeasonToLebkuchen]

I've always exercised, but since April have been training a lot including running, weights and yoga. I usually do about 5 sessions a week. This is on top of work, and household stuff and kids. I felt great all summer, but suddenly am feeling run down and now I have a horrible cold. My life runs at a million miles an hour.

I don't think I am overdoing the exercise, but I am wondering if my nutrition etc. is not right for the amount I am doing in my life. Maybe I need to support my body better, rather than cut back on exercise.

Any ideas. I am also in the menopause space, although not massively affected by it compared to other women. I don't take any HRT, or vitamins as I don't know what I am doing. Exercise has basically shut down a lot of the menopausal symptoms I had such as lack of sleep, anxiety and of course is helping me build and maintain bone and muscle mass.

I feel like I need a vitamin drip and a couple of weeks in a health spa eating great food.

Any ideas on how to support myself?

Try and eat more protein and really prioritise sleep.

It makes a huge difference to my energy levels .

I would also investigate HRT. I have an oestrogen spray and it really has helped my sleep quality and energy levels.

I also train 5 days a week and do 10000 steps a day. 3 of these days are strength training and I actually had to up my calories a little so make sure stout are eating enough

Running can be hard on iron stores. Try a supplement or maybe even get ferritin levels tested at your GPs.

Everyone should be taking Vitamin D at this time of year

Hi OP

I am an online nutrition and strength coach with a degree in sport and exercise science - hoping I can help!

As other people have mentioned, there could be a number of reasons behind this - my first thought based on the amount of training you're doing is that you may not be suitably fuelled. It may be worth adding 200-300 calories per day initially to see if you notice an improvement in energy.

Other areas that might be the culprit could include:

• Vitamin D (especially at this time of year) - I would recommend supplementing with at least 2,500 i.u per day. I would get a blood test to confirm whether you are low on Vitamin D
• Vitamin B12 - this would be more likely if you have a vegetarian/vegan diet
• Sleep - the quality of your sleep also matters alongside the quantity. You might find it helpful to create an evening routine that helps you to wind down in the evening and improve your sleep quality

Other things that may help might include omega-3 fish oils (make sure they contain at least 300-1800mg of combined EPA + DHA). If you are vegetarian/vegan you can use algae oil. Also using creatine monohydrate as a supplement could be helpful as this will speed up recovery.

Hope you found this information helpful but please feel free to message me directly if you have any further questions.

In addition to existing advice.

Just STOP! You are ill. You have a cold. Ease off - maybe just gentle yoga, steady walking until all symptoms have gone. You shouldn't be exercising when sick, it'll prolong the illness and risk making it worse or it developing into something more serious.

Also, your body doesn't differentiate between exercise and mental/ life stress. If you have been overloading too long, it'll smash your immune system and you'll get sick (cold) and / or other injuries.

When you do a decent volume of exercise, it is critical to take a holistic approach to lifestyle AND exercise. It's all part of the same big picture. Nutrition and supplements have already been covered. But, rest and sleep have equal importance. Do you have total rest days from exercise? If not. You should. Do you have an easier week every few weeks? If not, you should. Do you have good sleep hygiene? Quality sleep? Enough? Regular bed and ride time?

Has work/ family life been particularly busy/ stressful/ challenging of late? If so, something needs to give. Work and family can't! So ease up on the exercise.

If you are going to hard (exercise, work, life, family) without the appropriate rest, I'm afraid you'll ultimately push yourself into an overtrained state. It's fine if you catch it and back off. If you don't, you risk it moving yourself into a state of over training that will be hard to get out of. It impacts everything, it's awful.

If you don't already - really recommend a decent sports watch that measures sleep, heart rate, heart rate variability and enables you to track exercise too. I use à Garmin - it all goes onto the app (connect). I find the data produced is super helpful. I've been doing this a very long time, so I'm familiar with my bodies signs and how it feels - when it's telling me to back off. But I also find the data helpful. I can always see in my resting heart rate and heart rate volume several days before I have cold symptoms.

I too am perimenopausal. Also managing symptoms well with diet and exercise. However I've noticed a new trend - a week or so before my period is due I suffer with feeling exhausted, wiped out and burnt out. I know it isn't caused by any other factors (work, family, training etc). Such a distinct pattern has formed. Clearly down to another perimenopausal delight. I would also suggest cycle tracking if not already, keep a diary. Again, the Garmin connect app gives you the option. It bamboozled me to begin with, then I noticed the pattern.