Why do I feel so exhausted after the gym?

[PistachioTiramisuLimoncello]

I’ve been seeing a PT for a few months now and have built up to going 3 times a week.

Am 50, perimenopausal and trying to get stronger as I age.

I take collagen and a couple of other supplements for hormones/gut.

I eat lean protein and lots of veg / I sleep 7-8 hrs

Why oh why does the gym completely knacker me out? Do I need creatine? Am I missing something?

Hmm I definitely prefer training in the morning ☺️

How is your energy nowadays @PistachioTiramisuLimoncello ?

are you in calorie deficit? I was under the impression that’s it’s difficult to build muscle if you don’t have enough energy do muscles to burn. Your liver needs to have glycogen stores to mobilise during weight training. If your liver doesn’t have enough you go into fat burining mode. Which is great if you are on a diet but will likely make you fatigue quicker.

listen to your body.

Hi everyone

I know this is an old thread, but I was about to post a similar question so I thought I'd tag it onto here

How are you doing @PistachioTiramisuLimoncello ?

My situation is similar

I really love working out, but it absolutely exhausts me.

I'll post the short version as I realise maybe no one will look at this

I'm 50

I'm finding a weight based workout absolutely wipes me out the next day

I can do ordinary things, sure, but it's almost irritating being so tired?

I tried reducing the weight a bit and it hasn't made much difference

I really enjoy working out and not quite sure what to do

My sister is 53 and she initially cut back to twice a week and said she finds that a real struggle and hasn't done it now since the end of last summer

brother is 55 and he no longer does any weight based work at all. But I would say he is naturally quite strong, (I am not) so it's not too much of a worry. He still does swimming and seems incredibly energetic all the time. He does push-ups at home and stuff. (He also doesn't like the gym environment so that was part of his decision).

I will keep tweaking my workout

I am also trying to lose weight so that might be a factor. My sister went through a phase with a personal trainer, and her hunger was off the chart. She could lift heavy but actually managing that hunger was an inconvenience - and I've heard men say the same thing as well

We're not doing anything over the top or unusual for our age.

I'm not quite sure what to do. I can't believe that at 50 I really have to cut back?

It's general tiredness. It's not DOMS.

I also wouldn't be able to do a weight based workout in the morning. I know a lot of people do, but I don't know how they do it.

this is ongoing for about three months now -I did have a big gap in terms of fitness but it just seems any time I do something that's challenging, even though I really enjoy it, I'm just knackered the next day.

currently doing weights based work workout three times a week.

@Huckleberries you are probably eating the wrong fuel. What do you eat both on workout days and rest days?

@HelenAtTheGym it's trainer approved with protein, complex carbohydrates, fats, veg and fruit. It's enough calories. I have more protein on workout days.

Trainer thinks I'm being unrealistic and a bit of tiredness is just normal.

Maybe I am. I posted in a hurry before going out yesterday and I realised that the original poster said she was exhausted.

I'm not exhausted. I'm just tired the next day

I was out last night and it was a bit of a drag. I would've preferred early bed. But it doesn't stop me doing anything. Maybe I'm just moaning too much.

I looked over my notes and it tends to be more on days that I do a lot of core work. It's not every day after a workout. I think it's noticeably those.

I am a gym junkie, @Huckleberries I go seven days a week. My rest day is the day I do reformer.
I am older than you and the gym gives me a kick.

Can I suggest that for 1 week, you tweak the “trainer approved” diet plan and see how you feel?
The first step is to ditch all the protein shakes, bars, and all the protein + type of foods, be it yoghurt, cereals with the extra protein.
The second step is to have a carb breakfast and not a protein based one. 30 gr rolled oats, 20 gr flax seeds, 4 dates. Soak night before or not if you forgot.

After the gym, don’t have the extra protein, have a piece of fruit. Then at lunch and dinner, you will have your proteins. Green beans with a boiled egg and some tuna (add the red onion, baby roma tomatoes for yumminess) , dinner will be some quinoa with roasted veggies, or oven baked chicken with a spinach salad. A chickpeas salad with tomatoes and cucumber and a bit of crumbled feta.
Everything that has sweeteners in it, ditch it. You must have a snack? Have blueberries.

There is no diet for all. Your trainer should listen to you if you are not feeling great on it. You shouldn’t feel tired. Sore, possibly, especially when you hit the extra rep or went heavier. Tired? it is fuel. Change the fuel.

@HelenAtTheGym I really appreciate your input thank you

I don't have protein shakes and bars. I find them pretty grim.

I will do a smoothie with Greek yoghurt and fruit and that's probably got a reasonable amount of protein in but I only do it occasionally because I'd rather eat both the yoghurt and the fruit!

We are very different people if you're going to the gym every day and reformer is your rest day - that's amazing.

I don't think the way I am eating is the issue

This may or may not be linked, but in my 30s I tried CrossFit and I packed that in quite quickly because it was too tiring

This is the most challenging set of workoutsI've done in a while so I might need some modifications, perhaps

that is also my trainer suggestion. I'm just a bit disappointed because I was hoping to finally do pullups!

We absolutely are different and muscle/energy recovery is different for everyone.
That’s what I was suggesting trying different approaches until you find the one that works for you. Playing around with macronutrients might be a good way to find out, what works for you.

Some women have myosteatosis, meaning they might store fat in muscle cells as well as fat cells and this affects the lipid metabolism as both muscle quality and energy are affected. When your body needs energy , it takes longer to retrieve it . Even mild fat infiltration will affect how you feel after a workout. The fact that you describe your siblings have similar energy issues might suggest lipid myopathy when the fat infiltration is genetic. Going low fat for a week is a good way to test for that.

I agree with you about the smoothie. The only food I eat in liquid form are soups!

For everything fitness wise, it is test and try. Pull ups and chin ups are a mix of proper technique and strength and it is a fantastic goal to have.

I tried CrossFit for a bit but I stopped as I didn’t want to get injured. I enjoyed the community but hated the clock and the EMOM or AMRAP. When you fight a stopwatch, form goes to shit.
It was fun but not worth getting hurt.

Bottom line, you are unique and how best to fuel is unique to you and experiment to see what works best. Feeling wiped out is an energy issue.

I'm often exhausted after a hard run or gym session and I'm 60. It's frustrating but I suspect age does have an influence sadly.

Feeling much better thanks for asking! Have been losing weight as well as training, so I think it was probably a fuel issue.

Have lost 34lbs so have slowed that down for the last stone as I want to make sure I’m preserving muscle.

My DOMS was also horrendous and that has eased.

Focusing on protein and high fibre. Eating healthy carbs.

I love The Organic Protein Co - it’s really not gritty - the vanilla one is amazing.

@PistachioTiramisuLimoncello i'm glad to hear it's sorted

And well done that's amazing! No offence, but I think it was probably harder for you to work out when you were heavier so that my account for it.

As I say, perhaps I should've started my own thread because I'm just tired after some of my workouts and that might be a tolerance level thing. It doesn't stop me doing anything. Normally, I just work out because I enjoy it so I'm not used to feeling a lot the next day

it's not immediate. It tends to be around 4 pm. I feel tired and I think oh yeah, that was a tough workout yesterday. And then I would've preferred an early night last night.

So I shall go to bed now ready to do it again tomorrow 😂

@HelenAtTheGym that sounds scary! I hope I don't have that!

I must say, doing quite full on training is a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I normally do classes and stuff because I thought I need that for motivation, but I'm really enjoying this.