Experiencing fatigue and muscle pain after working out is normal. However, too much of it can be due can overwhelm your body and mind, making you feel sluggish all day. This is what we call burnout.
Read this blog to explore tips to avoid this exhaustion after workouts so that you can stay charged up all day long. You’ll find diet and lifestyle tips like staying hydrated, taking a rest, eating protein bars, and more to elevate your energy levels.
What Does Exercise Burnout Feel Like?
Burnout after exercise happens when you overtrain your muscles or don’t get time for recovery. While some muscle pain and tiredness is natural after workout, burnout can severely affect your energy levels throughout the day, causing irritability, appetite changes, and sleepiness.
So, if you’re working out not making you feel refreshed but making you feel physically and mentally tired, you need to reset your fitness routine. Read more in the next section.
How to Avoid Workout Burnout?
Here are some of the common symptoms of exercise burnout along with the ways in which you can prevent them:
1. Exhaustion and Muscle Soreness
If your muscles are so sore that you shudder at the thought of hitting the gym again, you’re probably overworking. Embrace it with a good old-fashioned recovery & rest day and allow your body to chill a bit. During this, you can stretch muscle and alleviate soreness with foam rollers.
2. Low Energy Levels
A dip in energy levels can happen when your body is low on electrolytes. If you’re losing weight and cutting carbs out of your diet, it can also lead to fatigue and mood swings as your body craves something sweet and carbs. This can also make you feel mentally tired. Eat healthy sugars and mineral-rich foods like fruits, juices, or complex carbs like millets or protein packed snacks like whey bars or protein shakes. Stay dedicated to your workout by doing low-intensity workout like yoga, bike rides, or hiking on days you feel low but dedicated to working out.
3. Mood Swings
Burnout can cause irritability and mood swings that can make you act irrationally. Reward your body and mind with a relaxing & refreshing escape through a warm water bath, sauna, or meditation. Pour yourself herbal tea made with nerve-soothing ingredients chamomile or hibiscus. Men can consider taking ashwagandha tablets of shilajeet supplements to make more testosterone and fight fatigue and mood swings.
Additional Tips to Beat Post-Workout Fatigue
Here are some more tips to avoid burnout after long gym hours:
- Staying hydrated helps regulate blood flow and maintain energy levels but don’t just drink plain water. Make sure to sip fruit juices to make up for lost water plus electrolyte for optimum energy levels.
- Do warm up your muscles before and after exercise to relax muscles and reduce muscle strain.
- Eat something before or after workout to exercise with energy and energy repletion to stay charged up.
In a Nutshell
If you feel burned out after exercise, it might be time to reconsider your fitness routine or the diet part. Avoid exercising and take time to rest and recover. Make sure to load up on healthy natural sugars via fruits, complex carbs though whole grains and millets, and stay hydrated. Take care of your mental health with herbal teas for a therapeutic effect on your nervous system. All of these tips can help prevent post-workout burn out to a great extent.
