# Low energy during workouts. Any remedies that don't involve caffeine? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 29, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491 "2016-02-29T12:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/21 "2016-03-01T22:52:32Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > As a regular thing that’s a lot of sodium. It might be a lot of sodium but if you’re working out so much you’re drinking enough water to compensate. Low sodium can kill a workout. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/22 "2016-03-02T00:00:42Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > It might be a lot of sodium but if you’re working out so much you’re drinking enough water to compensate. Low sodium can kill a workout. I wonder about this. Typically during and immediately after a workout I drink maybe one cup of water. I sweat what I suppose is an average amount for, say, an hour of cardio, but that much water seems like plenty (of course, I’m also drinking water throughout the day). And there is a LOT of sodium in regular V8, 481 mg per cup. That’s 20% of your daily requirement right there. Low sodium V8 has 141 mg per cup, which sounds to me like it should be enough to replenish your electrolytes, along with over 800 mg of potassium. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/23 "2016-03-02T00:46:26Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > This is what I was going to say. Although, I find pb/h (honey) gives a longer-lasting boost with less of a spike. Probably owing to the differences in the sugars. > > I stay away from dairy before, but is ok afterward (choc milk). Now that you mention it, I realize I do opt for pb/honey on mornings of long runs. Never really thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/24 "2016-03-02T20:04:45Z")
There’s also the mental/emotional aspect. Would music keep you pumped? Would using an exercise video or live person leading a class keep you moving even when you start to feel tired? Or setting a plan before the workout, so you’re not deciding how much to do when you’re already tired? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/25 "2016-03-02T20:41:18Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Hi Grrr! If you provide some additional information, we may be able to offer some advice more specifically tailored towards your needs. For example, what time of day do you work out? A typical person’s energy levels are highest in the late afternoon/early evening, so you could try switching the time of day of your workouts. > > What are you eating? How far in advance of your workouts are you getting something to eat, and what is it that you’re eating? If you’re not getting sufficient calories into your system, and giving yourself time to digest the calories (think a couple hours beforehand), that could also be contributing to low energy levels. > > Are you on any sort of diet? If you’re depriving yourself of any macronutrients (fats, carbs, or proteins), this could also deplete your energy stores faster. > > How long are your workouts? If you’re doing an hour of strength training, and then trying to do an hour of cardio, that could simply be too much work at one go. Shortening your workouts could help this problem. > > What sorts of workouts are you doing? Are you doing intervals, or steady cardio? Because intervals will wear you out faster. > > Again, all these answers are just guesses based on the limited information provided. If you give us some more detail, we could probably give you more personalized responses. 1. My diet could be better. I eat pretty much whatever. I do make it a point to stay away from fast food, fried foods, and sugary drinks. 2. My workouts are 30min on the treadmill (couch to 5k style) or 30min on the eliptical and then after cardio, I try to do 30min strength training. Problem is, I haven’t been hitting my goal of 30min strength training. It’s not a problem when I skip the cardio. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/26 "2016-03-03T11:19:37Z")
Really, alternate. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/27 "2016-03-03T13:52:31Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > 1. My diet could be better. I eat pretty much whatever. I do make it a point to stay away from fast food, fried foods, and sugary drinks. > > 2. My workouts are 30min on the treadmill (couch to 5k style) or 30min on the eliptical and then after cardio, I try to do 30min strength training. Problem is, I haven’t been hitting my goal of 30min strength training. It’s not a problem when I skip the cardio. One thing you should definitely pay attention to is the amount of food you’re consuming in the few hours prior to your workout. If you work out in the morning, then it’s not a good idea to eat a heavy meal beforehand, but you should eat some sort of carb that digests quickly, like a banana or a granola bar. If it’s later in the day, then make sure you’ve gotten a solid meal in, but well before the actual workout. Ideally, I would say to give your body a good three hours to digest any complete meal. If you haven’t fully digested your last meal, that could definitely cut down on your energy levels. If you feel hungry as it gets closer to your workout time, go ahead and have a snack – but just a snack, not a full meal. And again, the closer you are to your workout time, the more important it is that you eat something easy to digest. So, for instance, a snack of almonds two hours before your workout is fine, but half an hour beforehand, you’d better go for simple carbs. If that doesn’t work, another thing you can try is a caffeine-free pre-workout supplement. I’m currently taking NO-Xplode, which has a caffeine free version you can get [on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/BSN-N-O-XPLODE-2-0-Caffeine-Free/dp/B004C63PM8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8). I can’t vouch for that specific product, as I take the kind with caffeine, but the caffeinated version works pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/28 "2016-03-03T14:36:50Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > 1. My workouts are 30min on the treadmill (couch to 5k style) or 30min on the eliptical and then after cardio, I try to do 30min strength training. Problem is, I haven’t been hitting my goal of 30min strength training. It’s not a problem when I skip the cardio. Try doing the strength training first. The cardio is using a lot of the energy you need to lift weights. It’s easier to do cardio when you’re tired versus weights. For your cardio, have you thought about classes? They are a great way to get a full cardio workout, burn lots of calories, and they are even somewhat enjoyable (at least more than the treadmill). One advantage to being in a class is that you can just go with the flow and not think about having to push yourself. The instructor provides direction and you just follow along. This can often make it easier for you to work out harder and longer because you don’t have to motivate yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/29 "2016-03-03T15:01:34Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > 1. My diet could be better. I eat pretty much whatever. I do make it a point to stay away from fast food, fried foods, and sugary drinks. As others stated, lack of energy is, aside from a medical condition, stress, sickness, primarily either the result of issues with diet, sleep, or both. It could be something as simple as just eating more, or making adjustments to your macros. It could be something like adjusting WHEN you eat. Some simple carbs about an hour before your workout can make a difference. Also, how is your sleep? Are you getting enough? Is it GOOD sleep? Personally, I even like to take a power nap before working out. Also, I HATE caffeine, I don’t have a condition, but it definitely makes me feel uncomfortable, so I really only get small amounts, mostly because I enjoy tea, and even then, it’s usually tea with low or no caffeine. Frankly, I find any sort of stimulant or pre-workout distracting because, even if it does make me feel better for part of the workout, I can end up going too hard and dragging ass through the rest. For plenty of people, that means either half-assing or just giving up on the part that it wears out. > [@](#): > > 1. My workouts are 30min on the treadmill (couch to 5k style) or 30min on the eliptical and then after cardio, I try to do 30min strength training. Problem is, I haven’t been hitting my goal of 30min strength training. It’s not a problem when I skip the cardio. I’d definitely recommend doing weight training before cardio if you’re going to do them at the same session. I do advanced workouts, and I prefer doing them at the same time to. The reason for this is how your body uses energy. The simplified version is that you have quick and easy access to energy that your body will use first before it starts going to the more and more difficult to breakdown and long term stored energy. Thus, if you do cardio first, you’ll burn up all the quick energy and not have the bursts of energy you need to weight train well. If you do it in reverse, you’ll have much better training sessions and that quick energy will be mostly exhausted by the time you get to cardio and, unless you’re doing sprints or something similar, you’ll still have a decent cardio session because your body will be able to access those other stored energy sources at the rate you do cardio. So, unless you’re training specifically for something more cardio based, like marathon, you’ll probably see better results both in terms of building muscle and leaning up by doing weight training first. That said, make sure you still warm-up, maybe 5 minutes and/or some light sets, because you don’t want to lift cold. This may even help address your energy problems as well. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/30 "2016-03-03T15:10:48Z")
Thanks for the responses guys. I just drank a peanut-butter and banana smoothie. I’m going to wait about an hour and then hit the gym. Will definitely try strength training first this time. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/31 "2016-03-04T17:01:57Z")
How’d it go? Did you notice any difference? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/32 "2016-03-04T19:13:04Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > How’d it go? Did you notice any difference? Thank you for asking! It went well, I was able to achieve both my goals. And today, I’m quite sore as a reward.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491/33 "2016-03-04T21:59:01Z")
Great to hear! It sounds like you had a productive workout. As you get things figured out and in better shape, consider reducing or eliminating the amount you eat before the workout. Taking in calories is helpful if your goal is to maximize performance, but it can be counter-productive if you’re going for weight management. It’s very easy to consume more calories than you expend working out. If that’s important to you, make sure you keep a proper balance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-energy-during-workouts-any-remedies-that-dont-involve-caffeine/747491.md?page=1)