I’ve been doing a weightlifting routine lately, doing slow, heavy reps. I lift 3 times a week, and try to get some cardio on the off days. I always take at least one day a week off, and lately it’s been more than that since I’ve been really bad at the cardio days.
I think this is my fourth or fifth week at it. Although I’m no stranger to working out, this is the first time I’ve done heavy weights/low reps as opposed to light weights/many reps. I like the results - I have a BICEP now! - but boy-o-boy, have I been feeling run down lately.
I tend to feel tired & not very energetic. I think it has something to do with my diet. I don’t really want to go overboard on the eating thing, but I was wondering if making a few changes might bring my energy level back up. Mr. Athena suggests some of those supplement shakes or bars you can buy.
For what it’s worth, I haven’t been trying to diet at all. I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I wanted to get my head around the lifting thing before trying to worry about diet. I’m mainly looking for advice that will pick up my energy level, not necessarily make me drop weight.
whole grains and pastas the night before you’re going to have heavy exertion are always a good thing, to bring your energy levels up right from the beginning the next day.
A good hearty cereal like (I eat cream of wheat) grains or muslix-like cereal is always good anyways.
Eat an easily digestible lunch. I usually (when I’m not lazy) will have a mixed salad with veggies, meat AND cheese. I don’t tend to eat bread. YMMV. A soup with lots of veggies and meat is also good.(ie. Minestrone)
Snack about an hour before your routine, if you can. even if it’s only a grain bar. Preferably 1. Banana or 2. Chocolate milk. An energy shake might also not be out of the question, however I’ve never had them much myself.
If I do the above, I don’t have a problem. If not, I generally will have problems with low energy levels.
FTR, my workout is 10 min cardio, 10min stretching about 1h35min weight training and calisthenics, and another 5 min cardio as cooldown. 2x per week (3x was over-training for myself, I found) Also, training is the only way I can gain weight ‘gracefully’ so if the above looks high-cal to you… it likely is. High metabolism and all.
Hope some of this was something you didn’t already know
Basically what Venoma said. Increase your percentage of carbohydrates. High protein is good but your body needs the carbs to put the protein to use. It takes energy to rebuild. A good ratio to start out with is 60/40, and adjust it from there according to your program. With a fairly intensive program, it doesn’t take long for your body to use up the stored energy, and you have to make up for it in some way and protein isn’t converted to energy very efficiently. Pasta, bread, spuds, rice, cereal grains are all good. IMO, the supplement/energy bars are fine for the executive gym-goer, but basically a waste of money if you have a decent diet working for you. You’ll get more out of a bowl of good cereal with some fruit and a little honey.
I have a very close friend who is a serious competitive no-steroid power lifter. He is 5’7", 285#. A major powerhouse. He eats 2 1/4 lbs. of tuna a day. He has been doing this for a long time, and swears by his results. He has been asked to do a magazine article about it, but I have no idea of the publication it is for.
He swears he can feel himself grow sometimes after working hard and pounding some fish. His farts are hellish.
