Gaining muscle mass and losing weight is much easier if you plan your diet correctly.

Cardio training will be most beneficial if you eat right before and after it. Don't forget about the need to drink fluids during training.

Are you ready to try an accelerated weight loss program called the Extreme Diet?

Fatigue and fitness

If you're taking a break from your workouts, you shouldn't put too much stress on your muscles right away. Do a high-quality cardio warm-up, which can be increased by 20% compared to the standard one. This can be either running on a treadmill or a set of exercises with dumbbells of the smallest weight that is convenient for you. Men are recommended to do 15 minutes of boxing with a punching bag, which will certainly activate the release of adrenaline.

If you don't do this, feeling tired after fitness can ruin your daily routine. You will constantly want to sleep, apathy will appear, and possibly tremors in your hands. Reinforce your body with vitamins and do not forget about the correct use of the “carbohydrate window”.

Feeling tired and training: who wins?

Everyone knows the feeling of extreme fatigue after a hard day at work. This condition can be triggered by a grueling schedule or exhausting mental and sometimes physical stress. But what should you do if you also have training on this day? Is it worth going to fitness if you feel very tired?

If you are very tired, it is better to skip the workout and have a good rest, but this should not be included in the system. If you have chronic fatigue, you should reconsider your diet and workout schedule. Everyone knows the expression “overtraining syndrome,” so that this does not happen, you should not throw yourself into work and training, you definitely need to rest mentally and physically. Sometimes fitness in the gym can be replaced with a walk in the park or a light workout in the fresh air - a change of environment will help relieve emotional stress and distract from negative thoughts.

Fitness for women should serve not only as a tool for weight loss; its role, in addition to weight loss, is to give pleasant emotions and health. And if you torment yourself with work and hard training every day, it will not lead to anything good.

Training options

If it’s not chronic fatigue, and it’s just been a “crazy” working day today, and you don’t want to break your schedule, here are a few rules for working out in the gym, depending on the goals and focus of the training.

Here are some tips for saving strength and energy during training. Each training goal has its own approach and options for simplifying the training. It is important to remember the main 2 rules:

• - during intensive training for strength and mass gain, it is important to leave your working weight unchanged;
• - fitness is aimed at losing weight, so you should remember that if you reduce the number of repetitions and also cancel some exercises, this will most likely not give any effect in terms of weight loss, the best option is to reduce the weight or remove dumbbells altogether, maintaining the repetitions and set of exercises .

Maintain a balanced diet, training and rest regime and allow your body to recover mentally and physically, regardless of whether it is fitness for women or strength training for men. One missed workout due to circumstances is nothing compared to the loss of health and moral balance. But if you finally allow your body to become lazy, then you will soon have to start all the exercises from scratch, and along with this, your sculpted stomach and toned chest will disappear.

A simple survey on my Instagram showed that 50% of users exercise even if they are tired. “I’ll go to unload my brain. If you’re mentally tired, then you definitely need to go to sports!” – a friend writes in Direct. We often separate mental and physical fatigue, as if our head exists separately from our body. This is not so: there is only one nervous system, and it is responsible for both the functioning of the brain and other physical functions of the body. We unload the brain when we are tired at work or study, but in fact we overload the entire system, which does not have time to recover. It turns out to be an endless cycle of fatigue in the body.

The danger of feeling tired during the training process

We train to become stronger. We become stronger through the process of recovery, which takes some time. How much a person needs to recover depends on individual characteristics: gender, age, level of preparedness, presence of diseases, and so on. The body always gives clear signals that we do not pay attention to, and this leads to consequences: overwork, overtraining and overexertion.

These processes lead to decreased performance and changes in health. The coach should notice signs of fatigue, and the doctor should determine the level of fatigue. If the first is not there, but the second is scary, we will tell you what you should pay attention to and how to prevent sad consequences.

How to understand the stage of fatigue: checklist

1. Fatigue– normal physiological state after training: fatigue gradually disappears, the body recovers, and you are ready and happy to continue training. If recovery does not occur for a long time, the effect accumulates and the next stage occurs.

2. Overwork- an abnormal physiological condition in which you feel worse after exercise, you feel lethargic, apathetic, coordination worsens, strength decreases, and fatigue lasts longer than usual.

3. Overtraining– the growth of results stops, sleep is disturbed, severe lethargy is felt, a reluctance to train appears, the functioning of the cardiovascular system worsens, the recovery period increases. There are enough reasons to think and reconsider the training process.

4. Overvoltage- this is when all the previous symptoms were ignored, and the person thinks: “I’m so tired because I don’t train enough.” That is, the level of load does not coincide with the level of preparedness. It occurs suddenly, vascular spasm may occur, a person feels severe fatigue, may lose consciousness, and, as a result, changes occur in individual organs (most often in the heart).

How to prevent overvoltage

1. If you are tired, don’t go to exercise, go to sleep.

2. If you are sick, stay home, otherwise your immune system will suffer and you will be sick longer.

3. Change your training regimen: reduce the intensity, add additional rest days between classes.

4. Change the nature of your work: if you did CrossFit, then go to the pool.

5. Check your nutrition to see if you are getting all the nutrients you need.

6. Think about why you are doing your best and neglecting your health.

Appreciate your body and take care of the resources you have, they are not endless. A healthy attitude towards physical activity is not to prove anything to anyone and to exercise for joy.

Should you force yourself to go to the gym when you don’t have the strength? What to do with training if you have a headache? Should you skip a fitness class if you're asked out on a date? How do you answer questions like these?

There are several cases when you can definitely afford not to go to the gym. And don't be tormented by guilt. Nothing fatal will happen from one or two missed classes, unless, of course, it is laziness, and you have one of these explanations:

1. I caught a cold.
Sometimes fitness consultants give general advice for everyone: If you have a slight cold, exercise will support your immune system, so don't skip classes.

But, unfortunately, the advice does not work for everyone and not always. When it comes only to fatigue or a runny nose, then training will not hurt. But if the body temperature is elevated, excess stress will only worsen the disease. In this state, the body needs to concentrate and gather all its strength for healing, and not for training.

So: moderate exercise is not prohibited if you have a cold, but it is contraindicated if you have a high fever and flu-like symptoms.

2. Didn't get enough sleep.
If you were unable to sleep soundly the night before your workout, then the best thing you can do for your body is to spend the hour allocated for exercise on sleep and rest. This is especially important if lack of sleep or insomnia lasted more than one night.

Sometimes it’s better to take a nap than to burden your tired body with training.

3. Headache.
You can only ignore mild pain that does not cause you suffering. But if the pain is acute and unpleasant, then it is better to refuse training. By overcoming yourself, you can increase the severity of the consequences. Remember: any acute pain is a signal to pay attention to your well-being.

If you have a severe headache, exercise will not help.

4. Muscles hurt.
The story is quite common. And familiar even to professionals. They also sometimes work their butts off. Exceeding the usual load, along with strong muscles, unfortunately, we also get muscle pain. Is it worth continuing to exercise if this pain has not gone away by the next workout?

It's better to give your muscles a day off and regain your strength. This is if the pain is severe. If you have moderate muscle pain, you can exercise, but with less intensity than usual.

In general, remember: the pain that appears in the muscles a few hours after exercise indicates that you have chosen too high an exercise intensity.

5. Back hurts.
Back pain is a serious warning sign that previous exercise has been too intense. We often pay attention to muscle discomfort, and back pain is often misinterpreted and ignored. But in vain. If back pain does not go away within a few days, then you will have to visit a doctor rather than exercise.

If the pain is moderate, you can visit the gym. But know that you can only do exercises that do not cause discomfort. Avoid movements that remind you of back pain.

6. Menstruation does not come.
Amenorrhea, which means absence of menstruation, can be caused by extreme physical activity. If you notice that changes in your cycle occurred simultaneously with the fact that you began to work out very intensively in the gym, then this should at least alert you. Menstrual irregularities are not a very good sign for women's health. The consequence may be diseases of the internal organs, as well as a decrease in estrogen levels, which, in turn, increases the risk of developing osteoporosis.

7. Tired.
In pursuit of the ideal body, many are faced with the downside of intense training - exhaustion and fatigue. If you train 4 days a week (or more often), then after a couple of weeks you may not have enough strength for such a rhythm. Go to intensity 2-3 days a week, or skip a day of training every 2 weeks. To maintain the desire to attend classes again.

8. No time.
Sometimes you have to choose: go to training or meet with friends, do fitness or pay attention to your family. Experts advise keeping yourself in good shape and being disciplined. But let me express my opinion. I think that sometimes it’s okay to skip a run for some long-awaited event or an important meeting. The main thing is to motivate yourself to return to your rhythm of classes after skipping. If you learn how to do this, it will not affect your figure.

In some cases, training can go sideways, so it’s better to skip it.

What are these cases? Let's figure it out.

1) You have a cold.

There is an opinion that if there is no fever, dry chest cough, muscle pain, and the symptoms of a cold are limited to a runny nose and/or sore throat, then moderate exercise will only be beneficial by activating the immune system.

My experience suggests the opposite: if today I came to training sneezing and sniffling, then tomorrow I will most likely come down with a fever.

No, the immune system may be activated, but the gym is not an operating room with sterile air, a greenhouse or a greenhouse.

In the hall there are drafts, and air conditioning, and the same snotty, but zealous idiots like you, from whom you can easily grab some virus from your body weakened by a mild cold and get more seriously ill. You sweat in the gym, and once you sweat, you can’t hide from either drafts or air conditioning.

Feeling the onset of a cold? Stay at home and drink as much fluid as possible so that by the next workout you will be a healthy carrot and a sneezing snot.

It’s better to skip 1 workout than to fail for 2 weeks.

2) You have just had a cold.

You feel good: there is no temperature, nothing bothers you. You feel like you're ready to start training.

Actually, not yet. Remember how many days you received an exemption from physical education at school after illness. By ten? For two weeks? Do you think the doctors allowed you not to go to physical education out of great sympathy for you? No. They did this in order to avoid relapse of the disease.

After a cold, the body, even if you feel great, is weakened and ready to catch any virus. Give yourself time to get stronger. If not two weeks, then at least a week.

During this time, nothing criminal will happen to your body, and you will protect yourself from relapse.

What to do if colds follow one after another, and a week-long break in training after each illness means no training at all?

Go to the doctor. Get examined. Get treatment. Strengthen your immune system.

3) You didn't get enough sleep.

Success in building a body rests on three pillars: 1) training, 2) nutrition, 3) recovery. If you still remember about the first two, then you don’t even know about the third.

Moreover, you see a special chic in crawling into the gym as a yawning half-corpse and heroically working out your workout. This is silly. There will be no sense in such training. Recovery is no less important factor in building the body than nutrition and exercise.

Do you know that muscles do not grow during training, but at rest? This is why recovery of the body between workouts is so important, and sleep is so valuable.

You can train 3 times a week and, by eating right and fully recovering, make significant progress, or you can train three times a day, driving yourself into a nag state, and looking worse every day.

Didn't get enough sleep? Get some sleep. And come to the gym rested and full of energy.

4) You are terribly tired.

There are days like this: stress at work, an incredible amount of things to do at once, difficult negotiations, travel. By evening you can barely move your legs.

Go home and rest. But only if this is really the case. Don't use being "terribly tired" as a regular reason for skipping workouts.



If you constantly feel tired, go to the doctor. Perhaps your body is not fine and needs treatment.

5) You were physically active during the day.

If you've been skiing or biking for several hours, playing tennis or swimming, then you don't necessarily need to lift dumbbells in the evening.

During vacation, you can leave strength training for a while, provided that the vacation is active. If you are a fan of lying like a seal by the pool, then do it with a clear conscience, having completed the mandatory training in the gym.

Maximize your time in the gym by following these proven tips from professional athletes.

Fatigue is the worst enemy of even the most motivated gym goers. You go to the gym with the intention of tackling a strenuous workout, giving every last ounce of strength, and a willingness to follow your plan in detail. You intend to train to failure, pushing your body to its physical limits. However, as soon as you begin to feel the first signs of fatigue, your zeal and energy reserves suddenly and dramatically deplete.

Knowing how to manage fatigue and prevent it from creeping in and taking over your training is what separates the good from the great. To achieve "athletic greatness" and avoid the rapid onset of signs of fatigue, follow the tips in this article from top successful athletes to help you improve your ability to fight fatigue and stay in the gym longer.

1. Take your supplements wisely

To increase his endurance, IFBB professional and bodybuilding competitor Craig Capurso turns to sports supplements for help. “As part of my training, I increase my endurance threshold by supplementing with caffeine and branched-chain amino acids, which have been shown to effectively reduce fatigue and help increase workout duration,” shares Capurso's advice.

Supplements with BCAA provide the body with essential amino acids, in particular leucine. They also prevent muscle breakdown and act as a source of fuel for muscle tissue. In addition, taking BCAAs during training helps combat general fatigue, which in turn helps maintain energy and increase the intensity of exercise during training.

Caffeine increases energy, alertness, has a stimulating effect and speeds up blood circulation. However, pay close attention to the dosage, as too much caffeine will not be good for you. Research suggests that the optimal dosage is 3.2-5.5 mg per kilogram of body weight, which means approximately 275-460 mg of caffeine for an 85-pound man or 215-365 mg for a 65-pound woman.

Additionally, don’t underestimate the power of pre-workout supplements. The right combination of ingredients can help you decisively challenge fatigue. “My favorite pre-workout supplement is C4 Ripped,” shares fitness model Jen Jewell. “It gives me an extra boost on strength training days and is also effective at promoting fat loss.”

2. Be persistent

Another rule that Craig Capurso follows is training to complete failure. “I always do exercises above the standard volume,” he says. “Whereas most athletes train until they feel the characteristic burning sensation in the working muscles due to the formation of lactic acid, I stop training only when I can hardly breathe.” Mentally repeating the motto, “Don’t give up,” when things get tough is an important part of any effective workout.

3. Limit your sugar intake... but only during certain periods of time

Sugar in general is extremely bad for your diet, but the only time it can even be beneficial is when consumed during exercise.

“If I feel like I'm starting to get sluggish and tired during my long two-hour workouts, I eat a couple of fat-free candies to give myself an extra boost of energy,” explains USAPL powerlifter Karina Baymiller. “Low-calorie candies are effective because They are quickly digested and cause a burst of energy."

Keep in mind that only a small amount of sugar is needed for optimal effect. By consuming too many low-calorie sweets, with each workout you will, one way or another, deliberately increase your body fat reserves, thus hindering your own goals of losing excess weight and developing a slim and toned figure.

4. Eat Enough Food Before Starting Powerlifting

In addition to consuming some sugar to boost energy as part of her workouts, Karina Baymiller also pays close attention to her pre-workout food intake. "In order to have the energy to perform the higher volumes of exercise during my intense powerlifting sessions, I always try to eat enough before training," says Baymiller. "At this time, I consume about 25 percent of my total daily carbohydrate intake."

In addition to the high dose of carbohydrates, Baymiller takes in about 25-35 grams of lean protein; at the same time, it necessarily provides the body with enough time to digest food before going to the gym. The digestive system of each person has a number of individual characteristics. But a general good rule for all athletes is to consume less fiber immediately before training and remember that after large meals you need at least 60-90 minutes for adequate digestion.

5. Train in a rested state

This may seem obvious, but make sure once again that you do not initially provoke a rapid onset of feelings of fatigue by going to the gym squeezed like a lemon. “You’ll get tired much faster if you’re on your feet all day before training,” explains bodybuilder Calum von Moger. “I used to be so tired after work that I’d simply fall asleep in the car for half an hour before going to the gym.”

If you don't have the time or ability to take a nap during the day, make sure you time your workouts so that you don't show up to the gym completely exhausted. And if you really haven’t had time to rest and recover from the previous day of training, don’t rush things. Sometimes an unplanned rest day is much more effective than going to workouts too often when you're tired.

6. Maintain adequate hydration

Hydration is another success factor that athletes often overlook. “Keeping yourself hydrated has a number of benefits to your overall health and fitness, and staying hydrated before exercise is just as important as eating right,” explains Jen Jewel. “I always drink water before, during, and of course, after training."

Be sure to drink at least 1-2 glasses of water an hour or two before exercise, one glass of water every 20 minutes during intense exercise, and another 1-2 glasses for several hours after exercise.

To adequately replenish fluids consumed during exercise, weigh yourself before and after exercise. Consume on average one liter of fluid for every kilogram of weight lost during exercise.

If you are prone to excessive sweating, it is recommended to take electrolyte drinks to maintain adequate levels of potassium and sodium in your body.