daily fatigue

[deletedandgone]

Hi guys,

I'm running a regular 5 day split (chest, arms, legs, shoulders, back) and I've noticed that my energy levels are really down, but as soon as I start taking 2 Animal Paks a day they go back up again. I know: get plenty of rest/sleep, eat well - I'm doing those things. Fish oil doesn't seem to help with fatigue.

Any idea which vitamins/minerals would help combat this? Stuff like creatine / beta alanine doesn't seem to affect the faily fatigue, but various vitamins really work for me. I found some post about 5000 mg of D3 a day, might try that.

Thanks!! :yeah

[ubcpower]

how old are you? are you/have you in the past used steroids?

[L3]

when do you rest? try 3 days training, 1 day off, 2 days training, 1 day off

the parts which you want to grow the most should be put on the day before rest, imo

[deletedandgone]

how old are you? are you/have you in the past used steroids?

24 male 192 pounds 1m 78cm 15% bodyfat natural/never cycled gaining diet.

Monday: chest, Tuesday: arms, Wednesday: Legs, Thursday: off, Friday: Shoulders, Saturday: back, Sunday: rest. Abs/cardio after workouts.

[Delt King]

Could be a sign of overtraining... any other symptoms like these?

* Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
* Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
* Pain in muscles and joints
* Sudden drop in performance
* Insomnia
* Headaches
* Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
* Decrease in training capacity / intensity
* Moodiness and irritability
* Depression
* Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
* Decreased appetite
* Increased incidence of injuries.
* A compulsive need to exercise

[deletedandgone]

Could be a sign of overtraining... any other symptoms like these?

My replies:

* Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy - YES
* Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains - SOME
* Pain in muscles and joints - NO
* Sudden drop in performance - NO
* Insomnia - NO
* Headaches - NO
* Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats) - NO
* Decrease in training capacity / intensity - SOME
* Moodiness and irritability - NO
* Depression - NO
* Loss of enthusiasm for the sport - NO!
* Decreased appetite - NO
* Increased incidence of injuries. - NO
* A compulsive need to exercise - NO

[Delt King]

Not conclusive either way but being natural means a diminished recovery capacity (compared to a geared dude) thus it's possible to overtrain easier. Personally when i get those feelings i take a week off and recover and feel great when i come back. I might do this once every 8 weeks offseason.

[deletedandgone]

Not conclusive either way but being natural means a diminished recovery capacity (compared to a geared dude) thus it's possible to overtrain easier. Personally when i get those feelings i take a week off and recover and feel great when i come back. I might do this once every 8 weeks offseason.

Sure, I do the same. 7-8 weeks on, 1 week off. But then fatigue comes back after 2-3 weeks again.

I think there is some ingredient in Animal Pak that really works though. Taking 2 paks a day seems like overkill on the kidneys - I feel quite intoxicated after 1 week. However, fatigue disappears.

[L3]

you can try 1 on 1 off...worked well for me..or in general take 1 week off completley, let the body rest if youve been going hard for 8-12 weeks, its usually a good thing!!!

[deletedandgone]

you can try 1 on 1 off...worked well for me..or in general take 1 week off completley, let the body rest if youve been going hard for 8-12 weeks, its usually a good thing!!!

Yeah, I hear you guys on the rest thing, but personally, for 2 particular exercises, rest is not a good thing for me: flat benchpress and chin-ups. I lose a lot of power/strength on these two after even 1 week. My bench drops by 10-20 pounds (usually ~170 pounds 10 reps for 4 sets with nice form) and my chin ups drop from 8 reps for 4 sets to 5-6 reps for 4 sets. Everything else seems to recover well though. Weird.

Maybe it's the adaptogen in Animal Pak that does it. Ginseng? Not sure.

[fourarms]

Selling Animal Paks?

[deletedandgone]

Selling Animal Paks?

No. It's just one multi that works for me, out of others that I tried. Prolly because it has ginseng actually. I'll have to experiment with some adaptogens I guess.

[fourarms]

Sorry, forgot the smilie, I was joking.

[L3]

ok, so lets say that your CNS isnt fried from overtraining...whats your diet like..specifics? when i say i "eat well" i reffer to pizza beer and chinise food

[deletedandgone]

ok, so lets say that your CNS isnt fried from overtraining...whats your diet like..specifics? when i say i "eat well" i reffer to pizza beer and chinise food

Carbs: low GI sources - yams, brown rice, buckwheat, dark rye bread.
Protein: salmon (tray-baked), eggs (whole eggs, fried), beef (boiled and broiled steak), chicken breast (boiled), turkey breast (cold cuts), tuna (cans).
Fats: I think I'm getting enough from the meats above.

Each meal : about 40-50g of carbs, not sure exactly, but try to keep around 50g of protein, again, fats are likely in the protein source.

4 meals a day, with occasional protein shake or rice cake snacks in-between (not more than 2 such snacks a day).

It's not perfect, but I think it's "okay"... feel free to comment.

P.S. it's on my todo list: take some pics and post them with exact diet and training in this forum. I'll prolly do it in April, right now I'm tweaking some stuff with training.

[St]

Go get a blood test.

[deletedandgone]

Go get a blood test.

Yep, I should prolly do that. Anything specific that the doc needs to check off on his list for the things to test? I know they have a page-long list of things, includes even stuff like creatinine. But if they don't check it off, then the lab doesn't test for it.

L3: you are probably right about CNS fatigue, I just don't think it's from overtraining. I'm a grad student and I eat, sleep, work out 5 times a week and pretty much work like a dog the rest of the time. I think I should just cancel gym for a week, stop drinking coffee and give in to daily nap temptations.

Thanks for all your help guys, really appreciate it. :greet

[nisser]

There's no need to get a blood test if this is just a sudden feeling. If you've had this chronic fatigue problem, then sure, see a doc.

It could also be just the season change. Whenever the weather changes, I get sleepy/fatigued for a while.

[IrishTuner]

What's your occupation?? maybe you are bustin your ass
or you are highly stressed all day and then hit the gym......that might make you tired.

[metis boy]

Not conclusive either way but being natural means a diminished recovery capacity (compared to a geared dude) thus it's possible to overtrain easier. Personally when i get those feelings i take a week off and recover and feel great when i come back. I might do this once every 8 weeks offseason.

i agree with delt king take a week off and let your body recupe. then giver again your body with thank you ;) i know its hard not goin for that week but TRUST me when your feeling tired all the time its worth the sacrafice ive been there plenty of times!! especially when im dieting

[Ritch]

rhodeola rhosea is an adaptogen you may want to try. L-tyrosine as well can help. I doubt it`s the ginseng dude.

[deletedandgone]

i agree with delt king take a week off and let your body recupe. then giver again your body with thank you ;) i know its hard not goin for that week but TRUST me when your feeling tired all the time its worth the sacrafice ive been there plenty of times!! especially when im dieting

Yeah. Next week is off... with daily naps and no coffee. So tired...

If this comes back again, then I'll go see a doc.

[cyberfitnessguru]

Do you snore, I wasnt getting proper rest becaus of snoring.

Might look into that.

[deletedandgone]

Do you snore, I wasnt getting proper rest becaus of snoring.

Might look into that.

I do. I went for a sleep study and they said it was "normal", whatever that means. I think the sleep is fine, I'm not that drowsy - just tired. Taking this week off, and I feel better already. Maybe it was just overwork plus gym. Catches up over time.