Fatigue can set in for multiple different reasons. Fatigue can set in because of hormones, nutrition (which is often the case), related to disease, or even a simple lack of sleep. These are all reasons why fatigue can be an issue, but the big factor is learning what it means for overall training.

A big issue for people who frequently get tired is they are having coffee or their pre-workout too late in the day. Caffeine has a half-life of about 8 hours. Having caffeine in coffee or pre-workout or any beverage after 3 in the afternoon could lead to a disruption in sleep. Ideally, most athletes should only take pre-workout 2 to 3 days a week. I recommend timing and planning the pre-workout days, or caffeine days, on the biggest lifts of the week. For a weightlifter, plan the caffeinated days for days 1, 4, and 6 in the week.

Now if you have a workout at 6 PM and want to have a pre-workout, and get that caffeine rush, I recommend dimming the lights in the house as much as possible. Try to eliminate blue light and make it non-existent, so turn off the computer and turn off the TV. Maybe even light up some candles to help calm down. Also, taking 400-800 grams of magnesium will help the body calm down as well, particularly if you have to have caffeine later in the day.   

A lot of athletes, when they want to cut weight or even when they want to bulk, will eat very specific foods that could harm their overall health. Imagine cutting out a ton of cars and, over a very long period, leading to a depletion in their glycogen storage, making them feel flat during training in the weight room. This creates a compound effect. Feeling flat in the weight room, athletes lack energy which leads to a lack of cognitive ability. The lack of cognitive ability makes them less focused in the gym. Next thing there is less stimulus taking place and poor adaptation to training. Neither is good.  

Disruption of a person’s circadian rhythm can lead to poor sleep or even waking up in the middle of the night while sleeping. Think about traveling through various time zones. Just about everyone who has traveled through time zones has experienced waking up at an hour when we should be sleeping. 

Besides traveling through time zones, circadian rhythms can be disrupted by not getting outside and not setting up your sleep hygiene accordingly. 

Sleep can also be disrupted by playing video games, watching TV, or just being on the computer hours before bed. The blue light can interrupt and confuse the brain, making it feel like it is outside and not prepared to get ready for bed. The blue light phenomenon from screen time is very similar to experiences that people who live in northern latitudes have when there are 24 hours of sunlight; they struggle to get ready for bed (thus blackout curtains). 

Try to avoid screen time before bed. It can slow down recovery and lead to a feeling of overtraining. I recommend that everyone avoids blue light after 8:30 PM to optimize their sleep patterns.

I know. Easier said than done. Avoiding blue light after 8:30 PM seems like a monumental task. I challenge every athlete reading this blog to try and go for one month with no blue light after 8:30 PM. Monitor your sleep patterns on a telemetric device or keep a journal and see what actually happens, how you recover, and how you feel. I bet it does a body good. 

Make sure to get outside first thing in the morning. I think getting outside first thing in the morning is important to trigger your overall circadian rhythm. 

I also recommend around noon, getting 2 to 3 hours of sunlight. At the very least, get as much sunlight as possible from noon to the rest of the day to help the body learn your regular rhythms, which in turn leads to a better fluctuation of overall energy.

Another issue that can be occurring is hormonal problems. A lot of twenty-somethings feel invincible. Then, all of a sudden, something happens and they feel like crap. They don’t realize how they are managing their stress.

I can relate. 

I never got blood work done. Around 28 years old something horrific happened. I started to feel atrocious. I ended up being diagnosed with Lyme disease. I struggled with Lyme disease for two and a half years. The sad part was that I never got my baseline blood work done in my early twenties. Having a baseline blood work gives a reference to refer back to gauge what is going on physically and hormonally. Also, a doctor is great for this. 

I recommend getting your testosterone, free test, white blood cells, red blood cells, estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, T3, T4, and TSH. All of these markers can contribute to a thorough blood panel.  

There are a lot of reasons why people feel tired and there are various issues that lead to fatigue. Thankfully there are reasons and methods discussed above to try and get over that fatigue to feel more energized. How’s that no blue light after 8:30 PM sounding now?