Article by: Finn Coleman

Why am I tired after training?

Feeling burnt out after training? Fatigue comes hand-in-hand with martial arts training, but it can be difficult to know whether you are a ‘healthy level of tired’, or whether you might be either overtraining, not recovering enough, or under-fueling. If you love combat sports like us, it can be easy to overlook adequate preparation for those hard training sessions, especially when you are balancing training with work or study. Even though you are training hard, you shouldn’t be leaving The Ironfist Gym feeling unenergetic and worn out! 

Here are three reasons why you may be feeling tired after training.

Not enough pre-training fuel

The main reason people feel overly tired after a hard training session is that they haven’t fuelled their bodies enough for the demanding session. Check out our article on eating before training for an in-depth breakdown here. Put simply, when doing high-intensity physical activity, carbohydrates are the main source of energy used by your body.

Hydration is another big factor; make sure that you are drinking fluids throughout the day. If you are still feeling tired after your workout, try to have some electrolytes before, during and after exercising. Often, athletes that feel overly tired post-workout are not getting enough sodium– which holds onto water –into their bodies. For optimal performance and recovery, carbohydrates and hydration are non-negotiable before training.

Timing of eating

Have you ever eaten a big carby meal and then trained afterwards? Chances are, it wasn’t fun. That’s because your body didn’t have the time to absorb the carbohydrates from your meal, and as a result, you can’t recruit the energy from these carbs.

Timing is crucial when it comes to training in any sport. If you have a window of 2-3 hours before training to eat, which is optimal, you should be focusing on a more substantial meal with complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates like pasta and rice are broken down more slowly in the body, providing sustained energy.

If you have less time to eat before training– say about an hour to thirty minutes – you should be looking at simple carbohydrates to provide fuel. Simple carbs are a faster-acting but less sustainable form of energy than complex carbs. While it is better to have complex carbohydrates before a workout, sometimes this just isn’t realistic when it comes to people’s schedules. Simple carbohydrates will give your blood sugar levels a quick boost – options include bananas, honey, energy gels, or white bread.

Not enough post-training fuel and hydration

Still feeling worn out? Make sure that you are getting enough fuel into you post-training. Because people don’t bring a three-course dinner to training to eat straight after, simple carbohydrates are a great way to get some glycogen back into your muscles and help them recover faster, before having a full meal later on.

Research shows that you should be drinking 1.5 times the amount of fluids that you lose in sweat. For example, if you lose one kilo of water weight in a session, put 1.5 litres of water back into you straight after training. This can include electrolytes.

Not enough rest and recovery

If you are fueling yourself adequately before, during and after training, and still feeling worn down, it might come down to your recovery. Athletes need lots of sleep and rest. Things like staying up late, excessive alcohol consumption and overtraining can all lead to inadequate recovery. While you want to train hard, you have to rest hard as well. Give your body the best chance to recover between training sessions by treating it right.

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