Ask Shannon: Fitness and Nutrition Q & A at Her Active Life

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Ask Shannon: Fitness and Nutrition Q & A

Posted June 9, 2008 at 03:00 PM by Shannon Clark

Section: Her Fitness, Training Programs

With years of training under her belt, resident fitness and nutrition expert Shannon Clark is ready to help you on your way to a healthy, informed lifestyle. Got a question? her your inquiries, and be sure to check back every week for the latest Q&A.

Q: I’m just wondering if you could help me with this. I’ve been on a workout program now for a good two months and hardly have missed a session. I’m finding though that more and more, after the workout is done, I’m left feeling so incredibly tired all I want to do is nap!

I always try and get my workouts in first thing in the morning, so as you can imagine, this isn’t all that good for me as I must try and stay as awake as possible since I’m at work.

Is there something I’m maybe missing in my diet that could be causing this? Or is it something else contributing to the problem? I really would prefer not to turn to downing cup after cup of coffee, so any suggestions you had for how I could handle this would be fantastic.

A: Thanks for sending in your question. Most definitely, this is something that would be a concern of yours.

Your workouts should be leaving you slightly fatigued, but not so tired that you feel like you’ve just been run over by a semi.

My first question to you would be what you’re eating post-workout. If you’re taking in too many carbohydrates, this could actually lead you to feeling sleepy, as a high dose of carbs release serotonin in the body, which, while makes us feel good, also makes us want to sleep.

Yes, you do definitely need carbohydrates in order to recover from the workout, but unless you’re doing endurance sessions, you likely don’t need all that many.

Secondly, be sure you are getting in some protein as well, as this will slow the release of the carbohydrates in the blood and ensure that you are providing your body with enough amino acids to fully repair the muscles.

After your food intake is looked at, then my next question to address to you would be whether or not you are getting enough rest in total. Do you have at least one day off per week? Are you doing a couple of easier workout sessions amongst the harder ones? Both of these should be incorporated into a good workout program and if they aren’t, you are going to be on the road to overtraining.

Therefore, if it’s been a while since you’ve had a good day off, now might be the time.

Be sure you are allowing yourself to take it easier on some days so that your body and central nervous system can recover from the harder days and you aren’t left feeling like a walking zombie.

My guess is this, maybe more than the former issue, is the bigger problem here. You sound very motivated with your workout program – which is great, but sometimes you have to watch that such a high level of motivation does not actually start to work against you.

Best of luck with your training!