On our initial consultation with new clients, regardless of their other goals, almost everyone says that they would like more energy.
GET MOVING
Exercise creates energy. You may feel that ‘I don’t have enough energy to exercise’, but the opposite is true. When you exercise properly you firm up muscle tissue and boost your metabolic rate (the rate at which you burn food for energy / the amount of energy you produce), thereby increasing your energy levels. It is important to note that if you haven’t been training recently, you should begin with a very gentle workout and increase the intensity by just about 10% each time until you have reached a good level of intensity. Many people (even Fitness Trainers!) make the mistake of doing too much at the start, trying to do a workout more appropriate to that of a regular exerciser. This can make the client feel that they are incapable of training or that it is too difficult and give up at the start.
Inactivity has the opposite affect. It leaves your muscles soft and flabby (even if you are not overweight) and slows down your metabolic rate, leaving you with low energy.
FEEL GOOD
Exercise also boosts levels of endorphins, your body’s natural opiates that counter feelings of lethargy and lift your mood, helping you to re-energise. In addition, working out increases your heartbeat, which brings more blood to the brain, and with it more oxygen, making you feel more mentally alert.
HOW TO INCREASE ENERGY-RESISTANCE TRAINING
The best way to increase energy through exercise is Weight Training. This increases muscular strength, which allows you to perform daily tasks more easily without becoming fatigued.
Cardio exercise such as cycling or swimming or even fast walking helps to improve the efficiency of your heart and lungs. This gives you more stamina, which will enable you to run, walk or even stand for longer before feeling tired. You will also find that you can concentrate for longer too.
SLEEP BETTER
A good nights sleep is essential if you are to operate at your optimum level, as it is during sleep that your body goes through the vital process of cell repair and rejuvenation.
Sleep prepares you for the day ahead, giving you the necessary energy to do what you want. It also helps keep you motivated. Poor sleep on the other hand can have the opposite effect. It can leave you feeling tired and unmotivated during the day. It can also lead to weight gain as you naturally crave sugary foods to give you energy. You should wake up feeling energetic and enthusiastic about the day ahead and feel alert and happy during your waking hours. If you feel grumpy and lethargic, could it be that you are not getting enough quality sleep?
Aim for between seven and eight hours quality sleep every night. Try to stick to a sleep schedule (going to bed and getting up at the same time every day-including at the weekends).
NUTRITION
Your energy comes from your food. Food is burned by the body as fuel for energy. Glucose from food is stored I the muscles and liver as glycogen and converted into energy when needed. Your body needs regular meals of the correct type of foods to function at its optimum. Avoid sugary foods, which spike the blood sugar and bring your energy crashing down a short while later (this causes you to ‘crave’ sugary foods again in order to bring your blood sugar back up). This vicious circle depletes your energy reserves. Eat low G.I. foods (see http://lifegym.ie/blog/2009/the-benefits-of-correct-nutrition/) that keep your blood sugar and energy levels consistently high and on an even keel.
POSITIVE THINKING
Positive thinking increases physical and mental energy and fills you with get-up-and-go. Negative thinking, on the other hand, drains vitality and leaves you feeling down.
To change how you are feeling, decide how you would like to feel and think about a time when you felt this way. Play it in your mind, seeing what you saw during that experience. Also hear the sounds that went with the experience and remember how you felt at the time. Avoid negative people. If people around you are very negative and always complaining, if you can’t get them to see that this is having a negative impact on them and you and influence them to change, then avoid them and find new friends!
The best way to get started on the correct exercise programme for you is to book a consultation with a good Personal Trainer and they well advise you on the best plan. The hardest part is making that first phone call! So go on, pick up the phone and give Lifegym a call NOW! 042-9354992.
