How to exercise for energy
24 September 2015
With nutritional coach, Rochelle, on the forum this week discussing how to eat for energy, I thought I’d give you 10 tips on how to exercise for energy. When it comes to enhancing energy, not all exercise is equal.
Studies have shown that doing the right sort of exercise, for the right length of time and at the correct level, will, indeed, increase energy levels. Get the balance wrong and you’ll end up feeling even more tired.
Here’s how to do it:
- Why does exercise increase energy? Exercising increases the flow of blood carrying oxygen and nutrients to muscle tissue, thus improving its ability to produce more energy.
- How hard should I train? It is important to start off gently and gradually increase to moderate levels of intensity (remembering that moderate will mean something different to every individual). Leaping straight into high intensity exercise will leave you feeling more tired than when you started. Give your body time to adapt as you increase the intensity and in this way you’ll feel your energy levels increase.
- Will weight training give me energy? Resistance training, whether it be using resistance bands, body weight or free weights, will lead to an increase in your metabolism and this, in turn, will help boost energy levels.
- Does it matter where I train? Try this little experiment: take a
brisk walk on a treadmill for half an hour and then go for a half hour walk in the countryside. After each of these two sessions ask yourself how you feel. Training outdoors in beautiful surroundings, deeply breathing in the fresh air, feeling the sun, wind, cold, drizzle or even rain on your face will - I bet - leave you feeling far more invigorated.
- Is when I exercise important? Most of us end up squeezing exercise into whatever gap we miraculously happen to have. Nevertheless, if you have the opportunity to exercise first thing in the morning, this will kick-start your day with an injection of energy.
- How should I eat for recovery? Exercising the right way will give you energy but not if you then forget to eat, or if you eat the
wrong kind of food. Make sure you have a post-workout snack that is protein-rich within half an hour of completing your exercise. If you really want to get things spot on then make sure you hit the crucial 20g threshold of protein in this snack – this is the optimum amount of protein that will enable the body to fully recovery. Miss this and you’ll feel drained.
- Will cardio exercise increase my energy levels? Cardiovascular exercise that gets the heart rate up will – when combined with eating the right way - help with weight loss for those who feel they are carrying more weight than they wish to. This weight loss will, in turn, increase energy levels for the simple reason that carrying less weight around is not so taxing on the body.
- Does how much water I drink matter? It is really important to replace lost fluids when exercising, so make sure you drink lots of water. This is how I judge whether or not I have drunk enough whilst exercising: if you don’t need to have a wee post-exercise then you probably didn’t drink enough!
- Water-based exercise for energy? Yes, most definitely! There’s nothing quite like jumping into a slightly chilly training pool and doing your lengths - swimming or aquajogging - to increase your vitality for the rest of the day.
- What’s the difference between “calm energy” and “tense energy”? These are interesting concepts that I can really relate to. The type A high achievers of this world tend to be of the “tense energy” variety: they get loads of work done and can be intensely focused but this energy can frequently tip over into a more negative state of “tense tiredness”. “Calm energy”, on the other hand, is all about having high mental energy coupled with low physical tension – a highly desirable combination. Certain types of moderate exercise are conducive of “calm energy”: think a walk in beautiful surroundings, Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates. The right kind of music can enhance this state of energetic calm, and I think I have found perfection in Sound Code Sirius.
I’d love to hear how you get on with these tips and whether you can feel your energy levels rising. Let me know which of these tips works best for you.
Love,
Jo xx