Gym Work - Fatigued Regularly - Protein Supplement Query

gary_bre

Hi ALL

Im looking for some advice on Gym work and Protein Shakes. Im 30 and have played high level of soccer since a young fella , but now I have had to stop due to Knee injuries.

Ive started doing some Gym work to keep in shape but also build muscle in my arms and chest. I dont want to be really big just I nice size (if that makes sense). I dont need to lose weight as im 6ft and weight 13 Stone which I think is about right weight for my height (I think)

Im very active out side the Gym , cycling in and out of work every day (25mins in and 25 home). I do some walking and Jogging when I get a chance.

At present Ive been doing the Gym for the past 3 weeks (3x 1 Hour Sessions a week) , now I have a routine that the gym gave me which is good and I do feel energetic after the work out and Feel sore the next day etc which I know is the normal way to be after a work out.

My Problem is that Im feeling really tired in the mornings , now i know you will feel tired but Im actaully shattered and ive been getting cramps aswell in some muscles recently (since the extra gym sessions really)
I eat well (Chicken, Fish , Turkey) , I drink plenty of water during the day (about 1-1.5 litre a day) , the only thing is that I would have long periods during the day when I wouldnt eat due to work , for example I wouldnt have a standard time for lunch , it would vary between 12 -3 depending on how busy I am. Also I should tell you I do my gym work in the morning 7.30 -8.30am

Would a protein supplement help me out ? Or does this sound more like burn out or a differnet problem. Also any side affects to the protein shakes? All opionion on my query are welcome but would like to hear from Fitness instructors if possible?

Thanks
Gary

metamorphosis

Before you go looking at or even ever thinking about protein supplements, do 2 things

1. Give a day or two detailed diet(warts and all)

eg. 8am porridge
10am - coffee etc

2. Lay out your routine for people to see.

An in depth look at diet usually reveals a lot. It may not be as healthy as you think and it may be the reason for your fatigue. Protein supplement is just that - a supplement.

Edit: you need to be getting enough sleep also - how much do you get

aye

Before you started going to the gym at 7:30 in the morning, what time did you get up?

Are you actually getting enough sleep?

as regards eating during the work day, their should be no reason you can munch down some fruit/yogurts/peanut butter even if you are busy.

As ULStudent lay it all out.

corkcomp

as per previous two posts - a full days diet would be helpful. Are you sure you are eating enough? the only foods you list are mainly protein and i will probably get shot for this but you DO need SOME carbs if working out hard.

it could also be low iron, and cramps could be low sodium / salt levels which can happen if you are exercising and sweating a lot and following a very clean diet

gary_bre

Hi All
Thanks for the replies. Here is a daily regrime , only changes on Sundays when I get a sleep on really

Mon - Friday
Up at 7am
Breakfast would be - Weatabix , glass of orange juice, glass of water , yogurts and sometime some toast.
Cycle to Gym 20-25 Mins
Gym 7.30ish. Do 1 Hour Gym Routine
Work 9-5ish
Eat some fruit and scone between 9-9.30am
Lunch between 12-3 would consiste of a Roll with Plain Chicken , Ham or Bacon , Peppers and tomatoes or sometimes Cheese, followed by portion of pineapple chunks and chocolate bar and cuppa tea.
Around 4PM would have a snack which would range from another chocolate bar or some peanuts or maybe pack of crisps (its rarely crisps just on occasion)

Cycle Home 5pm
Dinner at around 7. This would always consist of
Vegetables (majority of the time frozen) and Patotoes (boiled) maybe some pasta ,
Meats would vary from Srolion Steak (Fried) , Chicken fillets (Oven Baked) , Fish (Sometimes fresh Sometimes Frozen), mince meat
I do a stir fry when i get a chance with chicken and prawns and rice( once a week)
Cup of coffee and biscuits

Before bed sometimes i will have some cereal (cornflakes and milk)
Bed at between 10-11. always between monday and friday

Saturday - would be similar but just different times. I might go the gym in afternoon depending on what i have on

Hope this helps!

corkcomp

gary_bre wrote: »

Hi All
Thanks for the replies. Here is a daily regrime , only changes on Sundays when I get a sleep on really

Mon - Friday
Up at 7am
Breakfast would be - Weatabix , glass of orange juice, glass of water , yogurts and sometime some toast.
Cycle to Gym 20-25 Mins
Gym 7.30ish. Do 1 Hour Gym Routine
Work 9-5ish
Eat some fruit and scone between 9-9.30am
Lunch between 12-3 would consiste of a Roll with Plain Chicken , Ham or Bacon , Peppers and tomatoes or sometimes Cheese, followed by portion of pineapple chunks and chocolate bar and cuppa tea.
Around 4PM would have a snack which would range from another chocolate bar or some peanuts or maybe pack of crisps (its rarely crisps just on occasion)

Cycle Home 5pm
Dinner at around 7. This would always consist of
Vegetables (majority of the time frozen) and Patotoes (boiled) maybe some pasta ,
Meats would vary from Srolion Steak (Fried) , Chicken fillets (Oven Baked) , Fish (Sometimes fresh Sometimes Frozen), mince meat
I do a stir fry when i get a chance with chicken and prawns and rice( once a week)
Cup of coffee and biscuits

Before bed sometimes i will have some cereal (cornflakes and milk)
Bed at between 10-11. always between monday and friday

Saturday - would be similar but just different times. I might go the gym in afternoon depending on what i have on

Hope this helps!

there area few minor things in the diet that prevent it been a 100% clean diet. that said, I dont see any major problems that should cause fatigue, maybe other posters might spot something but my advice is to go to GP for a blood workup ..

dutch1

You do need carbs if you do a lot of cardio work, i.e brown pasta/rice, boiled spuds.

Also if your not getting enough red meat in you system it will lead to a depletion of iron in your system which will leave you feeling more tired and lethargic. This is just one of many suggestions that it could be.

If you change your workout to after work(this is wat I do), your energy levels willl be at a better level than at first thing in the morning, remember your doing a fairly hefty workout when combining the cycling first thing in the morning and you energy levels are not fully there yet. you have to take into account that you haven't eaten for the past 7/8 hours because you were sleeping.

With regard to protein shakes, there is no side effects, this is a supplement and you are just providing your body with more fuel for your muscles. you yourself will find what you find it better to take with, be it water or milk. I take before I head to bed at time as it releases the protein to your muscles as you are asleep.

A vitamin drink like berocca could also help your body. I use these from time to time when I feel my energy is not there. Its good to take these for 2-3 weeks straigth once a day to feel the full benefit.

Roper

Play with your diet a bit and see what happens. You're quite active without breaking the bank but there's no special reason you should be shattered. You might benefit from a bigger breakfast, less yeast (men can't tolerate too much after the age of 30 or so).

Quick experiment, you don't have to do this tonight but do it over the course of the week. Avoid beef, spinach or anything heavy in iron for a week and see what your energy levels are like. We Irish men have to watch for something!

gary_bre

Thanks for the all posts lads,
i think im going to try a bigger breakfast with maybe scarmbled eggs and a berocca boost aswell and see how i get on.

Its strange that when I was playing football i was training for longer periods of time I was feeling fine and now im training less every week and im feeling shattered....
It could be old age creeping in aswell

dutch1

i play football(2 days training & game day) & I get to the gym 4 days a week , weight training. I do get tired from time to time especially the mornings but I just put that down to me being a lazy git in the morning, supplements or should I say the right supplements does help. It'l be different from person to person, so you should introduce something new into your diet to see how it goes, the berocca is a good start.

celestial

A few thoughts - the only way you can find out what is causing it is to change things up and see what difference it makes, so:

1. Your diet is not without its flaws (same as 99% of people) - what I would say is that you are eating chocolate 3 times a day presumably every day and I'd start by cutting down to maybe once a day or preferably once every second day etc.

2. Have you ever worked out in the morning time regularly before? I know I definitely prefer evening workouts and many would be the same. As mentioned, could you move your gym workouts to after work? That way you can head home, rest, get something to eat and then straight to sleep. Also, working out in the morning generally means you will hit a little slump (or even a big one) in the afternoon time.

3. Some supplements I recommend/like taking: Vit C, zinc, fish oil (Eskimo 3 or another quality brand).

squod

There is something simple it seems. I watched gladiators Uk years ago. One of the blokes talked of his diet/routine etc and said he had a banana and a yogurt then went back to bed for one hour, before rising for breakfast at eight and going to the gym at nine. Interesting huh?

So yeah, eat earlier or go to the gym a little later. Put an hour between fooding and gyming. 2c.

mannequinhands

i would drink at least 2 litres of water a day so you might be falling a bit short there you should be trying to eat regularly about 6 times a day this is where a protein shake could come in handy as you could neck a shake in a min if your busy in work no real side effects to protein powders apart the fact that some of them make you fart and they can be pretty smelly aswell lol
if your looking for some protein supplements look for one that has good bcca's (branched chain amino acids ) and some glutamine if possible as ive always found glutamine great for recovery

K09

Hi,
I too feel very tired like the OP. Any advice? Thanks.

gary_bre

hi all
thanks for the advice, ive have changed my schedule a little bit , I only go to the gym 1 time in the morning and the other 2 times I go on my lunch break from work.
I also been taking berocca in the mornings, Ive only recently changed the routine so it might take a few weeks to seen any results in terms of being less fatigued etc.