Caring for kids or aging parents, keeping up with the demands of your job and other daily sources of stress can leave you feeling depleted. You know exercise is good for you, but you simply can’t imagine mustering up the energy to work out.
So how do those people who seem to do it all actually do it? First and foremost, it’s crucial to find a workout you like and feel excited about doing. “People who are motivated to do something have a tremendous amount of energy to do it, and people who aren’t motivated to do something seem to have no energy to do it,” said exercise physiologist Michael Stack, president of the Physical Activity Alliance. “Finding exercise that is enjoyable and meaningful to you is a critical first step.”
There are a lot of ways to find motivation to exercise — some people respond well to community (whether in-person or digital), while others activate when cash is on the line, such as signing up for a group exercise class ahead of time. It’s important to find what, specifically, pushes you to make movement a regular part of your routine.
If you check that off your list yet still can’t seem to feel energized, try these expert tips.
Overhaul your sleep hygiene
If you’re often too tired to exercise, it’s worth taking a close look at your sleep hygiene, or the habits that affect how much sleep you’re getting and the quality of your rest, said Sweta Gogineni, assistant clinical professor in pulmonology, critical care and sleep medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Experts recommend following these tried-and-true guidelines:
- Go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same time each day, even on weekends and vacations.
- Limit screen use in the hour or two before bedtime.
- Make your bedroom dark, cool and quiet.
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotine too close to bedtime.
- Create a relaxing wind-down routine, such as taking a bath, reading a book or meditating.
Most healthy adults should clock seven to nine hours of sleep a night. “A lot of times, we conflate our time in bed with our time sleeping, but it’s important that you get those hours of actual sleep,” Gogineni said. If you’re getting enough and are still waking up feeling tired, talk to a health care provider, as this can be a sign of a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome, she said.
Try carbs, caffeine or both right before a workout
A strategically timed snack can help boost energy before exercise. At least an hour before you plan to work out, try to eat about 1 gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of your body weight. That’s about 0.5 grams of carbs per pound of your body weight. These should be simple, easily digestible carbs such as bananas, toast, cereal or even a sports drink, Stack said.
Caffeine can help, too — after all, it’s a natural thing to reach for when you need an extra energy kick.
Research suggests getting 3 to 6 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of your body weight (about 1 to 3 milligrams per pound) about an hour before exercise can improve your performance in that workout. That’s a wide range — which could be explained by the fact that everyone metabolizes the chemical at a different rate.
“Most people don’t need that much to start,” Stack said. “In doses of somewhere between 100 to 200 milligrams, caffeine can help improve energy for any form of exercise.” He suggested that a safer, more practical approach is to start in this more modest range and adjust as needed.
Just make sure you’re not using caffeine so late in the day that it interferes with your sleep. And if it upsets your stomach or makes you feel jittery, skip it, he added.
Take a power nap
There’s also research suggesting a 30- to 90-minute nap can improve athletic performance. Granted, if you’re not getting as much sleep as you need to feel energized, you might not have time for a midday nap either, but if you do, it may be worth a try.
Just make sure your nap happens before 2 to 3 p.m., said Gogineni. “The longer a nap is, and the later in the day the nap is, the harder it is to fall asleep at night, and this can often lead to people getting into a pattern of minimal sleep at night and playing catch up with naps during the day,” she said.
Add an energizing X-factor
If you don’t have the energy to exercise alone, see how much less tired you feel if you sign up for a group fitness class or meet a friend for a walk.
If the idea of treadmill walking or running exhausts you, try a walk or run in a park or forest and see how your energy levels respond, Stack said. The change of scenery itself can put a little more pep in your step.
On top of that, exposing yourself to sunlight, especially first thing in the morning, helps anchor your circadian rhythm and can make you feel more alert for exercise (and for the rest of your day). “Sunlight is one of the most powerful cues to our body that it is time to wake up,” Gogineni said.
Reassess your recovery strategy
Your body needs time to recover in between workouts; without it, you’re likely to feel run down. “We tend to see a lot of people, particularly when they’re beginning their exercise journey, who exercise at too much intensity, and as a result, they don’t recover for their next workout,” Stack said.
In general, if you did a grueling workout one day, you should plan to take it easy the next. You don’t need to be sedentary, but it might mean opting for something a little lower in intensity than whatever you did on that “hard” day. Giving your body this time to rest and repair is essential for having enough energy for your next planned workout.
Make sure you’re eating enough calories each day
Calories, and carbohydrates in particular, are the fuel your body needs to make energy, Stack said. If you’re exercising to lose or maintain your weight, or you’re too busy to prepare nutritious meals, you might be tired because you’re not eating enough.
Track what you eat for a few days to see how many calories you’re getting. Even on the most extreme weight-loss diets (which are usually followed only under medical supervision), women should generally not fall below 1,200 calories per day and men should not fall below 1,500 calories per day.
You can also try using an online calculator to see what an ideal number of calories and carbohydrates are for you each day, Stack suggested.
If you adjust your calorie intake and still feel exhausted, it might be worth checking in with a professional. “There’s a sweet spot that allows you to exercise with adequate intensity to improve your health and still lose weight,” he said. “That takes a little bit of calibrating, so working with a registered dietitian would be really helpful.”
Be kinder to yourself
It’s easy to discourage yourself with language like “I’m too tired to exercise.” When you need a pick-me-up, try focusing on the positive, instead. “Reframe that to, ‘If I exercise, I’ll actually feel better and have more energy afterward,’” Stack said.
If you skip a workout, don’t give up. All-or-nothing thinking is one reason people stop exercising altogether, so it’s important to pat yourself on the back for the workouts you do and don’t worry too much about the ones you don’t.
“It’s important to have some degree of acceptance around the fact that you won’t always feel like exercising,” Stack added. That acceptance can give you a little more of the psychological and emotional energy you need, he said, to get out there and start moving.
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