How To Exercise For More Energy and Less Fatigue

When you have a lot of responsibilities, like family, work, keeping a household running, and taking care of yourself, it can be exhausting. You feel like you don’t have the physical and mental energy to do everything you need to do, let alone the things you want to do.

When I was pregnant with my second child, I had a tough first trimester. It was worse than in my first pregnancy, probably because this time I had a toddler to take care of. I won’t complain too much, because it could have been much worse, but I felt incredibly tired. That fatigue really threw me, since I’m usually an active person with a lot of energy.

It affected everything. The daily tasks that I used to have no problem getting done started to get away from me. That made me feel stressed and overwhelmed, and my mood suffered.

Then, around 12 or 13 weeks, the fatigue lifted. It was like coming out of a fog, and I really appreciated for the first time how crippling it is to be constantly exhausted. Every aspect of my life suffered because of it. It’s no way to live.

So many people turn to supplements and stimulants (including coffee and sugar) to fight fatigue, but exercise can be even more effective (and have fewer side effects).

Research Shows That Exercise Boosts Energy

Several studies have found links between energy levels, fatigue, and physical activity.

People who report being active are about 39% less likely to experience fatigue and low energy than people who aren’t active.

In another study, when people who were inactive started exercising, they became about 32% less likely to report low energy or fatigue. On the other hand, active people who stopped exercising became more likely to have low energy and fatigue.

Several studies have also examined what happens when you take people through a supervised exercise program lasting at least a few weeks. One big review article looked at the results of 70 of those kinds of studies.

Sixty-six out of the 70 studies found that chronic exercise increased feelings of energy and decreased feelings of fatigue.

In fact, that review found that the effect of chronic exercise appears to be larger than what’s usually found in studies looking at the effect of behavioral or drug treatments on energy and fatigue.

Some studies have looked at the effect of a single bout of exercise on ratings of energy and fatigue during and after the exercise session.

In both cardio and strength training studies, exercise can increase energy levels after the exercise is finished, with the effects lasting at least 30 minutes after the end of the exercise session.

How Does Exercise Improve Energy Levels And Decrease Fatigue?

The exact way that exercise increases energy isn’t clear yet, but it has something to do with changes in the brain that happen when you exercise. Those changes are probably similar to the ones that improve mood, including the release of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other substances during and after exercises, and longer-term changes in the connections between brain cells.

Exercise also affects your sleep, which has a carryover effect on fatigue and energy levels. When you exercise, you tend to sleep better, which makes you feel more energetic the next day.

How To Exercise For More Energy And Less Fatigue

Before I get into some recommendations for using exercise to boost your energy, I need to explain the difference between energy and fatigue.

You might think energy and fatigue are just two opposite ways to describe the same thing: how tired you feel. If you have low energy then you must have high fatigue, and vice versa. In research, that’s not exactly true.

Fatigue and energy are considered two different things, and they’re measured separately.  Think of “energy levels” as your mental energy – how alert and engaged your mind feels. “Fatigue” is about how your body feels.

Often, when you’re physically tired you’re also mentally tired. At the end of a long and difficult day, you might feel both physical fatigue and low mental energy. If you’re like me and not a morning person, you might also feel that way when you first wake up. It’s not a good feeling.

There are some situations, though, where you get an interesting disconnect between physical fatigue and mental energy. Exercise is one of those situations. During and right after exercise, you might feel physically tired, but mentally energetic.

That’s one of my favorite feelings in the world. You feel tired, but in a good way. It feels like you’ve been working hard on something worth doing, and you’re ready to tackle any new challenge.

As you’ll see in a minute, the physical fatigue you feel from exercise usually goes away pretty quickly, and the mental energy boost sticks around.

Aim for about 30 minutes at a time, but even shorter bursts of exercise can work.

Most studies have looked at exercise lasting between 20 and 40 minutes and found improvements in energy levels, but even exercise sessions as short as 10 minutes can be effective!

If you do it often throughout the day, a quick 1-2 minute movement break can also boost your energy level. Even if you don’t have time for a long workout, a short one will help!

Both cardio and strength training can increase energy levels, but strength workouts might be more effective.

Both cardio and strength training have been found to increase feelings of energy, with strength training boosting energy more than cardio in some studies.

Some researchers think that a type of exercise that’s more mindful or cognitively demanding can boost energy levels the most. That kind of exercise would engage your brain as well as your body.

That could explain why strength training might have a bigger effect than cardio. There’s usually more to think about during a strength workout, like which exercises to do next, how to do each one, which weights to choose, etc.

Other exercise that engages your brain, like dance classes or martial arts, might also give you a bigger energy boost.

Do it often.

Since individual exercise sessions boost energy, it’s best to exercise frequently. You can get an energy boost each time to exercise, so the more you do it, the better you’ll feel!

Any movement, even if it’s not a structured workout, can boost energy levels. People who break long periods of sitting with just a couple of minutes of movement (a short walk, a few stretches, or a “microworkout”) throughout the day, feel less fatigued.

You’ll get the biggest boost when you’re already feeling tired.

Similar to other effects of exercise, energy increases are the biggest when your energy levels start out low. Yet another reason to go for a walk or do a workout when you’re feeling a little down.

Choose your intensity wisely.

Here’s an interesting, and kind of complicated, aspect of the relationship between exercise and energy. How hard you exercise changes your feelings of fatigue (physical tiredness) and your energy levels (mental energy) in different ways.

When you do high intensity exercise, like a hard run, interval session, or heavy weightlifting workout, you feel physically tired during and right after the exercise. I’m sure you’ve experienced this yourself when you’ve done a tough workout.

The research shows that those feelings of fatigue will increase during exercise and immediately afterwards. But then, usually within about 30 minutes of finishing the workout, they drop off.

In fact, fatigue in the hour after hard exercise often decreases even lower than it was before the exercise session. So even though you feel physically tired for a little while, you ultimately end up feeling less tired.

Mental energy levels are a different story. They tend to go up immediately after exercise, and even increase a little more 30 minutes later.

So, immediately after exercise you feel physically tired but mentally energetic. By about 30 minutes later that physical fatigue wears off and you’re left with more energy than when you started. It’s pretty great!

When your exercise session is less intense, like a moderate intensity workout involving a brisk walk or slow jog or a moderately challenging weightlifting session, you get less fatigue during and right after the exercise, but you also get a smaller “bounce-back” effect. You also get a smaller boost in energy levels during and after the workout.

For light exercise, like a slow walk, light weight session or quick movement sequence, you probably won’t feel very tired. You also won't get much of an energy boost afterwards.

Choose your exercise intensity depending on how you’re feeling and how you want to feel afterwards.

If you want a little energy boost but don’t want to feel more tired at all, do some light exercise. Go for an easy walk or do a light movement sequence.

If you want a bigger energy boost, do some moderate exercise like a brisk walk or slow jog (depending on your fitness level), or some moderately heavy strength training.

You might feel a little fatigued during and immediately after, but it shouldn’t be too significant and should go away quickly once you stop exercising, and you’ll feel better than when you started.

For the biggest energy boost, do vigorous exercise. It'll be tough, but you’ll get the biggest return in terms of your energy levels after the workout.

Match Your Exercise To Your Fitness Level.

For the immediate energy-boosting effect of a single session, it’s important to match your fitness level to the exercise you’re doing. In other words, do exercise that’s a little challenging for you, but not too much.

Remember that very intense exercise tends to increase energy levels the most, but it also increases fatigue during and after exercise, (although afterwards energy levels go up and fatigue goes away). Someone who's fit enough to handle that type of exercise will get those effects.

If you try to do a really hard workout that’s way beyond your fitness level, the results won’t be as good. You’ll most likely end up with more fatigue and less of an energy boost.

If you’re not very fit yet, low intensity exercise is probably enough to get a significant energy boost. In fitter people, it probably takes more intense workouts to get a boost.

It’s important to start slowly and build your way up. You’ll get the best effects if you start with an exercise intensity that matches your current fitness level and then slowly challenge yourself to improve your fitness by increasing the difficulty.

If you're feeling tired and low on energy, exercise can make a big difference. Contact me to find out how a personalized training program can help you feel your best!