Started by JDelage, March 21, 2015 · 3 Replies · 2,771 Views
All,
What strategies do you use to regain energy mid workout? I find that I loose energy (mostly in the form of willpower) after 45mn - 1hr, and I'm wondering if nutrition could help with that.
(My understanding is that this is mostly a function of carbs, but I thought I'd check with people here.)
Some years ago, Josh/Slizzardman talked about eating raisins intra workout and it's something I do in my sessions still. Fruit snacks work well but I figure raisins are healthier. They actually have a few more grams of carbs than a pack of fruit snacks and some fiber. Fruit is pretty popular as an intra workout snack in gymnastics.
I used to keep around those huge bags or tall cylinders of raisins for the kids. Pretty popular and cheap.
What can also help is a short rest or laying on your back (something about better bloodflow to the brain and muscle relaxation). A lot of the time before I go to the gym, I like to lay down for 5-15 minutes and it seems to help revitalize me midday. Not as good as a power nap but definitely beneficial.
I also tend to suck on menthol lozenges AKA I'm horrible addicted to them according to most of my old gymnasts. They probably have a few grams of sugar and the menthol seems to help me relax (actually was fatigued the other day during training so I tryed just smelling Tiger Balm between sets and it seems to help).
You really shouldn't be having an energy problem training under an hour though. Some of this may be experience or just other issues like sleep deficit or not enough food in the tank. I forgot to eat my granola bar after biking to the gym to coach the kids today but eating it just after brought me back into the mood to train.
If I'm going for more than ~2 hours, I'll sip a gatorade or similar sugar-water beverage while I'm going. For anything under than 2 hours I just make sure to have a light snack beforehand.
My workouts are often just around 2hrs, warmup included. By the end I just don't have it in me to continue.