Ebbs and Flows for Exercise
Now, if you're going to make your training as effective as it possible can be for your energy levels then it can pay to borrow some ideas from professional bodybuilders. Actually, we're going to borrow one idea in particular – that being the 'back-off week' or 'deload week'.
So what is a deload week? Basically it's a week where you're going to take it very easy. You can also do deload sessions, which means for that workout, you're going to give yourself a break. In our case, this might mean just going for a walk instead of a run.
Why is this important?
Well, allow me to introduce you to a little concept called 'heartrate variability'…
What is Heartrate Variability?
Whether you’re a runner, a bodybuilder, a footballer or any other kind of professional or amateur athlete, overtraining is a very real and serious threat and something you need to work hard to avoid. While we need to push ourselves hard in order to stimulate growth and change, it is likewise crucial that we don’t push too hard, lest we impair our performance in subsequent training sessions and increase our chance of injury and illness. It’s a lesson that will take many of us decades to learn; but the reality is that rest and recovery is one of the most important factors in any training program.
And that’s where heartrate variability comes into play…
The general idea behind heartrate variability, is that it can provide us with a useful measure of how well we’ve recovered from any given workout. Furthermore, it can also give us a fairly good indication of how well we’ve recovered from any given day. It basically serves as a quick check for your nervous system and this can then give you an indication of whether you’re going to be performing at the top of your game, or whether you need to take it easy for a bit.
We all know that a slower heartrate is generally an indicator of better cardiovascular fitness. What is less well known however, is that the consistency of the heartrate also gives us some insight into our current physical condition. And specifically, when there is more variability between each heartbeat, this shows us that we are more recovered and ready to go again (probably the opposite from what many people would have expected to be the case!).
To understand why this works the way it does, it may be useful to take a moment to consider the way the nervous system works. Essentially, the nervous system is comprised of two separate branches. They are:
The Voluntary Nervous System
This is the part of the nervous system that you control consciously in order to move around. Whether you’re going for a run or playing a computer game, your voluntary nervous system is in control.
The Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system meanwhile is the unconscious part of the nervous system that controls things like breathing, digesting and heartrate. It can be further subdivided into:
The Sympathetic Nervous System
This controls our ‘fight or flight’ response, increasing heartrate, breathing and physical performance.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System
The parasympathetic nervous system meanwhile controls our ‘rest and digest’ state which kicks in when we’re relaxed and recovering. Note that these are not binary states but more of a continuum. At any given time, your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems will be working in tandem to leave you in a state somewhere between.
Now, as you probably guessed from the mere existence of heartrate variability, your heart does not actually beat in a steady consistent manner. Rather, the frequency varies each time you breathe in and out. When you breathe out, the brain sends an inhibitory parasympathetic signal to slow the heart slightly and when you breathe in, that signal disappears and the heartrate marginally increases.
Basically then, this means that your heartrate will change more when everything is running healthily and when you're recovered. Use a heartrate variability monitor (an app and a chest strap) and you should be able to measure this. Use this as a guide for how hard to push yourself in the gym and you can avoid the dreaded 'overtraining'.
Diet for Energy
And now we're onto our final pillar: nutrition.
Of course everything we eat provides energy and this is what calories are. But unfortunately, eating for energy isn't quite as simple as carb loading every day! In fact, if you do this, you'll find you have much lower energy overall.
That's because excess energy in our food will be stored as fat, which will make us heavier and less healthy. What's more, if you have a surplus of energy all the time, your body will become less efficient at using that energy.
Eating for energy is a little more complex than that, so read on and we'll bring this thing to a close…
The Slow Carb Diet
The first tip then? That's actually to eat fewer carbs. Carbs are our worst culprit because they spike the blood sugar which results in a release of insulin, causing the body to then start removing the energy from the blood. This gives us a sudden surge of energy but then a trough once all that energy has been used or stored as fat.
The worst culprit for this is 'fast carbs'. Fast carbs are the simple carbs with a high glycemic index and are usually the ones that taste sugary. Cake, chocolates, sweets, white bread, white pasta and potatoes are all 'fast carbs' and will leave you quickly feeling low on energy.
Slow carbs with a low GI – such as rye bread, sweet potatoes and vegetables – are much better at releasing energy slowly throughout the day for us to use. Likewise, so too are fats such as butter, coconut oil (which also gives us ketones – another source of energy for the body), avocado, meats etc. These are higher in calories (9 per gram, versus 4 for carbs) but they release that energy slower allowing us to avoid an energy peak and trough.
In a slow carb diet then you eat fewer simple carbs – less bread, less sugar, less cake – more complex carbs and more protein. Protein is also very important because it's what our body uses to repair itself and to rebuild our muscle after a workout. Fueling your body with a protein is another way to avoid overtraining and to develop a lean and toned physique.
Nutrition
And finally, another crucial goal for an energy-focused diet is to be highly nutritious.
That means ensuring that everything you eat provides some nutritional value. 'Empty' carbs are your enemy while superfoods are your ultimate ally. Fruits are fast carbs but they should be the exception to that rule as they're just so packed with goodness. Organ meats are also incredibly good for you, as are eggs and fish.
Why does all this matter? Because vitamins and minerals can boost just about every aspect of your health and particularly your energy. Get more omega 3 fatty acid and your cells will communicate better, get more creatine and your body will be able to recycle ATP for more energy, get more vitamin C and you'll keep a healthy immune system that doesn't get ill, get iron and your body will have more oxygen and fuel for long runs, get more zinc and you'll have more testosterone which speeds up your metabolism, get more CoQ10 and your mitochondria will perform better, get more vitamin B6 and you'll get more energy from your food, get more magnesium and you'll sleep better…
The list goes on. And sure, you can get this stuff from supplements but it will do much more good if you get it from a full and healthy diet.
Conclusion – The Secret to Endless Energy
So there you have it: you now know how to manage your diet, your exercise, your sleep and your routine for maximum energy. We covered a lot of different topics and subjects throughout this book but to recap, here are some things you can start doing right away to boost your energy levels:
Start seeking out more fruits and vegetables
Acknowledge the times you feel most tired and let yourself rest
Avoid the activities that leave you feeling exhausted
Remove small stresses from your routine
Invest in a daylight lamp
Get minimalist shoes
Spend more time outdoors
Supplement with vitamin D
Treat sleep as sacred
Have a warm bath before bed
Use HIIT training
Use training you enjoy
Reduce your fast carbs
If you do just these things, then you'll start enjoying more energy in everything you do and you'll find your whole life is transformed as a result. The world has more color when you're not exhausted all the time....
Hope you enjoyed. Keep look out for more exciting and useful info from me.
Thanks