Gym workouts exhaust me

Lounge
1

I’ve recently dumped kettlebell training to focus more on bodybuilding (with fairly light weights like 30 lb dumbells).

What I have noticed is a huge decrease in energy not an increase. I feel exhausted all the time, have little energy to even want to talk and sleep an extra 2 hrs in the afternoons.

I thought working out would improve my energy.

This is my workout 2 sets 10 reps with 1 min rest interval

Day 1: Legs
Squat
Deadlift
calf Raise
30 min aerobics (threadmill at 65%-70% MHR)

Day 2: Chest Back
Seated Back Row
Lat Pulldown
Incline Chest Press
Flat chest Flyes
30 min aerobics (threadmill at 65%-70% MHR)

Day 3: Shoulders Arms
Upright Rows
Biceps Curl
Triceps Pressdown
Forearm Curls
Forearms Reverse Curls
30 min aerobics (threadmill at 65%-70% MHR)

Schedule: 3 on, 1 off, 3 on, 2 off.

Been at this for only a week.

I also noticed increased tension in the neck area and on my injuries like right ankle

I also noticed increased appetite.

My diet consists of:

Breakfast: 2 whole boiled eggs, 2 slices bread with light butter, and 2 cups coffee, with small amount of potatoes

Lunch: MRP

Coffee in the afternoon

Dinner: Salmon with vegetebles and some bread OR
Steak or Roast beef sandwich with vegetables OR
Chicken breast with vegetebles

Sometimes I’ll have another MRP during the day.

No coffee after 5 pm.

I DON"T eat deserts very often. .I am 41 years old, male of east indian decent.

Some observations: SInce I’ve started the program I’ve lost 1/2" to 3/4" in height. Before when I was using bodyweight with 10 lbs kettlebells I was taller. This lowers my self esteem and I thought weight training is supposed to help you look better.

Finally I take ZMA at night to promote restful sleep. I have bipolar and sleep has always been a problem. But as of late with ZMA I sleep like a baby and have vivid dreams.

Any tips?

I am currently 176 lbs on a 5’7" frame. I would like to drop to 168 lbs, losing mostly fat.

I hope I’ve been detailed enough.

Adrian

2

A few things.

  1. Being tired early in weight training is normal. Give it a couple of months.

  2. For every pound of body weight you need a gram of protein per day. Looks like you are lacking here. Need to get your omega intake up also.

  3. Drink plenty of water.

Nutrition For Bodybuilding

It takes time and anybody that tells you anything different is lying. Do not believe all the bullshit scammers trying to sell you something.

If you stick with a good program with weights, cardio, proper sleep and diet.

  1. You will have more energy.

  2. Your self confidence will improve immensely. (Women will notice this as well as being in much better physical condition)

  3. Being able to focus will become easier. (I am able to focus on reading much easier now)

Check out this site. This guy knows his stuff.

Scoobys Home Bodybuilding Workouts

3

I am not an expert, but it seems to me that you eat way too few carbs. They are the prime source of fuel for your body, especially during straineous activity.

What is the composition of your diet macro ? ( carbs/fat/protein %) ?

4

Skeeter pretty much nailed it, one other thing do one day on, one day off. Typically they say it takes around 48 hours for muscle tissue to repair and grow from a solid work out.

5

I don’t train the same muscles two days in a row. And after the 3 day split is over I take a day off, repeat the 3 day split and then take 2 full days off for rest before I start up again.

dsouza

6

dsouza, some people take longer to recover than others. You are overtraining. Badly.

If I were training at your level IN MY PEAK DAYS AS A BODYBUILDER, I would have come down with every infectious bug that went through my office, because I would have been drastically overtraining. It isn’t about leaving off the same MUSCLES; it’s about letting the body as a WHOLE rest. I NEVER train more than 3x/week. I put everything I have into those three times, but never more than three times. I even found that playing polo 2-3x per week, plus karate a couple times a week, while radically different workouts, was too much for my body’s recovery rate.

Listen to what people are telling you and cut back your exercise frequency. I would recommend you do your 3 days of exercise programs on Mo/We/Fr and let that be IT. Also significantly increase your protein intake. You want at least 1 gram of protein taken in per pound of body mass in order to be able to build muscle. Some good protein supplements (I’m fond of Designer Whey powder and Pure Protein bars) can help you out there.

As for carbs, I am on a low-carb diet and am getting strong and lean like gangbusters. I HIGHLY recommend Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. It’s an excellent discussion, on the layman’s level, about the various scientific studies that have been done over the years on nutrition, weight gain, and weight loss, and just how we went from “carbs make you fat” up until about 1960, to “carbs and grains are an essential part of the diet.” (Funny, Inuits lived for centuries on a meat/fat diet and never had any deficiency disorders.) I read that book, cut my carbs back considerably, and just got called “sexy thang,” “sexy beast,” and “beautiful” at the convention where I was a guest of honor this past weekend. Considering one year ago I looked like I was 7-8 mo. pregnant with a problem pregnancy to boot, not a half-bad turnaround, eh?

7

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bulk-up bodybuilding diet, by the son of someone who trained with him, and not according to the interviews he gave:

From Arnold Schwarzenegger diet [Archive] - Bodybuilding.com Forums

8

First I would follow more of a Mon/Wed/Fri split with rest between each day.

Second, I would restructure your upper body training. Pecs and Lats are large upper body muscles and training both on the same day, while training the smaller arm muscles of the Bi’s and Tri’s on their own day doesn’t make much sense.
I suggest doing Chest training followed by Biceps on one day (since your triceps will have gotten some side work from the chest workout already.
For the same reason, I would do Back/Lats and Triceps on another day

This would essentially give your Bi’s and Tri’s one direct and one indirect workout per week which should be fine since smaller arm muscles actually recover faster than larger muscles like the chest and back

I’m not partial to direct forearm work as I believe that doing your workout without the use of straps or hooks gives the forearms sufficient indirect work and any more is excessive.

Third, place your leg training day between the two upper body workouts, to ensure enough recovery time for the upper body

9

Oh good heavens yes. I didn’t catch that part. Absolutely.

By the by, that slight decrease in height should be temporary and due to compression of the weights - AND IS AN INDICATION YOU’RE NOT RECOVERING BETWEEN WORKOUTS. And such a small decrease is not noticeable to the average person. It should NOT be sending you into a tailspin self esteem-wise.

10

Very well guys 3xweek it is. I’ll implement the changes and see what happens! :roll_eyes:

11

I just wanted to add that since I’ve started bodybuilding sex drive is up again, sleep is ridiculous (I seem to sleep 8-9 hrs night and 2 hrs during the day.. Its like all I want to do is sleep), eating has increased (I am always eating), and when my wife talks too much it starts to irritate me now. Its like I don’t like to talk much anymore. I feel so horny most of the time my mind is distracted by beautiful beaver surrounding me in the hot summer sun.

Well I’m sure bodybuilders are known for sex, sleeping, and eating , and pumping iron and I’m scared I’m becoming one of them. I sure hope these desires are only temporary. It’s like I was made for weights, I react so quickly to them.

When your 41 and your married and you have responsibilities all day you need energy too. I do cardio so I am not starving my body of energy. I also eat carbs like breads, and potatoes every morning and night.

I am noticing the results though. In one week I have put an inch on my legs and 1/2 inch on my arms. When I was in my twenties I had about 20 lbs more muscle than I have now so I have a feeling my body can regain it fast.

Still back then all I did was eat, sleep, pump iron, and have sex. Hmm sounds like a man’s plan. But nowadays my desires have grown past that alone.

I sure hope once the muscle is built and I don’t need to lift any heavier I will be full of more energy for other things and not need as much sleep or food.

dsouza

12

If you want to maintain muscle, you will still have to do periodic bodybuilding workouts, or the muscle loses tone and shape. But no, you won’t have to do as much, as often.