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Comment by jraines | Hacker News Reader

If, aside from tiredness, you are physically able to work out, then you must do that first. It sounds like you’re off to a good start, plus the shower to “mark the boundary” is a good idea. Yes, all suggestions are YMMV, but personally I’ve found it’s just something you have to confront and accept as you get older (I’m 39): you’re going to either hurt from working out or hurt from not working out, so might as well do the former. And specifically for the reason you’re getting at: general energy levels. While you’re still going to feel sore and tired from working out, your mind will be a little sharper and net-net you’ll have more physical energy & executive function as well.

Diet is probably also a big factor but I’ll let others (likely) expand on the other two standard prongs of this genre of advice (diet & sleep).

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A couple of years ago I switched my workout routine to the first thing in the morning. While I don't like to be tired from that during the day, it's the only thing that has worked for me.

I also don’t like to work out in the morning, but if I’ve failed to hit the gym for a week, I switch to must doing this. The same goes for anything else overdue: Laundry, dishes, accounting, homework.

In the early hours I question myself less, and I just do what I asked myself to do the night before.

This is very good for endurance cardio. Somewhat less so for anaerobic or higher power levels IMO. For those workouts you can benefit from having a meal or two in your system to stress your muscles more without being limited by energy levels.

Good point, I do try to eat a carb heavy meal the night before my workout days to have the glycogen stored in my muscles.

I've never found working out to do anything but make me more tired.

Have you done it multiple times a week for more than 3 weeks?

I've done it daily for 8 months (P90X). Still hate it. Still doesn't "recharge" me or do any of the other things fans claim it does for them.

Do you at least sleep better/rise easier?

I've done every possible combination. HIIT, free weights, bands, VR cardio, lengthy strolls. I've done each for at least months at a time. None of have had any noticeable effects on my well-being. I live in a big city with no car, so I walk a lot no matter what. Even going relatively hard on barbell squats and dead lifts just made my legs feel weaker.

I find it starts off this way, when your body isn't in the rhythm of exercise. As you exercise more your body changes, and its response to exercise changes.

When I was exercising 5x a week, for months, the exercise routine was energising.

When I did nothing during months of COVID, I gained weight, felt lethargic and found exercise draining.

I was 3-4X a week at the gym. Weights plus HIIT for over a year before covid. Nothing. Didn't help my sleep, didn't slow my weight gain, didn't boost my stamina in daily tasks. And layered on muscle soreness.

Sounds like you weren’t doing the right things in the gym. Which is fine if that’s not your thing, but your quality of life will suffer to not have a fitness component.

This could be a hormonal imbalance, such as your thyroid. Most people (eventually) react positively to such lifestyle changes, unless your biological machinery is off the rails.

That's what I thought. I requested a load of blood tests but doc didn't find anything.

I felt the same way until I tried weightlifting/strengh training.

Running, biking, swimming just left me exhausted and I hated every minute of doing it.

Strength training makes me tired and sore and while it's not great fun to do, it is something I have been able to stick with for a couple of years.

Some people love being physically active, I have never been that type of person. I will never "love" working out. But despite that, I have found some exercise that I am able to do habitually. Keep trying.

Keep in mind too that everyone is different, don't just accept random advice from strangers online about your body.

If you truly just become more tired from working out, and you're working out sensibly, then you might have a condition affecting circulation or your heart.

Your body is surprisingly good at feeling how it expects to. If you expect to feel refreshed, you might. Learning how to control your expectations to suit your goals is a bit of a superpower, but it's one you learn by practicing it, not by talking about it on the Internet.

This sounds silly, but: do less. Run slower. Do 3 pushups or whatever. Whatever you can do consistently is going to be better than doing more for a bit and then quitting.

Not bad advice. If you can do 3 pushups today, do it. Then do 4 tomorrow. Then 5. and so on. Or run for 5 minutes, then 6, then 7. Whatever you are able to do, add a little bit to it the next time. Not so much that it's a barrier. Just a bit more than you did last time. If you can stick with it, in a year, you'll be amazed where you are.

Exercise doesn't have to be a full-on "workout". Just going for a walk around the block can be enough to refresh you and break the sort of inertia of sitting still.

Yes, anything is better than nothing.

Lately, 5-10 minutes of yin yoga and 20 minutes of walking is what I can prioritise.

Just having a walking break during work is great; three people at my office do that.

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