If your health, strength, fitness, attitude are all aligned in the right way, there is nothing else for you to do but to feel energised. Photo / Getty Images
If your health, strength, fitness, attitude are all aligned in the right way, there is nothing else for you to do but to feel energised. Photo / Getty Images
Fatigue is one of the problems of our busy modern lifestyles and many people complain of having low energy levels. This means that although they can get through the day they rarely have energy left over to be able to exercise vigorously and lead an active lifestyle.
But the fact is your energy levels are a good indicator of your current fitness level.
So how can you have a good fitness level if you don't have enough energy to be able to exercise? Well, the whole cycle needs to be reversed and slowly strength and fitness recovered and increased over a period of time.
A programme with strength building will recover lost strength and speed up metabolism (your body's engine) so you burn more fuel (calories) when active and when resting. Photo / Getty Images
It is important to have lots of energy to fit everything we want into our life. When we have this natural energy we find we feel happier, more energetic and more enthusiastic about everything in life. We also become more motivated to want to be active on a regular basis. If we are often tired and feeling sluggish this can lead to apathy and the blues which is not helpful to getting the most out of life.
Energy is not something that is tangible. You cannot get it or find it and is not something that you can see or touch, but you will surely know if you don't have enough of it. But to get more of it you first have to create the conditions under which it is possible to show up in your life.
If your health, strength, fitness, attitude are all aligned in the right way, there is nothing else for you to do but to feel energised. It is the natural "side-effect" of a fit, healthy life - it just comes with the territory.
If it is not happening for you some changes are necessary. By adding a proper exercise programme into your life and starting slowly but consistently you can get back to where you should be quite quickly. It is important that you do not waste your precious little energy on ineffective exercise that will not give you much in return.
As well as boosting oxygen to reach your brain, exercise produces endorphins and when released produce feelings of joy, excitement and wellbeing - a natural "high". Photo / Getty Images
A structured programme with strength building exercise will recover lost strength and speed up your metabolism (your body's engine) so you burn more fuel (calories) both when you are active and when you are resting. You will also be better equipped to manage stress and you will sleep better too.
This type of exercise regime will energise you throughout the day by building back your strength. Your better conditioned muscles will make every task in your day so much easier too and save some of the energy drain. Exercise will also increase oxygen flow to the brain making you feel good, more mentally alert and you will have an overall happier disposition.
In addition to allowing more oxygen to reach your blood stream, exercise allows your blood itself to circulate more efficiently, bring more oxygen to your heart and muscles which allows for increased functioning throughout your body and heightened energy production.
As well as boosting oxygen to reach your brain, exercise produces endorphins and when released produce feelings of joy, excitement and wellbeing such a runners reporting a natural "high". But even moderate physical activity will cause your body to release these same endorphins, creating similar, if not as strong, effects on your mood. This lifting of your spirits and mood also creates the effect of making you feel more energised and happier from the inside out.
A recent study reports that inactive people who complain of fatigue can increase energy by as much as 20 per cent and decrease fatigue by a whopping 65 per cent by simply participating in regular exercise.
The reason for this goes deep down into the cells of the body, where we find the mitochondria. Tiny, energy-producing organs found in every cell. The more you move your body physically, the more mitochondria your body creates to meet the energy demands. The more mitochondria you have, the greater the increase to your metabolism, and the greater your ability to produce more energy. So it's a self-perpetuating loop.
Although this all sounds easy, it will not just happen overnight. Like all of us it is a journey and we can only aim for improvement not perfection. Each week the goal should be just to do a little better than the week before. These good choices will not only give you your energy back but rejuvenate your whole life.
