Residual Tiredness for 2 Days After Workouts - Help!

I think you did too much too soon. If you can't recover from a workout in 24 hr it is likely you did too much. You are just getting back in to it. Give you body time to adjust with less intense work until that is comfortable and then increase the effort slowly. In another 3 mo. that workout will be much easier to recover from.

Maybe try and get a longer cool down in after a very tough workout. Also make sure you are getting a good recovery meal in after you are done. Your muscles will need protein. Stay hydrated.

Thanks. Recently I read that cooling down with easier laps helps flush out things (lactic acid, waste products?). But wouldn't this be to prevent muscle soreness? My muscles actually aren't too sore usually - I'm just somewhat sleepy for about 2 days following a tough workout. I've only been swimming for about 2.5 months now with a hard workout 1x per week. Hopefully my recovery time will improve when I get more conditioned. I just haven't pushed myself physically like this for awhile and I'm surprised how long I feel it after a hard workout.

Thanks Allen. I hope taking things a bit slower will help. It's pretty discouraging to think I can't put a tough workout it without heavy eyelids for the following two days. I'll take a look at my nutrition too - it's not the best. I pretty much avoid the real junk but I'm sure I could do better.

I think you did too much too soon. If you can't recover from a workout in 24 hr it is likely you did too much. You are just getting back in to it. Give you body time to adjust with less intense work until that is comfortable and then increase the effort slowly. In another 3 mo. that workout will be much easier to recover from. Can you talk a little bit more about recovery and response to training volume increase? Any thoughts on how soon an intensity increase can elicit changes in fitness/speed?

Thanks Allen. I hope taking things a bit slower will help. It's pretty discouraging to think I can't put a tough workout it without heavy eyelids for the following two days. I'll take a look at my nutrition too - it's not the best. I pretty much avoid the real junk but I'm sure I could do better. Too much too quickly is a good way to injure yourself, too. I had several setbacks dating to October, then after a couple of failed restarts, I said "screw it, I'm just going to go hard," and injured my elbow (!?). So instead of slowing down, I just did more kick sets and different UDK drills. And then I hurt my back......pretty badly. So that impatience set me back nearly 2 months. Not to mention the cost of the physical therapy.

Thanks 67. My coach warned me of the same thing last week - about going out too hard. Though this was about coming back after an injury. I'll stick to slow and steady wins the race for now. Hopefully this will help reduce the tiredness as I gradually increase the intensity of my workouts.

The danger of over training is that you don't ever really realize the benefit of the training. Your body adapts to training when you rest (not while you are actually training). So if you are tired, and not rested, no adaptation and the training benefits are reduced. You're also probably more likely to get sick and become a grumpapotamus. Unfortunately, you just can't recover like you could when you were a kid or a 20 something, but you do have the advantage of being more experienced and smarter. Don't count laps make the laps count.

Great points and information Sojerz. Thanks. This is very helpful to know - I was unaware of this aspect of over-training. Much appreciated.

Great points and information Sojerz. Thanks. This is very helpful to know - I was unaware of this aspect of over-training. Much appreciated.