should I use of energy/electrolyte drinks if I feel fatigue, exhausted and dried throat during exercise

Question

I workout in gym daily morning for 1 hour with high intensity. But after 30 minutes, I start to feel very exhausted, fatigue and dried throat. Because of that, I couldn't push myself for much. e.g. If at start, I can press 50 kg, but after 30 minutes I couldn't even press 40 kg.

Also from when I have joined gym, after workout, throughout the day(specially up to evening) I fell very tired and energy-less. So my friend suggested me to take some energy drinks while workout.

But always I eat natural things, and avoid any packed drinks and food. So I started drinking lot of water(approx half liter, 100 ml for 5 times) during exercise; but not effective. Also I read on net that, rather than only drinking water, drink electrolyte drinks containing some minerals.

So should I start taking some energy drinks, and if yes then in what quantity and exactly at what time(before or during exercise)

Answer 1

Energy Drinks

Generally, electrolyte drinks are most helpful for workouts lasting longer than 1.5 hours depending on how much you sweat. The more you sweat, the more electrolytes (sodium/potassium) you flush out and the more likely you are to need replacements.

According to this WebMD article:

The American College of Sports Medicine says that during exercise lasting less than one hour there's little evidence of any difference in performance between exercisers who drink beverages containing carbohydrates and electrolytes, and those who drink plain water.

The article has good information as to what to consider in an exercise drink (calories, sugar vrs alternative sweetners, caffeine etc., and gives you nutritional information for specific drinks.

Fatique and Exhaustion

Electrolytes may help, but since you "feel very exhausted, fatigue and dried throat" and "after workout, throughout the day(specially up to evening) I fell very tired and energy-less" you may:

1. Need a medical check-up
2. Be overtraining - see signs of overtraining. You may need to modify your workouts or increase your recovery time.
3. Not be getting enough nutrition and/or calories to provide enough energy for your workouts. As for hydration, you may want to make sure you are better hydrated before your workout.

Consider all of the above to help you find the right balance to your workout frequency and intensity, rest periods, food, water and electrolyte intakes. (My personal experience with extreme fatique during long tennis matches was a matter of too little salt in my diet.) Good luck finding what works best for you.

Answer 2

If you are getting exhausted and fatigued after only 30 minutes, the problem isn't that you need an energy drink.

The problem is that you are working out too hard. The fact that you are feeling tired later in the days would support that.

The point of working out is to put training stress on your system. After you have done that, when you rest, you improve. High intensity workouts do have a place, but only after you have an existing base of workout.

My suggestion is to back off your workout intensity so that you can do 60 minutes without being super-tired at the end. I'd also consider either backing off to 3 days a week or varying your workout from day to day.

Answer 3

If I were you I would use more fruits and vegetables instead, you can make fresh squeezed juices. I remember a pic a have posted a month ago on on my facebook wall about Ironmanner (Ironman Triatloner) who has done whole competition on 10 bananas.

Answer 4

Being tired throughout a day is not normal even your workouts are intense. I had a very similar issue, I was feeling very tired after my workouts. Later on, I figured out that I have high blood pressure problem.

Please go to a doctor and get checked your body up, especially your heart. Drinking energy drinks is not the real solution and may worsen the situation since they may effect your recovery.

Besides, lifting very heavy every day is not optimal and may burn your central norvous system out.

If there is no problem related to your health try these

1. Change workout system. 2 or 3 times a week, concurrent style gives very optimal results.

2. If you are on deficit eat more.

3. Sleep enough.

4. Drink enough water, eat vegetables and take vitamin tablets.

Please keep me updated.