Is this amount of fatigue normal?

Question

I've started the following light excercising regimen:

• light warm-up (~10 min);
• a 5 short sets of pull-ups (around 16 total);
• some jumping and few sets of 50-60 mountain climbers in between of pull-ups;
• couple minutes of jumping jacks and some stretching after;
• the goal is to improve in pull-ups so they are done up to fail and improvement is being achieved;

This happens once in 4-6 days with few yoga sets and ~1 long walk in between.

I feel considerably fatigued on a post-workout day (usually cut any activities) and then may feel fatigue "tail" up to few days more. By fatigue I mean mostly mental fatigue - drop in concentration and early tiredness in mental activities/studying, irritability. Physical component is felt to lesser extent.

I also tried to do some squats once in between (around 20-30-20), but finally gave up because it made things much worse.

I'm 33y.o. and around 68kg weight. Am used to have lots of physical activities like hiking, swimming etc. from time to time and always felt fit enough.

Can that level of fatigue be normal, or should I look for other reasons?

Answer 1

That sounds unusual to me.

For comparison, I'm 44 years old, and 73 kg at 1,85m height. I get into the gym for strength training and stretching sometimes 6 days a week, multiple hours a day, and don't feel fatigue like you describe.

Let's look at the other two pillars of health: Nutrition and sleep.

Nutrition: Do you get a good mix of protein, carbs, and fat from a variety of different fresh, not processed, foods? Are you calories close enough to your needs to make any weight change fairly slow, i.e. less than 1kg/week?

Sleep: Are you getting 7+ hours of sleep a night? Not just laying in bed, but actually sleeping? Do you limit the use of caffeine and other stimulants to the first half of the day only? If you drink, do you wait to sober up before going to bed?

Answer 2

I would say it's unusual for someone who is generally quite active. Two possibilities spring to mind:

1. Insufficient calories.

You may be exercising to lose weight, but fatigue is often a sign that your body doesn't have the raw fuel to provide the energy you are expending. If you aren't particularly trying to cut calories, look at whether you are getting enough nutrition in your diet. Carbs are generally what give you energy: sugary carbs like sweets provide the most immediate, while starchy carbs (potatoes, brown bread etc.) provide slower release energy.

2. Illness

Even if you feel well, I often notice that the first sign of an upcoming illness (even just something like a cold or flu) is excessive fatigue. This is because your body is using energy to fight off the germs, and the germs are, in turn, interfering with your normal body processes, including the quality of sleep you may be getting.

If it's the first issue, diet can correct it. If it's the second then maybe back off the exercise for a few days and see if any illness does show. If not then try the exercise again. Make sure you are getting enough vitamins and nutrients as well.