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A Little Habit That Makes Exercise
Easier
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You're more likely to finish your workout by saying "Boy, that was a breeze!" if you do this first: rest your mind.
Why? Because research suggests that a tired mind means a tired body. Exercisers in a study had a harder time with their workouts when their brains
were fatigued.
Brain Strain
The men and women in the study were given two different preworkout activities on different days. Before one workout, they were asked to complete
a tedious and time-intensive computer task that demanded close attention and quick responses. On another day, their preworkout activity consisted
of relaxing in front of documentary films on relatively uncomplicated topics. Ultimately, the study participants reported much more fatigue during
the workout following the computer task. They also reached their point of exhaustion more quickly. Are your energy levels up to par? Or have you
felt tired for so long that it's your new normal?
Mind over Matter
It isn't clear exactly how this mind/body fatigue connection worked, but researchers suspect that mental exhaustion messes with the workings of
dopamine, an important brain chemical that affects your sense of motivation and your perception of effort. So plan your workout accordingly. A
first-thing-in-the-morning walk may mean a better workout than waiting until the end of the work day. Here are a few more ways to get energy
efficient with your exercise:
Use better ingredients. Get added energy every day from these four nutrients:
Take B. You need B vitamins for your mitochondria -- the parts of your cells that turn food into energy -- to do their job. Unfortunately, 99% of us
don't get enough from our diets. But most of us absorb the B vitamins well (either in liquid or pill form), so it's a good idea to take a multivitamin in
the morning and the evening (twice a day to keep stable levels) to keep you energized.
Go green. Green tea has been shown to have the highest content of polyphenols, which are chemicals with potent antioxidant properties. Because
green tea leaves are young and have not been oxidized, green tea has up to a 40% polyphenols content, while black tea contains only about 10%.
Another interesting note: Although green tea has one-third the caffeine of black tea, it's been shown to yield the same level of energy and
attentiveness. Fortunately, these come in more even levels than other caffeinated drinks, which can cause ups and downs. Just don't drink milk with
it: The casein in milk has been shown to inhibit the beneficial effects of tea. Try these delicious green tea beverage recipes: Green Tea Lemonade,
Mango Tango Iced Green Tea, Matcha Latte Iced Energy Tea.
Go Peruvian in the morning. Tribesmen in the mountains of Peru get energy by sucking on maca (Lepidium meyenii) plants. This turnip- or
radish-shaped vegetable from the mustard family has been used as food and medicine to promote endurance and improve energy, vitality, sexual
virility, and even fertility. The data on its increased energy effects seem strong, but the reported side effect is insomnia. You can find it in a powder
form at many stores (Whole Foods, etc.) or from reputable dealers on the Web. Add 1 teaspoon (that's the dose in the studies) to blender drinks,
pancakes, or other food products. The teaspoon keeps you going all day long. Or you can take it in 1/2-gram pills twice a day.
Scoop up, power up. Some ill-advised folks might say that the greatest nutritional discovery of the last decade has been the Baconator (a whopping
830 calories -- we don't think so). The real nutritional hero: ribose. This special sugar is made in your body and doesn't come from food, but you can
get it in a supplement; it helps build the energy blocks of your body. Of all the things you can do to combat the effects of knee-dragging fatigue,
taking a daily ribose supplement is the one that seems to really turbocharge some people who have diseases associated with low energy. (The only
side effect is that some people feel too much energy.) The data aren't good enough to recommend ribose for everyone. But if you want to give it a
try, start with 500 milligrams three times a day for a week or so until you get used to the taste (or find a smoothie, coffee, or tea to put it in). Then,
go to 5 grams three times a day for 3 weeks to get a sense of the effect. After that, you can scale back to 5 grams twice a day.
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