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Motivation and energy for exercise?

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#1 vtrader

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Posted 09 April 2016 - 04:35 PM


Years ago when I started to exercise on regular, I use to have energy and motivation wanting to exercise all the time.

But these days nothing. I had to stop exercising due to injury and other issues.

 

Now trying to get back into regular routine, tried different things and supplements but nothing close to that high energy motivation and energy.

 

Any ideas?



#2 YOLF

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Posted 10 April 2016 - 01:49 AM

Raise your T levels to an optimal, upper limit youthful level, if you haven't been working out much, your levels are probably low and it's going to predispose you to more injury. T is the motivation chemical (along with dopamine). I'm of the opinion it should be added to any and all weight loss regimens and monitored accordingly.

 

Aside form that, I recently started eating cannellini beans. Been losing weight pretty fast just from the change. Greatly lowered appetite and it destroys sugars. It's like calorie restriction in a can. Weight is it's own risk factor for injury when you're working out too.


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#3 aconita

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Posted 10 April 2016 - 09:43 AM

To start training again after a stop is always tough, usually after a few weeks things start to get better including energy and motivation.

 

I don't think supplements are going to help much in this regard or at least it shouldn't be that the main concern.  .

 

In order to be able to suggest specific strategies it would be nice to know how old are you, what kind of training are you doing (resistance, endurance, how often, how long, etc...), sleeping habits, nutrition, job, family, etc...

 

I mean a lot of factors come into play, maybe some of those are different now from what they were used to be, age itself might play a role, in other words it is normal for you to find hard starting training again but if the issue persist after a few weeks a deeper analysis is needed therefore more data are necessary.

 

 



#4 vtrader

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Posted 10 April 2016 - 10:28 AM

I'm mid 30s, have sleeping problems only sleep for a few hours not the full 8 as I use to years ago, but have a much cleaner diet these days.

It's like when I try to workout I just don't have enough drive, energy to finish through. For example just doing a warm up makes me feel drained and unmotivated. My workout out is free weights and bodyweight exercises. I have all the books and tools.

Also feel nausated after a simple workout sometimes.

 

I miss those days when after a workout would give me an energy boost and feel a testorstrone/alpha feeling boost if you know what I mean.

Back then my supplements experimentation was basic, multi-vit, fish oil and some maca.


Edited by vtrader, 10 April 2016 - 10:29 AM.


#5 platypus

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Posted 10 April 2016 - 11:24 AM

If you can handle caffeine and other OTC stimulants you could try some pre-workout product to give you the necessary boost. 



#6 sthira

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Posted 10 April 2016 - 11:43 AM

If you can handle caffeine and other OTC stimulants you could try some pre-workout product to give you the necessary boost.


Right. This was my thought, too. Have an iced coffee before you work out. If you're sensitive to caffeine, it'll get you going. Pay attention to your dose, which is dynamic. Coffee is dynamic in that one day it'll work well (high motivation, energy...) another day it'll work too well (anxiety, nervousness, mania...) and another day it may not work to motivate you at all to exercise. Caffeine tolerance rises and falls, it isn't exclusively a one way down trip, tolerance isn't always about building. Tolerance to caffeine changes based on diet, mood, sleep, sex, body age, body fitness, weight, life circumstance, so many individual factors are involved here that it's really a case of your own body is your own lab testing experience. What'll work well for me to stimulate exercise consistency might not for you.

My experience as basically a professional exerciser is what has worked for me (in a similar situation to you -- exercise lead to injury lead to no exercise lead to exercise again, but harder now...) what works for me is simple iced coffee at doses you change daily based on how you feel and perform.

#7 aconita

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Posted 10 April 2016 - 02:05 PM

I don't agree with the two previous posts, caffeine and stimulants in general are exactly what you should avoid.

 

Caffeine as a stimulant is a very bad choice if it has to be taken before every workout since it develops tolerance in that regard, it is great only for whom never gets any form of caffeine and needs a boost once in while for specific events (competitions, for example).

 

The answer to the issue has probably already been given:  "...have sleeping problems only sleep for a few hours not the full 8 as I use to years ago".

 

This leads to high cortisol which is antagonist of testosterone and I wouldn't be surprised if testing those two reveal high cortisol and low testosterone, not exactly the best condition for energetic and motivated training.

 

Reduced sleep has surely to be fixed or anything else makes no sense, caffeine in this regard wouldn't be a smart choice.

 

Why do you have sleeping problems is the real question.

 

I might sound redundant but thirst thing in this cases I suggest to look into thyroid function, especially if cold is annoying (cold hands and feet), poor skin and hair conditions, low energy in general (besides training).

 

To develop mild hypothyroidism is such a common thing it is sure enough worth to check it out.

 

I might suggest to check your basal temperature, that is done placing a thermometer besides the bed and to check the temperature first thing as you wake up, before moving at all (just grab the thermometer), if it shows below 36,5 chances you suffer hypothyroidism are likely quite high, it may be worth to repeat the procedure for a few days just to make sure.     

 

Hypothyroidism not only affect your sleep but the whole hormones balance as well, of course.

 

There might be other causes for disturbed sleep patterns but I consider checking first for hypothyroidism mandatory.

 

 


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#8 hotbit

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Posted 13 April 2016 - 10:09 PM

aconita wrote some good points. 

I am a bit in a similar situation, older though. I have noticed that I need around 1/2 to 1 h or more of slow / medium exercise to warm up to the state I start feeling some pleasure and motivation for further exercising. I think the key is to regularly exercise, including some medium / high loads for a few weeks... Organism switches to a different state, your body wants to exercise and you get habit. Like with smoking and other things - the problems is how to persevere those couple of weeks ;) The key is how to make it a habit.

 

You can try running or swimming, something high impact and very different to weight lifting - as a kickstart. 

 



#9 vtrader

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Posted 17 April 2016 - 11:16 AM

Looks like being consistent is a key. For the last week I tried to exercise a little everyday, and it helps with motivation. Feeling that pump and a general sense of strength in the entire body helps.

I have to do something everyday, even if it is some pushups and squats. I noticed that if I missed a day the next day was more of a challenge to get started.

 


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#10 YOLF

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Posted 17 April 2016 - 12:42 PM

25mg of pregnenolone and 10mg of DHEA? Maybe an 80/20 Preg/DHEA?



#11 The Beauty of Peace

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Posted 17 August 2016 - 04:19 AM

To get energy back try to remove sweets and carbs from you diet. That helped me a lot. Fruits are ok (not bananas or pineapples), but absolutely no sugar, no bread/pasta/potatoes. 



#12 CWF1986

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Posted 04 January 2018 - 10:43 AM

Heavy metal music helps a lot for me.

 

Also the way I frame it.  Instead of saying I need or should to go to the gym, I say I want to go to the gym because I want to... [insert goal endpoints here].  You do have clear measurable goals, right?  Saying I want to be more fit or have more muscle are very vague.  Instead give yourself more specific endpoints.  That can be a huge motivator right there if you're not doing it already.  

 

One thing I do is that I'll make mini deals with myself.  For example, "I'll get dressed to go to the gym and then decide if I still want to.  Okay I've gotten dressed so I'll go ahead and get in my car and see if I still want to..." and so on.  


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#13 YOLF

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Posted 04 January 2018 - 10:24 PM

Lately I've been reading up on FTO genes, and I think the biggest motivator going forward is getting a geneset that is optimized for your goals. If you can lose just as much weight with a brisk walk as you once had to do with high endurance, high output workouts and a little bit of dieting, then you'll see more rewards for less work and sacrifice as well as more permanent results and the more permanent results will improve your outlook. 

 

Personally, i think we need to form a coalition of concerned individuals and develop these things immediately, there just aren't many technologies that do enough and deliver lasting results with a low time and money expenditure. I feel like it would be better to spend the gym time advocating for gene therapies or working extra to help fund it.



#14 Rocket

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Posted 15 April 2018 - 01:35 AM

Raise your T levels to an optimal, upper limit youthful level, if you haven't been working out much, your levels are probably low and it's going to predispose you to more injury. T is the motivation chemical (along with dopamine). I'm of the opinion it should be added to any and all weight loss regimens and monitored accordingly.

Aside form that, I recently started eating cannellini beans. Been losing weight pretty fast just from the change. Greatly lowered appetite and it destroys sugars. It's like calorie restriction in a can. Weight is it's own risk factor for injury when you're working out too.


Testosterone has nothing to do with it unless you have none. People are believing in those stupid idiotic ageless male commercials.

My T is around 900 and I am not doing cartwheels or climbing mountains. Each workout I do takes real effort to get up out of the chair and go do it. When I manipulate my T to over 2000 there is no magical boost in energy. No magical fat loss and no magical muscle gain... It all comes from the gym and diet and rest.

Then when I get to the gym i have to constantly tell myself "just one more rep... Just one more rep... Just one more rep..." for almost an hour.

Energy and motivation come from mitochondria and neurotransmitters.

If you have the desire for a better body then you can fake having the motivation and just go get it done.
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#15 YOLF

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Posted 15 April 2018 - 03:44 AM

Well, I didn't mean to say you need to hit 2000 unless that's what your youthful levels were. 1350 is optimal according to maximal youthful age ranges. 1150 if you want to be more conservative. But you should also worry about free T if you haven't already. You need T that your body can use. 

 

T also creates endorphin receptors and those endorphins are part of what generate motivation. 

 

For the record, I've heard of the ageless male product, but it really doesn't meet my expectations for ageless per it's ingredients iirc. It's not going to make me younger, I already think it's kind of useless.

 

We're all built differently and the chemical momentum of sedentary lives is simply easier to disrupt by adding hormones. 



#16 Rocket

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Posted 18 April 2018 - 01:08 AM

There is nothing magical about testosterone and energy unless you have none. Obviously the more you have the more easier a time you will have TRYING to gain muscle. I can tell you for a fact my wife has far far far lower testosterone than me and she has 5x the energy. if I had her energy, God help me I would not know what to do with it.

As someone who has played the hormone game in a quest for a better body there is no difference in energy as low as 300 up to over 2000. As long as you have some in the normal range, its all the same EXCEPT for the placebo effect guys get from that T booster garbage.

That's why I am disgusted by these testosterone booster commercials. Oh my god! I should have a body like young Lou Ferrigno with as high as my T has been.

My T is very high for my age as I have the the 40+ crowd and there is magical Jedi powers that come from it.

Energy and motivation are neurotransmitters... I know from experience.

Meant no offense if came across too strongly. I just take this seriously.

Testosterone also doesn't magically make erections better like the commercials promise. I wish that I had my 16yo erections again! Again that's neurotransmitters.

Edited by Rocket, 18 April 2018 - 01:20 AM.


#17 YOLF

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Posted 18 April 2018 - 02:28 AM

Well, 300 in injury prone and will lead to lazy behaviors... Gotta keep strong muscle or you're going to injure... men have muscle that is dependent and needs to be maintained. Optimal GH and T are crucial to healthy aging if that about what has been proven so far. It may change soon, but let's not pick one metric to assassinate the importance of optimal hormone levels.

 

Also as people with more muscle need more T to maintain it, a body builder very likely needs to maintain higher T levels to keep his muscles in good working order. 

 

You're right though, neurotransmitters are a big part of outward energy displays, using more energy requires more upkeep there is a feedback loop between dopamine and GnRH, the parent hormone of T. If one has a ton of neurotransmitters to begin with and does not maintain adequate neurosteroids such as T, they lose what I'll call endorphin choreography, which at some point becomes schizophrenia, and perhaps other behavioral disorders such as certain kinds of bipolar.

 

To put it succinctly, everything is important, and someone in a diseased state may need some simple way to understand that T could be their problem so they'll try something and get to the root cause of the low T and mental/behavioral disorders. It's good for the patient and good for the world... don't knock it, it's building a better world in away you just aren't understanding yet. Take some deep breaths.



#18 CWF1986

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 01:45 AM

Well, 300 in injury prone and will lead to lazy behaviors... Gotta keep strong muscle or you're going to injure... men have muscle that is dependent and needs to be maintained. Optimal GH and T are crucial to healthy aging if that about what has been proven so far. It may change soon, but let's not pick one metric to assassinate the importance of optimal hormone levels.

 

Also as people with more muscle need more T to maintain it, a body builder very likely needs to maintain higher T levels to keep his muscles in good working order. 

 

You're right though, neurotransmitters are a big part of outward energy displays, using more energy requires more upkeep there is a feedback loop between dopamine and GnRH, the parent hormone of T. If one has a ton of neurotransmitters to begin with and does not maintain adequate neurosteroids such as T, they lose what I'll call endorphin choreography, which at some point becomes schizophrenia, and perhaps other behavioral disorders such as certain kinds of bipolar.

 

To put it succinctly, everything is important, and someone in a diseased state may need some simple way to understand that T could be their problem so they'll try something and get to the root cause of the low T and mental/behavioral disorders. It's good for the patient and good for the world... don't knock it, it's building a better world in away you just aren't understanding yet. Take some deep breaths.

 

I'll admit that I'm spitballing a bit here, but might that be why many people notice a difference in the way people feel when they take a tribulus product?  I know that there's little to no evidence suggesting trib raises total or free test, but it does have activity with androgen receptors in the brain.  



#19 Mind

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 12:41 PM

I tried out a NAD+ product recently. Seems to give me a little boost in baseline physical energy, making it easier to work-out longer. I wouldn't say it boosts my motivation though.



#20 Nate-2004

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 12:46 PM

You can't wait for motivation to get something done, sometimes you just gotta change your mindset. Exercise is a "have to" for me, 150 mins per week or 4x. It's not a choice or an option. It's like having to go to work so you don't get fired and so you can keep paying the bills. That's how people need to think about exercise. You can always choose how to exercise, endurance, hiit, weights, you can even take a week off if you've been going at it for weeks, but you can't choose not to or to stop. That's how your mindset needs to be to stay consistent.


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#21 Mind

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 12:58 PM

Also, aging sucks. As you get older, all of the metabolic systems that used to work in synergy to help you stay active become discombobulated. It is insidious. Your brain is not immune from aging either, of course, and since your sensory perception and conscious self-awareness originate mainly from your brain, you are generally blissfully unaware of how far downhill your "fitness" has fallen. Objective age tests are a real eye-opener.


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#22 Nate-2004

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 01:33 PM

Yes, another reason to be more consistent not just with exercise but with your mental maintenance like constantly experiencing new things or learning new things. From what I hear, also, regular DHA/EPA help prevent brain volume loss.



#23 Kodiak

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 04:46 PM

What a timely topic to pop back up in the forum, for me especially. I've been struggling to get back into my routine for near two months now. I keep saying "tomorrow" or "I'll start on Monday" yet I keep sleeping and snoozing through my alarm. It's easy for me to mentally blame the poor weather here in Wisconsin or having a 16-month-old who wears me out or my job or my girlfriend's job/PHD program/side business  and this or that but deep-down, it's apparent and I hate having to face it: my reasons for lifting/exercising have totally changed. For years I did it to look good to get laid. How pathetic to admit that but yeah, that was a big driving force. And the older I/people in general get, the less they feel the need to impress others. So having those kinds of impressions or ideas floating around my head have sapped my drive to exercise again. Logically, I KNOW I should exercise for longevity and disease prevention and to be healthy/active/able when my toddler is in her teen years playing sports so I can hang with her but those reasons aren't enough to propel me to the gym. I'm a sad sack. OP, maybe take a good hard look inside to see if your priorities have changed and if you can find another reason to get yourself going. Personally, from my years of hitting the gym and coming back after layoffs, the toughest part is getting that FIRST session in and getting that momentum going. After that first week or two, it gets so much easier. Baby steps, OP, just get that first lift or run in. Don't write out some extensive exercise plan or supplement routine or exotic diet so you're facing this HUGE undertaking in front of you all at once or you might feel overwhelmed. I swear I'll take my own advice too here real soon. 

 

And also to echo what was written above, don't rely on stimulants, and having high test levels isn't some type of energy booster. 

 

Finally, make sure your type of exercise is FUN. At 41, I'm learning how to play hockey. Never skated before two years ago. Wow, what a workout and damn if it isn't fun. At least I'm doing that weekly. 


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#24 TheFountain

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 07:20 PM

Raise your T levels to an optimal, upper limit youthful level, if you haven't been working out much, your levels are probably low and it's going to predispose you to more injury. T is the motivation chemical (along with dopamine). I'm of the opinion it should be added to any and all weight loss regimens and monitored accordingly.

 

Aside form that, I recently started eating cannellini beans. Been losing weight pretty fast just from the change. Greatly lowered appetite and it destroys sugars. It's like calorie restriction in a can. Weight is it's own risk factor for injury when you're working out too.

Where are the references for the Properties of Cannellini beans you mentioned? I do agree with what you said on Test and Dopamine though. 



#25 YOLF

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 10:29 PM

I'll admit that I'm spitballing a bit here, but might that be why many people notice a difference in the way people feel when they take a tribulus product?  I know that there's little to no evidence suggesting trib raises total or free test, but it does have activity with androgen receptors in the brain.  

Well, here's the thing about more receptor; if you have more of them and your androgen levels don't go down, you can metabolize more of it faster. The snapshot looks the same, but if we could measure how many mol of T you made each day, it would very likely be higher than you did without it. The fact that androgen receptors are elevated in the brain and mood is enhanced also means you're using more endorphins and will generally have a healthier brain as a result. Anything that has been shown to lower androgen neurosteroids or their estrous counterparts accelerate brain aging and increase incidence of dementia. 


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#26 YOLF

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Posted 20 April 2018 - 10:44 PM

Caffeine can be a nice motivator if it hasn't been mentioned. 200mg immediately after you wake up will get you moving and I prefer it to energy drinks or coffee which contain all sorts of other bad stuff... some of it that you add yourself in the case of coffee. Though I've also seen alot of manufacturers use allergenic ingredients in caffeine products too and this is generally when I have experience side effects from it, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to take some Carnitine-l-fumarate, It's the more heart specific form of ALCAR which seems to be a forum favorite. 

 

If you're having motivation issues, you should also stay clear of theanine, which while beneficial for cognitive performance w/ or w/o caffeine, and somewhat anxiolytic, it can counteract the physical side of motivation.

 

Other things I've found which have had a negative effect on motivation are inflammation and allergens (for the same reason). If you have allergens in your system it's like having a subclinical asphyxia. The inflammation diminishes delivery of nutrients to important parts of the body. Caffeine and other adrenergics will offset this and correct your problem temporarily, but in the long term they can be problematic as the inflammation in this case is protecting you as much as it is blunting you. Get some allergy tests and find our what you're allergic to and make any and every lifestyle modification that you can. If you think about it, cardiovascular plaques are going to cause the same problems that allergenic inflammation is causing, but it will be permanent for the foreseeable future and will perhaps lead to your ultimate demise unless you're keen on learning such disciplines as infusion and drug delivery mechanics.

 

The Eagle Scout handbook will teach you how to do skin tests which are basically similar to what your allergist will do, but you can do it for all the things that aren't on that test for a higher resolution look into your problems. 



#27 Mr Serendipity

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Posted 04 June 2018 - 10:55 PM

https://www.longecit...mulant-vitamin/

 

I found B-Complex helps a lot with stuck in the rut feeling/procrastination/motivation problems for me. I'm still experimenting with it, but am logging my experience in the thread above.



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#28 Oakman

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Posted 14 August 2019 - 02:21 PM

The best motivation for exercise I've found is the feeling I get when I don't exercise and the high I want to get after finishing.







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