The menstrual cycle

If you get periods, this one is huge. Our hormones hugely impact how much we can get out of a session, so it’s worth reading up on how our menstrual cycle can impact your training and adapt accordingly.

Food

“Our performance can be down to what we have, or haven’t, eaten. We respond differently to different foods and they effect our energy levels differently,” says Faye. This is mainly trial and error, but perhaps play around with adding in a pre-workout snack and making sure you’re hitting your protein targets.

Time of day

Also related to this is the time of day you train. For some, training first thing in the morning with no food in them is when they feel the most spritely. Others need a full day of food and energy before they can even consider bouncing around the gym. There’s no right time to train, so just do what you can and pay attention to when you feel the best.

Stress

Ever felt lethargic when going through a tough time at work or in your personal relationships? “The stress of everyday life and things that are on our mind affects our energy levels,” reminds Faye, and try as we might, we can’t leave those worries on Slack while we hit the gym.

Why does exercise feel easy one day and hard the next?