5 TIPS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR ENERGY LEVELS

1. Get More Sleep!

Probably one of the easiest and most effective ways to increase your energy levels on a daily basis is to get more sleep. Sleep provides the much needed recovery time your body needs to recuperate from daily stressors (including your training program), and is also when the body releases growth hormone to aid in tissue repair. It is also essential for cognitive function, allowing you to think, concentrate and function with improved mental clarity the next day.

2. Prep your meals – every day

How do you expect your body to work for you if you are not working for your body! Jokes aside, preparing your meals in advance will save time and money, but more importantly, provide your body with the essential energy it needs from whole foods. Vitamins, minerals, macro nutrients and phytonutrients are the building blocks of life,

and also will fuel you throughout your day. Prep your meals in advance – your body will thank you for it.

3. Drink more water!

70% of your body is composed of water, so it makes sense you should be drinking plenty of it

You’d be surprised at just how much added energy you will experience by simply drinking enough water. Water constitutes a large portion of the cytoplasm of the cell, and is responsible at a micro level for thousands of cellular activities which regulates your internal biochemistry. Dehydration is actually a big factor leading toward low energy levels and impaired daily functioning. As a rule of thumb, most active people should be having around a gallon of water a day

4. De-Stress!

Continued stress is another factor which actually is robbing your body of energy on a daily basis. While we need the stress response to survive (we wouldn’t be able to operate without it), too much stress can lead to accumulative damage on the heart, blood vessels, and impair hormonal function (cortisol, adrenaline, melatonin). Taking some time out of your day to ground yourself, take a few deep breathes, or simply just unwind by listening to some music or being outdoors and void of distraction can do wonders to lowering the stress response. On a side note, if you are permanently in a stressful state, the parasympathetic nervous system (the part of the nervous system which governs recovery and digestion to name a few) will actually not activate properly, thereby putting the brakes on processes such as digestion and recovery.

5. Cut the stimulants!

Lower your reliance on caffeine and exogenous (external) stimulants to get you through your day. Instead, try focus on getting adequate recovery through proper whole food intake and sufficient sleep. A coffee or two a day never hurt anyone (and in fact, has plenty of health benefits in itself, which is best saved for another post) but overloading on stimulants can lead to tolerance and a huge load on the CNS and adrenal glands.