Tips for Powering Through Fatigue

by Stef Kean

Having a baby changed everything. Her routines became my routines, which so far are erratic, amusing and sleepless (but oh so amazing!).  Operating on no sleep is hard, training on no sleep is hard; for me it would be harder to not train and end up losing part of who I am. I have trained since Azalea was born, I trained and am training after sleepless nights. I am keeping that part of me because it makes me happy and it is who I am. I choose my hard, to train exhausted. 

Don’t let fatigue throw you off you’re game! Here are a few tips I’ve used to train exhausted. I’m not a medical professional this is just what works for me. I’m over 6 months into motherhood and I haven’t missed a session yet ;) I am blessed and thankful to be a momma, I am blessed and thankful to have a body healthy enough to train - I can do both and do them both well. 

1. Proper warm up. Get your body warm and muscles awake before you start SBD. Blaine summer dynamic warm up is a great routine! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xjAHiTck_vA
2. Hydration and nutrition.

A properly hydrated body is a healthier body. Hydration helps prevent injury while training. I drink water before, during, and after training. 

Being fuelled with proper nutrition is the key to energy. Junk food and or skipping meals (mom life!) doesn’t cut it. Being sluggish from bad food choices is not an option for this already tired momma. I fuel myself with a proper macro split for my body and my goals. This consists of lots of calories from natural food sources while avoiding sugary, processed filler foods. 

3. Hit the volume prescribed per workout even if it means lowering the weight and upping the reps. Know your total tonnage per SBD each workout and make sure to hit it! 
4. Schedule workouts in advance for the time of day when you have the most energy (and when your baby is sleeping!) Treat your workouts like an important meeting - always show up :)
5. Listen to your body. If you’re so tired you want to cry, perhaps cancelling and RESCHEDULING that “meeting”/session mentioned in tip 4 is called for. The most  important point here is rescheduling! I always trained 4 sessions a week pre baby so I make sure I still get those 4 sessions in.
6. Coffee I don’t use supplements (can never be too cautious with drug testing) so I make sure to be a few coffee deep before taking on my training session.
7. Focus on form. Pushing through fatigue while focusing on form is key to injury prevention. It is easier for form to break down when you’re a zombie, make sure to pay attention to form every set and every rep. This is pretty easy for me as I have form ninja Tom coaching me and he sure let’s me know if my form is wavering!
8. Find yourself an awesome team! A team that motivates and encourages you through not only the PR training days but also the hard days. A team that doesn’t mind a mid session baby snuggle when we play hand the baby to the person not doing a set. My training team is amazing. This team makes training exhausted and with a baby in tow easy.

Knowing that I have a group of friends supporting and encouraging me keeps me going.  Even when I have spit up on my shoulder, a soother clipped to my t-shirt, and I don’t know if it’s Wednesday night or Sunday morning, I always show up, and I always stand up.  Good training.

I may not be bringing my A game every session because I am so tired but at least I am still in the game!