Feeling Tired the Day After a Workout

Many factors contribute to extreme fatigue and exhaustion the day after your workout. Diet, hydration status, type of activity and current fitness level each play a role in how you feel during and after exercise. Making a few changes in your diet and tweaking your routine can help prevent you from feeling tired the next day.

You may not be giving your body the fuel it needs to get you through your workout and recovery period. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for your system. Your body converts carbs into glucose for immediate energy and then stores any extra glucose as glycogen. Typically your liver and muscles, which are the storage spaces for glycogen, keep enough glycogen to power up to 120 minutes of exercise. If you don't consume enough carbohydrate-rich foods before working out, your body automatically burns up your glycogen stores. After you exercise, it is important to replenish your glycogen stores by eating fruits, vegetables, beans and other carb-rich foods, otherwise you may feel completely exhausted the day after your workout.

Dehydration can make getting out of bed the next morning a daunting task. When you exercise vigorously, you sweat and your body loses water. It is imperative to replenish lost fluid both during and after your workout, or you risk feeling groggy the next day. Women usually need about 9 cups of liquid each day, while men require 13 cups, reports the Mayo Clinic. However, an hour of exercise requires you to consume up to an extra 2 1/2 cups of fluid. Generally you should stick to water to avoid consuming added sugar and extra calories. If you exercise for more than an hour, consider a sports drink to replace electrolytes you lose from sweating.

Stretching and cooling down after a tough aerobics class helps prevent soreness and some of the fatigue you may feel the following day. Proper stretching allows blood to flow to your joints and muscles, so you don't feel stiff when you roll out of bed the next day. Cooling down, which can be as simple as walking on the treadmill for 5 to 10 minutes, gives your heart time to get back to its normal pace, allowing you to sleep more soundly.

Overexertion during your workout can make even the simplest tasks seem exhausting the next day. Endurance athletes and marathon runners are especially susceptible to overexertion. When this condition occurs, muscle fibers break down, which can be damaging to kidneys. Symptoms of overexertion include fever, nausea, vomiting and decreased urine output. If you're training for a big athletic event, work with a trainer to ensure that you are not overexerting yourself. Recovering from overexertion can take days or weeks, so if you feel tired during your workout and continue to feel tired the next day, take a day or two off to give your body time to recover.