In need of help/tips specific situation muscle recovery

[zaynemp1992]

Hello, this is my first post and I apologise if it isn't in the correct section, this seemed to be the most fitting section. I am seeking general advice on something I may be doing wrong in my specific situation.

I'm 26 years old 5'11" and around 220, stocky but I have some weight I can lose. I am iron deficient and currently take supplements for almost a year now. Ifeel like I have problems with muscle recovery. I can only handle 1-2 MMA classes a week feeling sore and tired every day. Some background info is needed before we get into the present:

From ages 23 to 24.5 I wasn't very smart about exercise and worked out full body, mostly boxing at the time, calesthentics 6-7 days a week while working a heavy labor job, sleeping poorly and a diet of mostly fish veggies nuts and fruits. I felt my performance climb, to eventually plateau so I continued to work harder and I slowly just got out of shape from working out too much. I was literally dead tired every day and had to take a few months off from any activity at all for a few months. This is when I learned I was iron deficient as well and with the iron pills I feel my energy is back but muscle recovery takes about a week for me to feel decent.

I've tried all the common things, I stay hydrated, sleep 7-9 hours a night, I have a desk job, tried supplements, my diet isn't perfect but not horrible I feel like I'm back to eating red meat and chicken. I eat after working out.

Basically I'm afraid of falling back into the cycle of overtraining and pushing my muscles beyond recovery. Is this what the climb back up to fitness is? One class a week turning into 2 then more? Or is there something else I can do speed up recovery? I'm doing my best to just simply listen to my body. Maybe I'm wrong I just feel at 26 things should be better than this and I'm used to being able to perform much harder and faster. Any input is appreciated and I am happy to answer any additional questions. Thank you.

[DCSpartan]

Go see a doctor.

[sowilson]

OP, cliffs please. You're rambling and providing a bunch of useless noise. I take it you work out MMA twice a week and that leaves you tired every day. It also sounds like you get into nutrition fads which left you with an iron deficiency. Go see a doctor. Assuming you don't have other medical stuff wrong then maybe start out with less intense training. You may not be ready to do MMA training. Start out with something you can recover from then increase the intensity over time as your body adjusts. My son takes ice baths after football practice so he can be functional the next day otherwise he's sore 24x7.