Issues With Recovery - Strong Progression but Tired (training for 3 years)

[LI393939]

So the issue seems to be I am recovering in some ways but not others - namely, I am gaining strength (progressing in my lifts week-to-week and month-to-month etc. and am gaining muscle), but I also find myself exhausted (not just sore, but really just drained and tired for a lot of the day) on a day-to-day basis.

In way of background, I have been lifting very consistently for 3 years. I've changed my program around a few times since then as I've gotten more experienced and more comfortable executing various lifts, and currently I am doing a 4-day split (chest, legs, shoulders/triceps, back) with 3 days off (light cardio). On an average lifting day I do 12-15 sets, so I don't think I am necessarily overdoing it there. Also, in terms of weight, I don't go to failure on every exercise or set, but on the main exercise(s) (think incline bench etc.) of the day I go to failure or come pretty close on the last couple of sets.

In terms of nutrition, my diet isn't perfect but generally pretty healthy and get on average 3,000 calories per day (around maintenance for me) and plenty of protein. Also, am in my mid-20s and on average get 8 hours of sleep a night.

Was hoping for any suggestions - I'm happy I am progressing and kind of like going hard in the gym, but am willing to back off a bit in terms of amount of weight or reps if it means recovering more and feeling better physically and mentally everyday.

Thanks all!

[bLinkMoore]

The tiredness might not be training related. Maybe try taking a week or two off of training and really focus on sleep and see if it improves. If you see noticeable improvement, think about changing your training.

If it doesn't help at all and you're still persistently lethargic, it'd be worth asking your doctor. I know my mom struggled with issues like that for a while, and it turned out she was super deficient in some B vitamin or something. They gave her a shot and told her to lie low for a couple days, and she's been fine since.

[LI393939]

The tiredness might not be training related. Maybe try taking a week or two off of training and really focus on sleep and see if it improves. If you see noticeable improvement, think about changing your training.

If it doesn't help at all and you're still persistently lethargic, it'd be worth asking your doctor. I know my mom struggled with issues like that for a while, and it turned out she was super deficient in some B vitamin or something. They gave her a shot and told her to lie low for a couple days, and she's been fine since.

Thanks man. I should note, however, that it is worse on the lifting days as opposed to the cardio days, so I think it is definitely tied to the lifting (though it may not be 100% as you said).

I guess what's interesting to me is that I'm progressing with the weights and strength yet overall it seems like my body isn't fully recovering.

[WakingOp]

Of course you're more tired after lifting days. That's giving your body a lot of extra to deal with

[NearlyBigAngus]

Whenever I fee like that it's almost always down to sleep - even when I think I've had 8 hours, sometimes it's not the best quality of sleep if something is on my mind. It's not always easy to clear your head but it's worth thinking about the quality of sleep as well as quantity.