Energy Balance and the Importance of Intuitive Training
Living a busy life
The topic of exercise continues this Friday. It feels personally very appropriate. Recently, I participated in the Göteborgsvarvet, a half marathon covering 21 kilometers, and actually one of the world's largest races in terms of the number of participants. There were approximately 60,000 registered participants, with 40,000 at the starting line. I completed the race to my satisfaction. Oddly enough, it was one of my slowest races ever, but it was also a very enjoyable one. Prior to the race, I had been feeling some discomfort in my calf, with occasional muscle twinges. Considering a previous injury in the same area, I wanted to avoid making it worse. Therefore, my focus was on enjoying the race, the weather, and the atmosphere, which I managed to do very well.
After the race, I relaxed, lay on the grass, and had a cold (or rather, lukewarm) beer while basking in the sun. Later, I cycled back home, covering a distance of 17 kilometers. The following day, I went cycling again, adding another 25 kilometers. In other words, I had a lot of energy over the weekend, including participating in a Swedish trade fair and various related events and work for my business. It was a highly energy-demanding weekend.
That's why today I want to talk about something related to energy balance. In fact, as I write this, I'm experiencing a bit of energy drain. It's significant, not just to acknowledge and be aware of it but also to understand why it's happening and how everything is interconnected. In the past, when I participated in races or had otherwise demanding circumstances that left me tired, I didn't admit it or accept it. In fact, I still believe that for most of us, fatigue and low energy are things we don't want to acknowledge. Even when we're tired, we go out and exercise, take on tasks at work, or continue as usual. It's as if fatigue is a temporary dip in energy that will soon pass so we can carry on as before. Fatigue is seen as an anomaly on the side. This has been my perspective for a long time. Because even when we are at our most tired, we have the ability to push through with tough workouts and then experience a clear energy boost afterward, thanks to endorphins and dopamine. Fatigue seems to disappear. In other words, we can override our energy balance and defeat fatigue.
Today, however, I think very differently. What I didn't know is that energy balance is crucial and a significant component of the entire primal concept. In short, it's about living in accordance with our individual energy levels and being able to listen to our intuition regarding what we can handle and endure. The lesson in primal living is that we should exercise and live in harmony with our own energy level. Energy levels also fluctuate significantly throughout the day, week, month, and year. Just think about our winters here in the Nordic region and how our energy tends to decrease over an extended period, only to return in spring and summer. When we experience an increase in energy, our bodies signal that they are ready for intense exercise, preferably hard workouts. When we have less energy, we should reduce our activity and focus on rest and recovery. During such recovery periods, it's still important to move. Daily exercise and movement, such as walks or slow runs, are perfectly suitable. However, high-intensity intervals or strenuous PGR sessions (paleo fundamental movements) are something we can postpone.
But how do we know when we have more or less energy?
Of course, you can assess it on a case-by-case basis, which works well to get a snapshot of your energy level at a given moment. But for my part, I wanted something better, something more distinct and clear. I like quantifiable measurements, so I wanted numbers. To obtain such numbers, all you need to do is keep a journal. In this journal, you assign a rating from 1 to 10 for various aspects of each day. These aspects can include sleep quality, stress management, an overall rating for the day, or perhaps your motivation level. Over a period of three months, this is precisely what I did. Every single day, I conducted an evaluation with the aim of identifying when during the week and month I experienced a higher or lower level of energy. Having such an overview is invaluable for me because it allows me to adjust my other activities based on my energy balance.
The results are displayed in the chart below. This is my personal energy balance. This is how my reality looks today. As you can see, the week starts on Monday with an okay energy level. It increases on Tuesday, reaches its peak on Wednesday, and then declines somewhat. Suddenly, it takes a steep drop on Saturday, only to increase slightly again on Sunday. Fascinating!
So, what does this mean?
A clear example is that I used to always want to have tough, long, and rather intense training sessions on Saturdays. It was the day I aimed for 3-hour cycling sessions, often mixed with running and maybe swimming. However, when Saturday arrived and I felt drained, it was usually very challenging to complete those workouts. The result was dissatisfaction and disappointment, which further added to stress and contributed to my perceived fatigue. Clearly, I should not be doing these intense workouts on a Saturday. Similarly, I notice that I peak in energy on Wednesdays and have a relatively high energy level on weekdays. This aligns well with everything I accomplish and work on during those days. Generally, I find my productivity to be very high, my mood is at its peak, and anything seems possible. I'm generalizing a bit, but my weeks typically follow this pattern. At the same time, it's not surprising that I experience a drop in energy after such intense workdays, leading to lower energy levels on Saturdays. It's like clockwork. One thing follows the other. The immediate and significant benefit of visualizing my own energy balance in this way is that I can now plan my days and weeks much more effectively than before. This planning naturally includes time for physical activity and, of course, time for rest and recovery.
What does your energy balance look like? When do you have the most energy, and when do you have the least energy?
Feel free to write, comment, and reach out. Does it resemble my week, or does it look entirely different?
/Erik the Primal Swede