How to Get Rid of Fatigue and Improve Energy with Exercise
Struggling with fatigue? Discover how to relieve fatigue and regain energy with exercise, and the right amount of pacing and exertion during workouts.
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Fatigue from illness or chronic conditions can make it difficult to do your usual activities. You might also have pain, weakness, brain fog, or other symptoms, which can also limit your ability to do regular activities such as housework, yardwork, recreational activities, and work.
Exercise may be the last thing on your mind if you struggle with fatigue. But even though exercise requires some energy, it can ultimately increase your energy.
Movement can also help reduce pain associated with tired muscles. Studies have shown that exercise helps reduce fatigue in generally healthy people as well as those with medical conditions that cause fatigue, such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis.
In this resource from Hinge Health experts, we’ll share tips about how to exercise and engage in movement when you struggle with fatigue, with a focus on energy pacing.
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Our Hinge Health Experts
Claudia Canales, PT, DPT
Pace Yourself to Reduce Fatigue
Pacing helps you do activities in short bouts so you don’t use all of your energy.
Do short sessions of physical activity (Hinge Health exercises, walking, light chores, movement snacks), then take a restorative seated rest break of one to two minutes to focus on deep breathing.
Continue at that pace, gradually increasing how long you do the activity as you feel ready. The goal: Increase your tolerance to activity by five-minute increments until you can do regular activities for at least 30 minutes.
Switch between activities to conserve your energy. For example, put away the dishes (standing activity), then fold laundry or do computer work (seated activity).
Pair exercises so that one exercise is more energy demanding, and the other is recovery focused — say, a walk followed by a gentle yoga routine. Order is important!
Plan for “good days” and “less-good days.” On days with more fatigue, aim to do simple, gentle exercises that get you moving. After the first few, reassess how you feel and continue if you can. Too tired? Listen to your body and stop. A little bit of movement can go a long way.
Use Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to Assess Fatigue
Self-rated exertion scales are a great way to gauge the effort and intensity of your exercise. Since these scales are relative, your level of exertion with different activities will be unique to you.
A score of 1 or 2 might correspond with easy household chores or leisurely walking.
A score of 5 or 6 is for activities that speed up your heart rate without making you breathless.
A score of 10 is for intense activities you can’t do for more than a few minutes.
A general rule of thumb when exercising to reduce fatigue is to stay within the light to moderate range (3 to 6 on a scale of 1 to 10). Consider shortness of breath symptoms and muscular fatigue (e.g., how heavy your legs feel) when rating your effort levels.
Use Heart Rate to Assess Fatigue
Your heart rate — how many times your heart beats per minute — is another way to make sure you don’t overexert yourself.
The Workwell Foundation, which supports people with fatigue-related illnesses, recommends that you try not to let your heart rate increase more than 15 beats per minute from your resting heart rate during activities such as walking or Hinge Health exercises. So if your resting heart rate is 80, you’d want to keep it to 95 or lower during activity.
Determine your resting heart rate (RHR) while lying flat in bed right after waking up and recording your heart rate for seven days. Use the average from these recordings as your resting heart rate.
Use a heart rate monitor: A connected device like a FitBit or Apple Watch has one built in.
Check it manually: You can check your heart rate along your neck or along your wrist.
Neck: Lightly press the side of your neck just below your jawbone to feel the pulse in the carotid artery in your neck.
Wrist: With your palm facing up, use the tip of your index and middle fingers to feel the pulse in the radial artery near your wrist bone and your thumb.
In both cases, count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds and multiply by four. That's your heart rate.
As you build endurance, your physical therapist can help guide you through different heart rate parameters.
Physical therapy (PT) is for more than just recovering from surgery or injury. It’s one of the top treatments for joint and muscle pain. It helps build strength, improve mobility, and reduce pain. And it doesn't always need to be in person.
Hinge Health members can conveniently access customized plans or chat with their care team at home or on the go — and experience an average 68% reduction in pain* within the first 12 weeks of their program. Learn more*.
Signs of Overexertion After Exercise
Overexertion can worsen fatigue, lower energy, and delay your recovery. You may experience the following issues after exercising if you do more than your body is ready for. They can last for a few days or even weeks. If you notice any of these, it’s a sign to pace yourself more and limit your activity to shorter bouts.
Disabling fatigue or exhaustion
Difficulty thinking or concentrating
Pain
Exercise intolerance
Breathlessness
Heart palpitations
Pain
Dizziness
Nausea
How Hinge Health Can Help You
If you have joint or muscle pain that makes it hard to move, you can get the relief you’ve been looking for with Hinge Health’s online exercise therapy program.
The best part: You don’t have to leave your home because our program is digital. That means you can easily get the care you need through our app, when and where it works for you.
Through our program, you’ll have access to therapeutic exercises and stretches for your condition. Additionally, you’ll have a personal care team to guide, support, and tailor our program to you.
See if you qualify for Hinge Health and confirm free coverage through your employer or benefit plan here.
This article and its contents are provided for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice or professional services specific to you or your medical condition.
Looking for pain relief? Check if your employer or health plan covers our program
References
Razazian, N., Kazeminia, M., Moayedi, H., Daneshkhah, A., Shohaimi, S., Mohammadi, M., … Salari, N. (2020). The impact of physical exercise on the fatigue symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Neurology, 20(1). doi:10.1186/s12883-020-01654-y
Estévez-López, F., Maestre-Cascales, C., Russell, D., Álvarez-Gallardo, I. C., Rodriguez-Ayllon, M., Hughes, C. M., … McVeigh, J. G. (2020). Effectiveness of Exercise on Fatigue and Sleep Quality in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 102(4). doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2020.06.019
Kelley, G. A., Kelley, K. S., & Callahan, L. F. (2018). Aerobic Exercise and Fatigue in Rheumatoid Arthritis Participants: A Meta-Analysis Using the Minimal Important Difference Approach. Arthritis Care & Research, 70(12), 1735–1739. doi:10.1002/acr.23570
ME/CFS Activity management with a heart rate monitor. (n.d.). Workwell Foundation. Retrieved from: https://workwellfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/HRM-Factsheet.pdf
Strategies to Prevent Worsening of Symptoms. (n.d.). CDC. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/healthcare-providers/clinical-care-patients-mecfs/treating-most-disruptive-symptoms.html