What Should You Feel After Exercising?

Common myth: Tired! If you’re not tired, you’re not working hard enough.

That’s wrong, folks. If you’re feeling too tired, you’re pushing yourself too hard.

It’s your body telling you: “Champ, you should’ve quit a long time ago!” Says the fine people at Harvard Medical School.

Except for the first couple of weeks of a new exercise program, (when the unaccustomed stress may leave you more fatigued than usual), your workouts should leave you feeling invigorated, not worn out.

One good rule of thumb:

You should finish each workout with the feeling that you could have easily gone a bit longer.

An especially bad sign is if you’re still physically tired a day or two after a workout. (Sore is different.) In that case, you’re probably overtraining and need to reduce the length and intensity of your exercise sessions.

Remember:

Tired = bad. Invigorated = Good