Crack your peak performance code – the food, exercise and lifestyle hacks to help you optimise your energy

Remember the great resignation of 2021 when many of us had had enough – and left. Microsoft’s work trend index reported that after a year of the pandemic, four in 10 workers wanted to change jobs in the following year. Now, that’s making way for the great exhaustion, when those of us who stayed got tired – really, really tired.

The energy drain we’re feeling isn’t just at work, it’s everywhere. We’re knackered. Frazzled. And it’s stopping us from doing the things that make us healthy, like exercise. Whatever type of tiredness you’re feeling, you’re not alone.

A YouGov report has found that 61 per cent of women feel tired when they wake up, even when they get a lot of sleep, while 49 per cent of men say the same.

So, how can we get more efficient at making and using the energy we do have and putting into practice the daily activities we need to achieve our goals? How do you crack your peak performance code?

You sleep, you eat, you work, you repeat. Some days you manage some exercise, maybe a bit of socialising. But what’s going on in your body to fuel it all?

And, what’s the difference between those days where getting off the sofa is a slog and the ones where you’re bouncing around and brilliant at everything? Could you get more efficient at the biological chain reactions your body needs to make energy?

“It all starts with food,” says Dr Sam Impey, a sports scientist and head of performance at Hexis nutrition. “Whether it’s carbohydrates, proteins or fats, these nutrients are broken down and absorbed into the body where they are stored as a fuel source called glycogen or fat in various tissues like your liver and muscles.”

Once in your tissues, this fuel together with oxygen goes into your mitochondria. “These are the powerhouses in each of our cells that work like little furnaces to turn fuel and oxygen into energy. Through that process, the mitochondria work to synthesise adenosine triphosphate or ATP, which is the body’s main energy substance.”

Healthy mitochondria form dynamic networks within cells to maximise this process and allow for the efficient transfer of fuel to where it’s needed, whether that’s to your contracting muscles for exercise, your brain for work or your stomach for digesting.

Over the last decade, the scientific community has been looking at ways to optimise the function of our mitochondria and optimise energy and performance.

In fact, while the Mediterranean diet’s nutrition resume is impressive, given its benefits for heart disease, dementia and cancer prevention, it can now add supporting mitochondrial function to its merits. According to a 2022 review published in Nutrients, the diet – which consists of plenty of different coloured vegetables, fish, wholegrains, plant-based foods, nuts and olive oils – has been shown in numerous studies to improve mitochondrial function.

Then in June last year, another study published in Experimental Gerontology found that the Mediterranean diet could not only improve mitochondrial function, it could also reduce inflammation, which the researchers said benefited the mitochondria further.

As you get older, your mitochondria work less efficiently, Dr Impey says. This can explain why you can feel more tired from a fraction of the activity it took to fatigue you in your twenties. Along with sleep, you can optimise the function of your mitochondria with exercise.

“Resistance training with weights where you’re using as many muscle groups in each exercise as possible will be most effective at building muscle across the body,” says Dr Impey. “That is going to help your body become more efficient at using its fuel.”

So instead of bicep curls which only use one muscle, you’re better off doing moves that use a lot of different muscles as well as your own body weight, he suggests.

“Pull-ups, back squats, deadlifts, planks and bench presses are all examples of exercises that use a lot more energy and muscle groups than single muscle exercise,” he says.

It doesn’t take long either, one study published in 2016 found that 12 weeks of resistance training (three times a week up to week nine and then twice a week after that) made a significant improvement in the efficiency of the mitochondria in the muscles of study participants.

“You also need to work the top and bottom end of your cardiovascular system,” says Dr Impey. “Firstly, that means some high-intensity interval training or HIIT, say two or three times a week where you’re working at or close to your maximum heart rate.”

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A 2020 study published in the European Journal of Sports Science found that just six weeks of cycling for one minute at maximum power alternated with one and a half minutes recovery five times (15 minutes in all) not only decreased body fat it also increased mitochondrial content.

The researchers inferred that this would help the muscles’ capacity to utilise fuel and slow down the loss of muscle tissue associated with ageing. “Remember though, your body adapts so you always need to be challenging it more. For example, when the HIIT becomes easy on a bike, try it on a rower or for another minute or for a shorter rest time,” says Dr Impey. “Your body always needs new stimulus.”

The last part of the exercise puzzle is zone two training, which works the lower end of your cardiovascular system. This is “steady state” cardio that keeps your heart rate between 120 and 150 beats a minute and trains your body to utilise fats for energy instead of only carbohydrates.

“That makes it ideal for weight loss and for helping your body use its other chief fuel source, fat, for energy,” says Dr Impey.

It could be light jogging, brisk walking, hiking, cycling, rowing or dancing. If you’re just starting out, begin with two weekly 30-minute sessions and build up to 3-4 sessions of 45 minutes to an hour every week.

Most of us love the jolt of a coffee. But there’s an energy cost. “Being awake creates sleep pressure in our bodies and that’s what makes us tired, which is a perfectly natural process,” says Sophie Bostock, a sleep expert specialising in performance and founder of The Sleep Scientist.

“The more hours you’re awake and the more things you do, the more you burn [ATP]. When you break down ATP it produces a waste substance called adenosine which makes you feel tired. So the more physical activity you do and the longer you’re awake the more adenosine you produce and the more you will feel the desire to sleep. That’s all normal.

“But caffeine blocks the effects of adenosine on the brain by temporarily blocking sleep pressure so you don’t feel sleepy,” she says.

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But during this process you’re still accumulating adenosine – so when the effects of the coffee, tea or energy drink wear off, you suddenly get that caffeine crash. Most people would compensate by drinking more caffeine.

“That then interferes with the depth of their sleep so they may wake up tired despite sleeping for eight hours.

“People who are really tired are often in complete denial that caffeine is affecting them,” Bostock continues. “But when they stop, though they might have a headache for a few days, they notice a huge difference in their energy levels because their natural energy system has been restored and the depth of their sleep invariably improves.”

If you start out with the best intentions to work out all week and then get sabotaged by sore muscles, you may not be recovering properly.

During exercise, especially strength training or HIIT, muscles undergo microscopic damage that needs repairing and depleted glycogen stores need to be replenished. These recovery processes require downtime and as you get older your body takes longer to complete them.

But binge-watching Netflix isn’t the only – or the best – way. Active recovery – light activity done for longer periods – can increase blood flow to the muscles and help alleviate soreness, Dr Impey explains.

This could be a light walk, gentle swim or some yoga and stretching between heavier workouts. When you do difficult exercise, the body produces a substance called lactic acid that accumulates in muscles and causes fatigue.

“If you’re just still, lactic acid sits there in your muscles making you sore. But if you’re active and move around doing low-intensity exercise in between, it moves out of the muscles and is metabolised quicker by the body. That increases circulation and relieves soreness faster, improving overall performance.”

Food helps too, says Rob Hobson, a sports nutritionist with Healthspan Elite.

“Protein like lean meat, chicken, fish, eggs, tofu or beans is particularly important for muscle repair especially after your resistance workouts and getting enough carbohydrates will help replenish glycogen stores used during exercise.”

Look for foods with anti-inflammatory properties, such as omega-3 fatty acids found in fish.

“Always include a good source of complex carbohydrates with every meal alongside your protein to help fuel your day and training regime,” says Hobson. “Opt for high-fibre carbohydrates with meals and after working out but not in the snack before your workout to avoid bloating.”

Opt for fist-sized portions of brown rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes with skin, sourdough bread or other wholegrain a couple of hours before working out to fuel your body.

But what if you need to keep going but feel empty or run down?

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“Athletes always have snacks in their bags so if they need a pick me up before a session or if it is going to be longer than one hour, they have something that’s easy to eat and quick to digest [ideally low in fibre] ready,” says Hobson. “Try a banana with peanut butter, rice cake with jam, fruit smoothie, a pressed fruit and nut bar or instant oatmeal sachet made with water and a little honey.”

How about a sports drink or energy gel?

“If you’re working out for more than an hour then a good rule of thumb is to make sure you’re getting 60g of carbs per hour,” says Hobson.

“You can get this from a sports drink, gels or snacks. A lot of endurance cyclists and runners hate energy gels and prefer more natural alternatives like boiled potatoes and jam sandwiches as they can upset the gut. So if you are going to use them on a long bike ride or event, test them first and remember they all need to be consumed with water.”

On the label, Hobson suggests looking for a sports drink that contains a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose. “Glucose and fructose are absorbed in the gut through different mechanisms. Glucose is absorbed directly and can be utilised quickly for energy, while fructose is absorbed more slowly and primarily processed in the liver. By combining them, you can increase the total amount of carbohydrates that can be absorbed per hour.”

Hobson, author of Unprocess Your Life – a new cookbook to help you break free from ultra-processed foods, has advice.

1. Multivitamins or minerals: If you feel run down with prolonged fatigue then get yourself your B vitamins and iron levels tested. If you’re opting for a multivitamin, make sure it doesn’t contain additives.

2. Vitamin D is essential especially if a lot of your time is spent indoors. It’s especially good for resistance to upper respiratory tract infections.

3. Probiotics can also be useful if you’re exercising hard alongside a busy work schedule. They can also be useful if you experience a lot of gut distress during exercise like running (try Bio-Kult everyday probiotic – £10.48 for 30 tablets).

4. Creatine is good for power and strength especially if you’re doing sports like weight lifting or intermittent sports like rugby. It’s not so important for endurance which needs more sustained energy supplies from carbohydrates (try Healthspan elite all blacks creatine monohydrate £43.99 for a 500g bag).

5. Protein powder is useful to help with muscle repair and growth, especially if you’re lifting weights. Try and have it after your workout to help rebuild muscle.