Low Energy at the End of Work Day

Background:
I’m a few days short of my 44th birthday. Been following Wendler’s 531 for about 1.5 years, making decent gains (current 90% maxes: bench-370, box squat-330, seated OH press-215, deadlift-460); I switched to Wendler’s two day a week template when it came out, adding barbell/dumbbell complexes for the cardio days. Diet is o.k.; not great, not horrible. 5’ 8", 260, could stand to lose some fat.

Problem:
When I get home at the end of the day, I’m gassed; no energy. And it gets worse as the week goes on: Monday is bad, Friday is horrible. The only days I get a decent workout are Saturday and Sunday, because I can sleep all day; this is part of the reason I switched to the two heavy days a week 531 template.

And I’m just a software developer; it’s not like I do anything labor intensive for a living. I used to work a 4-10 schedule, so I blamed my low energy levels on the long days, but I’ve been back on a regular 5 day a week schedule for a while and it hasn’t helped. And my stress level is average, nothing out of the ordinary.

What I’ve tried:
I used to drink a lot of coffee, but I began cramping horribly at night because of it, so I cut that out. I had a physical recently, and the only things the doc found where low potassium level, low vit D level (which shocked me because I was taking 5,000 iu’s a day at the time), and potential fatty liver disease - nothing major.

So, I ordered some Spike, and that worked…once. I tried a 5 Hour Energy at the end of the work day and that worked…once. I upped my vit D to 8,000 iu’s and that worked…for a couple of days. I’ve recently started taking a caffeine tablet on the way home (the cramps haven’t returned yet), and that worked for about a week.

What brought this to a head:
This morning, I didn’t have to leave for the office as early as usual because I had a dentist appointment. So my wife woke up and was, in my opinion, very chatty, and I mentioned it. She said she had to be because we don’t talk much in the evening. I blamed it on her watching so much t.v.; she blamed it on me sleeping all the time. So, mamma’s not happy…

Sorry this is so lengthy. Any energy boosting suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Did they check your thyroid and Test. numbers for the physical? Either of these being off can result in fatigue.
Also, given your size, there is a higher risk for sleep apnea. That will definitely cause fatigue.

Those are just shots in the dark, but common problems.

^^ X 2

thanks for the ideas; i’ll dig up my results and see what they say about test and thyroid

What made a difference for me were :

Estrogen was very high - gave me the afternoon/evening crash
As is a high carb lunch diet

Thyroid was low.

And, by far, was getting a consistent 8 hours sleep at night. While it is “interupted” due to waking with shoulder pain, or having to piss 6 times, it still makes a significant difference.

Getting the E2 managed help with the pissing all night too - prostate

I can now get home after a 12 hr day and still put in 2 hrs lifting with Spike/coffee now. 3 yrs ago, NO WAY

You ought to get checked for chrnoic fatigue syndrome/Epstein Barr – there’s been some new reserach that might help if this is the issue.

not sure if u r doing cardio, but it would help with you wanting to lose some fat and probably boost your metabolism. i always find that i am sluggish the less i w/o and do cardio. it would seem the more enrgy you spend the more you would be tired, but i find its the opposite. when i get slack i just feel more sluggish.

sounds like low test. just saying.

when i turned 40 (im 43) i noticed a drop in energy , libido and drive in general .
what helped me was tribulus ( dymatize) 650 mg twice a day , cheap n works well. first one i take pre w/o with 10g bcaa and 200mg caffiene .
the other in the evening .
it made me feel about 15 years younger . try it n see you, should feel the difference almost straight away .

well, my problem may simply be gluttony. I’ve stopped eating carbs during the day (and with this being Christmas season it ain’t been easy), and that has helped tremendously. also, i got a copy of ‘The 4 Hour Body’, and have started doing the twice daily cold shower ritual recommended for increasing testosterone. I’m doing much better now; didn’t pass out last night as soon as i got home.