The Workday Energy Crisis: Why You’re Always Tired

Be honest—how many times have you told yourself, I just need to push through?

You start the day feeling fine—or at least, good enough to handle business. But by mid-afternoon, the brain fog hits, your energy tanks, and you’re running on caffeine and willpower just to make it to the finish line.

By the time you get home? You’re done. The gym isn’t happening. Cooking sounds like a chore. You barely have the energy to be present, let alone productive.

And this? This is just how life feels now.

But what if it didn’t have to?

In today’s episode, we’re breaking down exactly why this keeps happening (hint: it’s not just “getting older”) and how to finally get your energy back—without extreme diets, more caffeine, or just “trying harder.”

Because you already know what exhaustion feels like.

Maybe it’s time to find out what unstoppable feels like.

📲 DM me “DESIGN” on Instagram (@spencerhgallo), and let’s talk. No pressure. No BS. Just real solutions.

If this episode hit home, make sure you’re subscribed. This is Fitness by Design, the podcast for high-performing men ready to stop winging it and start leading with their body.

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Let’s keep building your edge, one episode at a time.

Transcript

USB Condenser Microphone: 1:25

There's this moment that every single one of you listening has had. Maybe it was even this morning. Maybe it was yesterday. Maybe it's every damn day. of your life. Your alarm goes off. You crack one eye open, barely. You process that sound. going on in the background. You don't feel rested, you don't feel ready, and for a split second, you just think to yourself, what if I just ignore it? Maybe I'll call out today. Just let the day pass you by. But you don't. Because you can't. Because you have shit to do. So you do what you always do. You get up, you push through, your feet hit the floor, rubbing the eyes from your sleep, you stretch your back, and no bullshit, it's a little tighter than you remember it being. last night. You shuffle your way to the kitchen. Before you even register what's happening, there's coffee brewing. And it's not because you want it, but because you actually need it, or so you tell yourself. In those first few hours of the day, you feel absolutely fine. You handle the emails, you catch up on your meetings, you knock out a few tasks. You're not thriving, but everything's getting taken care of and business is being handled. And then, somewhere around 2 or 3 o'clock, that switch just flips. That brain fog starts to set in. Your motivation absolutely friggin tanks. And your energy is just gone. There's no way you're gonna finish the day feeling excited. And you tell yourself, you just need to pick me up. So, you reach for coffee number three, or maybe four. You grab whatever's quick, something from the break room, maybe a granola bar from your desk, or a Snickers from the vending machine. And it's just enough to push you through the rest of the day. But by the time you make it home, you are done. You were supposed to work out tonight. You swore you'd start eating better. But you barely have the energy to think, let alone to go train. or to meal prep right now. So you just crash on the couch. You scroll your phone, you half listen to your wife. Your kids, whatever's on the TV, your mind is somewhere else, wherever is not where you are right now. And then when it's finally time to go to sleep, you're wired, you're restless, you're exhausted, but you're wide awake. So you just stay up later than you should, continue scrolling on your phone, maybe you say, Yeah, you know what, maybe I'll have a nightcap, I'll just go pour myself, you know, one finger of bourbon, I'll just, it'll knock me right out. So you grab that drink, scrolling a little bit more, telling yourself, tomorrow, I'm gonna do better, but it's not. It's never better. Because this isn't just a bad week. This isn't just a rough patch. for you. This is just how life feels now. And it wasn't always like this. There was a time when you could get by on four hours of sleep and still somehow be ready to show up every single day. and absolutely dominate in the office. When skipping breakfast didn't completely destroy your energy, for the day. Those few extra drinks last night with the boys didn't leave you feeling like you got hit by a Mack truck. this morning. Back then, you could push through anything. Somewhere along the line. That started to change. At first, you barely noticed it. And trust me, I barely noticed it too. Maybe you needed an extra cup of coffee in the morning. Maybe you just felt a little slower after you finished your lunch. And maybe, every once in a while, you just crashed on the couch after work instead of hitting the gym. And then, suddenly, it wasn't“once in a while. It was every day, and no matter what you did, no matter how much caffeine you drank, how much you tried to get back on track, you just could not shake that exhaustion. setting in every single day. At first, you figured it must just be work stress. Maybe you just weren't sleeping well. enough. Maybe it was just because you're getting older. And then you looked around and you were like, but every single guy that I know feels the same way. Became the normal. You're dragging your ass through the workday? Normal. Feeling dead by 3pm? Normal. Relying on caffeine at 3 o'clock to function? Normal. And when everybody else around you is just as exhausted? You don't seem to see the problem. It's just life. as it is. You wear it like a badge of honor. Man,“I only got 5 hours of sleep last night! Man,“I've had four cups of coffee, but I'm still dead.“Bro, I've just been grinding, no time to even eat today. But let's call this what it really is. It's not just getting older, it's a complete and utter systems failure. This were a project at work, you would spot the problem absolutely immediately, because right now, you're running a system that is under fueled, skipping meals, eating whatever's convenient, and expecting your brain and your body to perform at a high level. You're overstressed, you're running on caffeine, cortisol, and adrenaline until your body starts to fight back, which it's going to. And you're under recovered. You never actually recharge, your batteries, so you're always operating at 60 percent or less, and most of the time it's less because you don't really have great days. So what happens to any other system that runs like this? It crashes. It's like trying to take a road trip with half a tank of gas. And that's exactly what is happening to you. Not just physically. But mentally, emotionally, and maybe even professionally. So let me ask you something. Have you ever had one of those rare days where, for some reason, you actually wake up feeling really good? You wake up before your alarm, you didn't need that immediate caffeine kick to function, you were able to sit through those back to back meetings without feeling like your brain was just slogging through a mud? pit, and then you got home and you still had enough energy left in the tank to hit the gym, make some dinner, for your wife, and actually be present with your family. And at the end of the night, as you shut everything down, you thought to yourself, Man, why can't every day feel like this? And that's not some fantasy, that's not some Disneyland shit, that's not a fluke, that's what happens when your body is actually working with you instead of trying to fight back. And when you've been running on fumes for so long, you forget how different life feels when you're not constantly running in survival mode. You're sharper at work, you think faster, you don't zone out in meetings, you handle stress like a completely different person, you're not snapping at coworkers, you're not losing your shit over an email. that said You can't meet today at noon you're still you at the end of the day. You're not some burnt out shell of yourself, just counting the minutes until you can go to bed. This isn't about pushing harder, man. It's about running the right system so you don't have to push so damn hard in the first place. Because right now? you're stuck in a losing game. You rely on caffeine because you're exhausted. You're exhausted because you don't recover. And you don't recover because you're always running on empty. And you've just convinced yourself that the answer is more effort. If you just had more willpower, you'd finally get your energy back. But be honest, how many times have you actually told yourself, alright, this week I'm finally gonna dial it in. And then work gets busy. or you have to travel. or your kid gets sick, or this happens or that happens. And before you know it, you're right back where you started. saying you're gonna dial it in next week. And it's not because you're not trying. Because honestly, trying harder is not the answer. You don't need another Monday restart. You don't need another caffeine fueled survival week. You don't need to stop playing the game on hard mode. Because when you fix the right things, everything else just stops feeling like you're battling it. So now imagine this. You wake up before your alarm. You stretch, and your body actually feels good. No grogginess, no dragging yourself out of bed. Like you just lost a fight in your sleep. You walk into the kitchen. You don't need that coffee to function. You actually enjoy the taste of your coffee for once, because it's a choice, not a lifeline. You throw on that shirt that used to hug your stomach just a little too much. And today, it fits just right. And when you sit down at your desk, you are on. Dialed in, no slow start, no staring blankly at your screen, no burning through three cups of coffee before you can think straight. By two o'clock, everyone else is slumped in their chairs, fighting that post launch crash, and you are still grinding with a clear head, getting your shit. Done. And then the work day is over, and you're not dead, you're not slogging through that evening commute, you're not staring at your gym bag, in the trunk of the car negotiating with yourself about whether you really need to go, you're not telling your wife,“yeah, one second, as you mindlessly scroll on your phone, half listening to whatever she's saying. to you. You're good. You have more in the tank. And for the first time in a long time, you actually feel like yourself again. Here's what's crazy. Everything that I just described, that energy, that clarity, that focus, it's not something made up in Disneyland. This isn't a fantasy, guys. It's not reserved for the guys who“have more time, or“better genetics, or who don't have a demanding career. It's just what happens when you stop beating the hell out of yourself every single day. Because right now, let's be real. You are in a constant fight. You're fighting against exhaustion, day after day. You're fighting against brain fog, just to keep up. And you're fighting your own damn body every time you try and drag yourself to go to the gym. And the worst part? You don't even realize that you're fighting anymore. It's just normal now. But let me ask you. When's the last time you actually felt good? Not just got through the day, or not just“managed.” but felt like you could actually take on the world. That's the difference. That's what changes when you stop burning yourself into the ground. And that's what's waiting for you on the other side of all this. So what happens next? Well, you can walk away from this episode and keep doing exactly what you've been doing. Nothing changes, you keep grinding, you keep struggling, you keep telling yourself this is just how life is now. Or, you can finally make a change. Not by overhauling your entire life, not by adding more to your plate, but by finally running the right playbook. The one that actually makes energy for you effortless. Because once you stop running out of fumes, once you wake up and actually feel like yourself again, everything starts to change for you. Not just your energy, not just your focus, but the way that you show up in Every part of your life. So if you're listening to this thinking, Damn, this is me. As Jocko Willink says, Good. That means you're finally seeing it. And if you want to start fixing it, Let's talk. Shoot me a DM with the word“design” on Instagram. No pressure. No sales pitch. Just a real conversation. And what actually works. And see if I can help you out. Because you already know what exhaustion feels like. Maybe it's time to find out what unstoppable feels like. This is Fitness by Design. And I'll catch you in the next episode.