It’s not just hardcore lifters who experience fatigue–it can happen to anyone.

When you get really serious about your workout, it’s easy to push yourself to the point of fatigue. It’s natural to experience occasional days of low energy, and your life outside the gym can compound the problem, especially right now. When you’re working out full-bore on top of not eating optimally or getting enough rest, your body won’t be able to perform its best. There are times when a day off is called for, but there are things you can do before and after a workout to help ensure you have what it takes to make it through.

When To Take a Day Off

Chronic moodiness or depression can be signs of fatigue that signal you need a rest day from the gym.

Before offering advice on pushing through fatigue to work out, let’s talk about how to know when you should take a day of rest instead. Sure, you might not want to take a day off, but you’ll do more harm than good if you go into a workout excessively fatigued. If you’ve been overly tired or depressed or moody for more than a day, that’s a reliable indication that you need an extra rest day. Yes, working out can actually help wake you up and even alleviate depression, but exercise as therapy for those issues will still work–likely better–if you give yourself a day off from working out first. Other signs to pay attention to include chronic muscle soreness and stiff joints, abnormal heart rate, and dehydration, according to Daily Burn.

Before a Workout

Fend off fatigue by eating a light meal of protein and carbs a couple of hours before working out.

If you’ve fallen into a pattern of feeling good and ready for a workout before you hit the gym, only to have your energy drop fast with exhaustion setting in once you start, Bodybuilding.com says preplanning will nip workout fatigue in the bud. Since inadequate nutrition can be the cause of fatigue, their two-step solution is nutrition-based. The first piece of advice is to eat a light pre-workout meal comprised of protein and carbohydrates–and be sure to wash it down with at least 14 ounces of water to help with digestion and hydration.

The second step is a little more involved and specialized based on how you train and what type of diet you’re on. It branches into two protocols, but they’re both built on getting extra amino acids into your system an hour or less before exercise along with more water. The preferred forms of these pre-workout aminos would be free-form essential amino acids or whey protein hydrolysate with at least 50 percent (or more!) dipeptides and tripeptides to ensure quick absorption.

Outside Of the Gym

Deviled eggs made with a mayo-substitute like Greek yogurt or hummus are a terrific and tasty post-workout snack.

In keeping with the nutrition-for-fatigue line of thinking, eating after a workout is just as important as eating before you exercise. Begin your recovery nutrition within 15 to 60 minutes after a workout. Eating for recovery should be comprised of a 2:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio. On top of that post-workout snack, eating a well-balanced meal of lean, healthy foods about 2 hours after you exercise will help your body continue to fight off fatigue. Don’t forget to start rehydrating immediately, either. Try to drink around 20 to 24 ounces for each pound of fluid you sweated off during your workout.

Rest is so vital for recovery and keeping fatigue at bay that three different types of rest make up half of the six top ways Men’s Fitness lists to guard against fatigue. They include:

• programming recovery workouts and entire weeks of downtime into your exercise schedule
• taking sufficient time between workouts to allow for recovery
• getting adequate amounts of sleep, even if it means taking a 30-minute power nap during the day

Hire a therapist or do self-massage with a roller–both are fabulous fatigue fighters.

Massage therapy is another effective fatigue-fighter, whether you shell out $50 or more for a professional massage or spend some time after a workout with a foam roller. On top of feeling heavenly, a massage encourages relaxation which will help with the rest and recuperate part of your protocol. Plus, it increases circulation while reducing stiffness in your muscles.