Fatigue is one of the problems of our busy modern lifestyles and many people complain of having low energy levels. This means that although they can get through the day they rarely have energy left over to be able to exercise vigorously and lead an active lifestyle.

But the fact is your energy levels are a good indicator of your current fitness level.

But how can you have a good fitness level if you don't have enough energy to be able to exercise? Well, the whole cycle need to be reversed and slowly strength and fitness recovered and increased over a period of time.

It is important to have lots of energy to fit everything we want into our life. When we have this natural energy we find we feel happier, more energetic and more enthusiastic about everything in life. We also become more motivated to want to be active on a regular basis. If we are often tired and feeling sluggish this can lead to apathy and the blues which is not helpful to getting the most out of life.

Energy is not something that is tangible. You cannot get it or find it and is not something that you can see or touch, but you will surely know if you don't have enough of it. But to get more of it you first have to create the conditions under which it is possible to show up in your life.

If your health, strength, fitness, attitude are all aligned in the right way, there is nothing else for you to do but to feel energized. It is the natural "side-effect" of a fit, healthy life - it just comes with the territory.

If it is not happening for you some changes are necessary. By adding a proper exercise program into your life and starting slowly but consistently you can get back to where you should be quite quickly. It is important that you do not waste your precious little energy on ineffective exercise that will not give you much in return.

Long, slow, boring, low intensity type activity like walking, jogging or cycling etc will only further eat into your energy stores but not give you any 'bang for your buck'.

You need a proper program with strength building exercise that will recover lost strength and speed up your metabolism (your body's engine).

You need to start at the appropriate level, be guided by a fitness professional and the program monitored and tweaked where necessary. If you don't get the right help it is likely that you will cause yourself further burn out which will put you off the very thing that can help you get your life back.

Your program should also contain one or two sessions of interval training each week. This means short bursts of activity alternated with longer rest periods. An example of this would be 10 seconds of all out sprinting then 30 seconds to one minute of walking so you can recover. Repeat 8 -10 times or more depending on current fitness level.

This type of exercise program will energize you throughout the day by building back your strength. Your better conditioned muscles will make every task in your day so much easier and save some of the energy drain. Exercise will also increase oxygen flow to the brain making you feel good, more mentally alert and you will have an overall happier disposition.

To support this exercise program it is important to try and eat better. Shoot for 5-6 small meals spread throughout the day. Each meal should have a protein source as its base; add lots of raw or cooked vegetables and a small amount of complex carbohydrates (rice, pasta, grains etc). If you are a busy person, you will need to organize your meals the night before and then take them with you wherever you go the next day.

Although this all sounds easy, it will not just happen overnight. Like all of us it is a journey and we can only aim for improvement not perfection. Each week the goal should be just to do a little better than the week before. These good choices will not only give you your energy back but rejuvenate your whole life.