Why am I exhausted after workouts that energise everyone else?

Exercise is a controlled stress, and how you recover from it is partly genetic. The COMT gene controls how quickly you clear dopamine and stress hormones like adrenaline; some variants leave these elevated longer, so an intense session that leaves others buzzing can leave you drained and wired. The IL6 gene influences inflammation and the repair response after training; certain variants are linked to more inflammation and slower recovery. ACTN3 muscle fibre type affects how taxing power work feels.

These variants are common across populations, including South Asians, and they interact with sleep, nutrition and iron status, all of which are frequently under-optimised. In India, where vegetarian diets, low iron and B12, and short sleep are common, an underlying deficiency can amplify post-workout exhaustion that genetics already nudges. So the fatigue is rarely one cause; it is genes plus recovery inputs stacking up.

The takeaway: if hard workouts flatten you, the fix is usually recovery, not more intensity. Train at a pace your body tolerates, prioritise protein, sleep and hydration, and rule out low iron and B12 with a simple blood test. Lower-intensity or shorter sessions that leave you energised are not a failure; they are your body telling you its recovery budget. Build from there rather than copying someone with a different setup.