Is it normal to feel more tired when starting to work out again?

Yes, it's very common to feel extra tired the first week or two after restarting, even with light workouts. Your body is re-learning the movements, you're refilling depleted glycogen, and DOMS from eccentric work can disrupt sleep, all of which make you feel wiped. For most people that adjustment settles within 1 to 3 weeks as your nervous system and energy systems catch up. If the tiredness is just general heaviness and soreness that eases day by day, that is normal, but if you're wiped for the whole day or your sleep and mood tank, that's a sign to back off a bit. To recover without losing momentum, trim volume before intensity. Aim for 2 to 3 short sessions of 30 to 45 minutes, leave 1 to 2 reps in reserve on each set, and keep at least one rest day between strength days. On off days do easy walks or light mobility to pump blood and reduce soreness, and avoid stacking a bunch of new lifts that are heavy on the negative like deep lunges and eccentric pullups all at once.

Eat a carb rich snack 60 to 90 minutes before training, get 20 to 40 grams of protein within a couple hours after, drink water with a pinch of salt if you sweat a lot, and aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Watch your morning resting heart rate and how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs.

If HR is 5 to 10 beats higher than usual for several days or fatigue lasts more than 2 to 3 weeks, scale back sets by a third for a week and rebuild slowly. Red flags like dizziness, chest pain, or unusual shortness of breath deserve a check in with a clinician, but otherwise this is a normal ramp up that smooths out with consistent, modest progress.

Yep, totally normal. The first week back smacks you harder than you expect because your nervous system and joints are like, who invited this stress? I took a long layoff in spring and even easy goblet squats had me wanting a couch nap at 3 pm. Light still adds up when your tissues are deconditioned and the inflammation plus DOMS messes with sleep. Give it about two to three weeks and the fog usually lifts once your body remembers the routine.

What makes me crazy is how fast people jump to gadgets and expensive recovery powders when the boring basics fix most of it. Eat a real meal with protein and carbs within an hour, add a pinch of salt to your water, and go to bed 30 minutes earlier. Cap your sets at two to three per lift, keep two to three reps in the tank, and add an extra rest day this first fortnight. Keep your step count steady instead of suddenly chasing 15k on top of training. One simple trick that helps a ton is a 10 minute easy walk right after lifting to cool down and dump some of that heavy leg feeling. If you still wake up smoked, scale back five to ten percent next session and you will progress faster than if you grind through exhaustion.