By: Millie Mercer
“Everyone thinks their energy level is normal — until they realize how much better they could feel.”
Rich Chi, a wellness coach with a personal story of near-collapse and full recovery, no longer pursues limit-pushing fitness challenges or an impressive exterior appearance. His experience has driven him to instead seek balance and true, natural energy and vitality that comes from within.
Ultimately, his message is simple: feeling drained all the time is not normal. Chronic fatigue is not a natural by-product of aging or the price of being busy. For many people, it’s a sign that their daily routine needs a serious reset.
From Burnout to Awareness
Rich’s turning point came at 19.
He was training for a mixed martial arts fight, and he felt he was doing everything “right.” He was eating well, sleeping regularly, and following all the standard advice.
Regardless, he felt completely exhausted.
Tests showed no problems. Specialists gave him a clean bill of health. But he knew something wasn’t right. And just days before he had to step into the ring, his body gave out.
Rich almost died due to severe exhaustion.
He remembers wondering, “How could I be so ‘healthy and fit,’ but near death at the same time?”
That experience made him reconsider everything he knew about wellness and fitness. He realized that whatever he was doing wasn’t working. He wasn’t eating right, moving right, sleeping right, or thinking right.
And to compensate for his decreasing energy level, he relied on the adrenaline of heart-pumping workouts and the stimulants from sugar, supplements, and caffeine to get through the day.
Unfortunately, this is a common theme he now sees repeatedly with the many busy professionals he works with.
The Problem with “Go Hard” Culture
The problem with most modern routines is that they give short-term energy bursts from adrenaline or stimulants. However, they drain our bodies in the long run.
Rich says this mindset creates an invisible trap.
“You train harder, you push more, and you start to think exhaustion means it’s working. It’s not working!” he explains.
But pushing without releasing muscle tension or adequate rest can gradually deplete your energy. Without regular recovery — physical, mental, and emotional — your body can’t perform, your mood declines, and your motivation disappears. All the while, your overall energy level decreases slowly but surely.
This isn’t just Rich’s theory, either. A study from the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine shows that overtraining without proper rest can lead to fatigue, irritability, sleep disruption, and decreased performance.
Burnout isn’t just mental or emotional. It can be physical, too.
Five Small Changes with Big Results
Inspired by Rich’s story and backed by emerging wellness research, here are five simple changes you can make to stop energy drain and improve daily function:
I. Prioritize Sleep Over Everything Else
Sleep is not a bonus — it’s essential. The CDC recommends at least 7 hours per night for adults. Sleep supports memory, mood, and metabolism.
Rich emphasizes it as the first and most important pillar in his wellness framework. But it’s also about the quality of sleep, too. In his coaching, he points out that many foods and drinks, pent-up emotions, and other imbalances in our lifestyle can disrupt sleep quality.
Poor sleep quality leaves us feeling exhausted rather than energized when we wake up.
II. Move — But Release Tension, Too
Rich developed an alternative to stretching that he calls a Muscle Release System. He learned that rough or improper stretching yanks on tight muscles, which can be debilitating in the long run.
Releasing tension the right way helps open up circulation, which means more blood, oxygen, nutrients, and bioelectricity to all our trillions of cells. This can help us Recharge. So Rich recommends staying active throughout the day, instead of just dedicating an hour or two at the end for movement and mobility.
He also recommends getting massages and focusing on flexibility for proper muscle release.
III. Hydrate and Fuel Properly
Most people underestimate the power of basic nutrition.
As a registered dietitian, Rich recommends balanced meals and water throughout the day. Eating about 3 to 4 balanced meals a day with lean or plant-based protein, healthy carbs – like whole grains or starchy vegetables – and healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts or seeds can keep our energy up and maintain our blood sugar.
As for hydration, Rich has found that many people either underhydrate or overhydrate.
“Hydration needs to be individualized,” he says. “Just like nutrition.”
A nice wellness hack is to drink 1 to 2 cups of good quality water when you first wake up, which is when we are most dehydrated.
IV. Retrain Our Brain
Our mind can be like a puppy, chasing every restless thought like a puppy chases the next object it sees. Stress, negative thoughts, and anxiety can physically burn us out and sabotage our success.
Rich experienced this firsthand.
Replacing thoughts like “I’m not good enough” with “I am enough and I’m improving every day” may seem small, but consistent reframing improves emotional resilience and mental wellbeing. Practices like gratitude journaling or guided meditation can help rewire your mindset.
Rich specializes in helping people turn negative mindsets into happy, optimistic outlooks for life.
V. Create Space for Energy Recovery
It’s not just about doing less; it’s about doing the right things. That could mean taking breaks outdoors, breathing deeply for A few minutes, or learning how to completely quiet your mind- even for just 30 seconds.
It may feel empowering to push our bodies beyond exhaustion. But over time, we are only draining our energy and our overall “haelth” & wellness we are working so hard to improve.
The above five suggestions are real, effective ways to recharge.
Rich also points interested readers to the last two chapters in his book “Get Recharged Now,” which has both a long-term Recharging Guide to help you live as long as you can in as good a shape as you can and a short-term Recharging Guide for when you just run into an energy slump in the middle of the day.
“Even if you’re not a book reader, those 4 pages may be the most important 4 pages you ever read!” Rich assures.
Consistency Over Perfection
Rich doesn’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. His journey shows that instilling recharging daily habits is more powerful than any crash diet or extreme routine.
“You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight,” he says. “Start with one shift – usually your weakest link, like better sleep, or one positive thought – and build from there.”
The science agrees. A study from Harvard Health confirms that building small, repeatable habits is an effective way to create lasting behavior change.
Your Energy Level Is a Clue
“Haelth” is how you feel.” Rich always says. If you feel exhausted day after day, your body is trying to tell you something.
“I was getting increasingly exhausted, but I just kept doing more. More cardio, more strength training, and eating more protein. I was just draining myself!”
Once Rich learned how to recharge his body, he says his overall energy level and wellness started to increase exponentially to the point where he has 10 times more energy, 20 years later.
“More is not always better; a ‘smarter, not harder’ strategy can double your energy with half the amount of effort!” Rich explains. He believes that you need to learn what is truly good for your body, not just train harder and take more stimulants for temporary energy that deplete you in the long run.
Rich Chi’s coaching model, Recharging Wellness Coaching, focuses on helping people have more energy naturally while setting up a simple recharging daily routine that one can follow for life. His approach combines energy boosting foods, balanced physical activity, muscle release techniques, encouragement coaching, breathing, meditation, and all kinds of energy recharging lifestyle tips for long-term vitality.
Ultimately, his message is simple: ”Health is what you do on a daily basis.” You can either recharge yourself or drain yourself.
But the good news is that you don’t have to accept fatigue as your baseline. Inspired by Rich Chi’s journey, even small wellness shifts can help you recharge and feel like a kid again.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, nor does it replace professional medical expertise or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.
Published by Joseph T.
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