I sorta disagree with you about energy from fruits and vegetables Johnny... in moderation maybe, but a few days ago i blended up some apples, carrots, celery, beats, cucumber, lemons, tomatoes etc etc and made about 20oz worth of fruit/vegetable juice and drank it for a meal... I felt super tired afterwards. I expected to feel "healthy and full of energy" but instead i felt extremely fatigued... discuss.
keeping track of your daily activity workout and workwise is key to understanding if your improving or just staying the same
at night im beat from the workday and the workout but the more i consume the veggie and fruit. moreso the veggie , that i keep inching up in energy and reps. when you are tired, take a nap do not try to fight it, just lay comfortably and close your eyes and rest
youll find many times laying there with some music you enjoy on that in 5-10 min you feel energetic, perhaps your eyes remain somewhat heavy but your body wants to 'go' this would be a good time to experiment with closed eye pushups or closed eye lunges. closing your eyes relaxes your eyes and mind, yet you can still tally up extra sets and reps that you acheive.
working out is a big numbers game. when your older you dont see huge leaps in progress. your lucky to get a rep or 2 added per day sometimes more, but progression is much more certain with my eating method because you dont get sick wich sets you back for days.
when your body wants to rest or sleep, its wanting to send some growth repair signals. ALWAYS push yourself to the max stimulant free*no caffiene* to know your TRUE ABILITY. Its good to push your body hard enough that you want more sleep or breif rest.
a fake ability is one stimulated by lots of coffee,...look at all the threads here about guys taking ephedra and caffiene and constantly needing more , and some not feeling it at all and just going by there faith its working.