9 Worst Things to Do Before a Workout

There are a number of ways to improve your workouts, but some can hinder your performance. Here are the 9 worst things to do before a workout.

You may know the basics of building muscle, such as eating protein, getting enough rest, drinking water, and doing progressive heavy lifting, but sometimes the things you’re doing right now may be hindering your fitness journey. That’s what Max Posternack talked about recently.

Max Posternak is the founder of Gravity Transformation, a website focused on providing tips and training guides for people looking to improve their fitness and lose weight. His YouTube channel has over 5 million subscribers.

In a video, Posternak shared the 9 worst things to do before a workout. Check it.

9 Worst Things to Do Before a Workout

1. Big meals close to exercise

Source: Karolina Grabowska on Pexels

After eating, your body directs blood flow to your digestive organs and when you work out, the body tries to send blood to the muscles you are working. This creates competing dangers of digestion and exercise.

This way, no part gets the blood flow it needs for optimal digestion or performance. This can make you feel bloated and nauseous, and even throw up. However, you may not be training at your best if you have a large meal too close to your workout. Aim to finish a meal 2-3 hours before you go to the weight room.

2. Too much coffee or pre-workout

Caffeine is a common supplement to take before a workout, but too much caffeine can cause your colon to contract and produce more bile and increase bowel movements.

In addition to going to the bathroom between your sets, too much caffeine can cause restlessness, insomnia, fast or abnormal heartbeats, anxiety, heartburn, and increased blood pressure.

3. Extension

Source: Elina Fairytale / Pexels

Not all stretching before exercise is bad, but many people do static stretching, which you should only do after exercise.

Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, is best when you go through a full range of motion rather than holding a position. Studies show that runners don’t run as fast, jump as high as athletes, and weightlifters can’t lift as much weight after engaging in static stretching.

You don’t need to stretch at all before a workout, but if you do, choose dynamic stretching.

4. Cardio before lifting weights

When building muscle, you need to prioritize your workouts. Doing cardio taxes your body and if you plan to lift weights after a cardio session, you won’t be able to lift as much as you could if you chose the barbell before the treadmill.

Just know that a few minutes of light walking to warm up your body before your workout won’t have a negative effect, but a heavy cardio session will definitely hinder your performance.

5. Drinking too much water

This is similar to a large meal or high caffeine intake. Staying hydrated is good, but you shouldn’t drink too much water before or even during your workout.

Again, if you drink too much water your blood flow will be directed to your stomach and when you exercise the blood will tend to go to the extremities of your body.

6. Drinking alcohol

Alcohol slows down your reaction time, coordination, and balance. Not only will this make your workout less effective, but it will also make you more dangerous when you’re in the gym.

Drinking alcohol is already bad for people trying to get fat, and that’s why it’s on the list of the 9 worst things to do before a workout.

Source: Will Stewart

7. Abs exercises before weight training

Posternack says you should never train your core before a weight training workout. That’s because your core is involved in almost any weightlifting exercise.

If you train your core before an exercise, as for other exercises, even sitting or lying down, their performance will be adversely affected.

Leave your core and abs exercises after your training session or set aside a day specifically for this type of training.

8. Painkillers

Tylenol, Advil or muscle relaxants. It’s not a good idea to take any of these before a workout, no matter how sore you are or how sore you think you are. It can cause intestinal problems or intestinal injuries.

If you feel severe pain and believe you need to take a pain reliever to exercise, it is best to skip that training day and rest.

9. Long sleep

Finally on Posternaks list of the 9 worst things to do before a workout is taking a long nap before hitting the weight room. Anything between 20-30 minutes can actually make you feel more energized and refreshed, but a short nap is okay.

Sleeping longer than that can leave you feeling more lethargic and tired than before you go to sleep.

Those are the 9 worst things to do before a workout, according to Max Posternack. Click the video below to see an in-depth explanation of each argument he made.

Video – 9 Worst Things to Do Before a Workout

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