7 Foods and Beverages to Avoid in Your Pre-Workout Meal
A pre-workout meal that is timed right can help fuel you during your workouts and provide you with enough sustained energy to push your body to the limit in the gym. However, consuming the wrong foods during your pre-workout meal can cause you to throw in the towel early and regret the decision to hit the gym.
Related Article: Should You Eat Before a Workout?
In this article, we will look at some foods to avoid in your pre-workout meal and why it isn’t a good idea to consume them if you’re planning on crushing a training session.
1. Alcohol
I mean, if I really must explain this one to you, it might be time to check into an AA meeting in your area. If you think it’s a good idea to consume alcohol as part of your pre-workout meal, you may want to rethink that strategy. Combining alcohol with heavy lifts spells disaster. Not only could you severely hurt yourself or others in the gym, but alcohol has a dehydrating effect, which isn’t ideal when pushing your body and needing to be properly hydrated to perform optimally. Even the slightest decrease in hydration levels can drastically diminish your workout performance and results.
2. Soda
While soda is probably the most overly consumed beverage (both regular and diet), let’s just say stay away from anything carbonated with your pre-workout meal. No soda, beer (which also ties into #1), sparkling water, etc. While these beverages may be your preferred choice with a meal, having them with your pre-workout meal can cause indigestion, stomach discomfort, and even gas during your training session.
Related Article: The Importance of Pre-Workout and Post-Workout Meals
3. Spicy Food
You may be a fan of spicy food — the hotter, the better. Well, that’s fantastic… just not around your training sessions. Skip the spicy food as your pre-workout meal or pre-workout snack and stick with something that is easy on the stomach and easy to digest. If you’ve ever experienced indigestion or heartburn following a spicy meal, you can only imagine how disastrous that would be during a workout. In fact, you may want to lay off the spicy foods for as much as 12-24 hours before a workout, as spicy food can take its toll on the digestive system. When going deep into a squat, the last thing you need is the “squirts.” When eating super spicy foods that disturb the digestive system, you should never trust a fart.
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