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10 foods to avoid pre-workout

These two workout classes are dirtier than your toilet

There’s nothing worse than hitting the gym on an empty stomach. That is, except maybe when you’ve jumped into downward dog or hit mile three on the treadmill and realized your pre-workout snack was a horrible choice. But you don’t have to workout on an empty stomach — you just have to snack smart. Eating the wrong foods pre-workout can cause a variety of unpleasant side effects from gas to bloating to diarrhea. So the next time you want to munch on something before getting your sweat on, remember to keep things simple. Grab a small amount of protein and some easy-to-digest carbs to help power your workout. A banana and peanut butter or a whole fruit smoothie do the trick nicely. But whatever you do, be sure to save these 10 foods until after your workout. 1. Alcohol You’re already sweating and losing water from your workout, booze will…

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Chocolate milk helps you recover from a grueling work out, study shows

Chocolate milk helps you recover from a grueling work out, study shows

It’s natural to work up a thirst and appetite after a tough workout — but what exactly you should be eating and drinking is highly debated. Some experts swear by protein, while others insist on sports drinks or alternatives like coconut water. One post-workout option you’ll see kick around often is chocolate milk. Why? Well, for starters, everyone loves chocolate milk — who wouldn’t want to look forward to an ice cold glass? But besides being tasty, it has a great combination of hydrating H2O, protein, and simple carbohydrates that can help your body heal after a particularly difficult day at the gym. The new research was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study concluded that high-fat milk was just as effective as sports drinks or water in helping you recover from intense exercise. While water and sports drinks are great, chocolate milk has an edge when it comes to…

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These two workout classes are dirtier than your toilet

These two workout classes are dirtier than your toilet

Gym classes are a great way to keep up motivation to workout. However the camaraderie you build when spinning or spotting isn’t the only thing you’re sharing. It seems that certain gym classes leave you more open to swapping bacteria. While all gym equipment — and all public places, for that matter — carry some expectation of germs, a recent study conducted by EllipticalReviews.com found that there are two gym classes in particular that are more unhygienic than a toilet. The researchers took three swab samples from equipment in four different workout classes (spin, hot yoga, barre, and weight-based workouts). The swabs were measured for the volume of microbes found and then the three samples were averaged to determine the level of colony-forming units (CFU). Weight-based workouts were the worst, with an average of 153,410 CFU detected on an average barbell. For comparison, a toilet seat comes in with about 3,200 CFU — that…

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Should you sleep more or workout?

Should you sleep or workout?

There are only 24 hours in a day, so it’s no wonder we feel the pressure to find time to fit in both ample sleep and rigorous exercise. For your overall health and happiness, you do need to be getting enough of both, but when you throw in life’s other responsibilities — family, friends, work, and an overwhelming number of others — sometime you can feel as though you have to choose. So on a busy day, which should it be, exercise or sleep? Well, the answer isn’t so simple. The case for getting more shut-eye Dr. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston recently told The New York Times that sleep and exercise shouldn’t be pitted against each other. Because people need around eight hours of sleep each night, getting up early to workout can interrupt your body’s circadian rhythm. So…

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