Things You Should Never Do Before Workout

1. Consuming excessive Pre-Workout or Coffee

Most people end up consuming excessive Pre-Workout or Coffee before workout because of a lack of awareness. People live under the assumption that their strength and stamina will increase by consuming more pre-workout and coffee. We aren’t questioning the fact that consuming caffeine increases our concentration power, strength, and stamina but you need to understand that excessive consumption of caffeine will reduce your workout performance instead of boosting it because consumption of excessive caffeine might make you feel anxious, your heart rate might increase and you might have an upset stomach. The second main ingredient in pre-workout is called Beta Alanine because of which you might get a tingling sensation. Many people get so addicted to this tingling sensation that they start consuming pre-workout in large quantities, because of that sensation you may feel uneasy during workout which will impact your workout performance. Please make sure that whether you drink coffee or pre-workout, you consume them in recommended dosage only. We would recommend you to drink pre-workout on the days when you train your major muscles e.g. legs, back, etc. On the remaining days try performing workout without pre-workout so that you don’t get addicted.

You can also try 2X Nutrition’s Pre-Workout PowerHouse. The best part about PowerHouse? You won’t face any tingly or prickly sensation after its consumption.

2. Performing Intense Cardio Before Strength Training

Many people perform either a long or an intense cardio session just before strength training which reduces their strength training performance because the stored glycogen present in our body is responsible for giving us energy during workout but when you perform cardio first, your maximum glycogen gets spent and after that, you lack enough energy to give your best to strength training. We would recommend you to either do cardio at separate timing or after strength training. It will benefit you in the following two ways:-

1. You will feel energetic during your strength training session so you will be able to get maximum results;
2. Your maximum glycogen will be spent during strength training and after that when you will perform cardio, your body will use fat as energy which will help you in losing fat.

You can perform cardio for 5-7 minutes before strength training as a warmup.

3. Eating Heavy Meals Close To Workout

People have this misconception that if they will eat maximum before workout then they will be able to perform better workout. You need to understand that it also depends on the gap between your workout and your meal. People eat too much just half or one hour before their workout session but this eventually leads to decreased workout performance. If you want to eat a heavy meal then you should have it 2.5 hours before your workout session but if you want to consume a light meal then also you should maintain a gap of 1-1.5 hours.

4. Training Abs Before Strength Training

If you train your abs before strength training, your efficiency during strength training will be affected negatively and your chances of injury will increase because your core is engaged in maximum exercises in the gym and when you train your abs before strength training, your core gets tired which affects the rest of your exercises. In exercises like squats and deadlifts, your core is highly engaged and supports your back but when you train your abs before them your core gets tired and won’t be able to support your back which increases the chances of injury in the back. You should always train your abs after strength training.

5. Stretching Before Lifting

Many people do static stretching before strength training which shouldn’t be done. Static stretching is when you hold your muscle for a few seconds after stretching them to the maximum. It affects your strength training negatively. You should do dynamic stretching before strength training. Dynamic stretching is when there is an active movement in your joint and muscles. It helps in the proper warmup of your body before a training session.

6. Long Nap Before Workout

Sleeping before exercise surely helps you in feeling energized during your workout but taking a long nap affects your workout negatively because you end up feeling lazy and lethargic. We would recommend you to take a power nap for 25-30 minutes before your workout session to feel energized.