Everyone talks about it: you should drink more, but not the wrong thing, remember after exercise anyway, or was it before exercise? The whole issue can get quite complicated.
There are drinks that will ruin your sports success - typical examples are cocktails or sugared sodas. But there are also drinks that really complicate your workout.
It makes you feel kind of full, listless, and low on energy. Have you ever thought that this could be due to the drink you just had?
I went on a search and found 7 drinks you should never drink before exercising.
Table of contents
7 drinks you should never drink before a workout:
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Milk-based drinks before exercise
Energy suppliers that Milk contain are better to consume after than before the workout. Your body takes far too long to process milk. This prevents you from performing at your best.
Protein shakes make sense directly after getting up or after a workout. Before the workout the protein shakes rather bring nothing, because the organism can access food protein from the blood.
So if you like to drink protein shakes, you should definitely do it after your workout!
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Alcohol before training
Few of us probably reach for a bottle of beer before a workout, but alcohol should be avoided even hours before a workout. Alcohol dehydrated and deteriorates decision-making ability as well as balance.
This can be dangerous if you make decisions during training that affect your health. Typical choices include overestimating weights, running in a dangerous environment, or jumping over an obstacle that is clearly too high. -
Sweetened fruit juices before exercise
The juices you loved as a kid, or still love, are the worst choice for a pre-workout drink. The sweet drinks are usually rich in Glucose-fructose syrup, a sugar concentrate made from Cornstarch*.
The problem with this, excessive consumption of this concentrate can promote obesity, high blood pressure and gout. Keep your hands off it. Instead reach for Waterthat with fresh fruits and herbs becomes a bit more interesting. Coconut water would also be an alternative.
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Sports drinks before training
You can find them in every supermarket. But these fitness drinks usually have few healthy ingredients. Most of the time they are rather hidden Sugar bombsthat you really don't need to do to yourself before training.
Yes, if you work out a lot, you sweat a lot and need to balance your fluid intake. But isotonic drinks are a must on the "after the workout" list.For amateur athletes isotonic drinks are not really necessary, for activities of up to one hour, normal water is usually enough.
Tip: A normal apple spritzer is a cheaper isotonic drink than special fitness drinks.
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Drink soda drinks before workout
Instead of refreshing you Soda*-drinks even to a Dehydration lead. In addition, the bubbles make our belly bloated, which is really not needed during sports.
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Energy drinks before sports
Nothing against a little caffeine before the workout, that's certainly not bad. But almost all energy drinks contain way too much sugar and sweetener. In addition, there is a huge amount of caffeine in the drinks. And those artificial flavors are really anything but delicious. Right?
Energy drinks can damage your Sleep rhythm destroy. Even your healthy eating habits are then thrown overboard. -
Drink smoothies before workout
Smoothies before a workout? Not a good idea! The fruit acid and fruit sugar are really not easy for our body to process. It needs a lot of energy for this. However, we would be better off investing this energy in our workout. You can prepare a smoothie later at your leisure. Who is looking for inspiration, look here: "9 Healthy Smoothie Vitamin Bombs."
If you need a little energy kick before exercising, take a walk in the fresh air. Breathe in and out deeply and drink a glass of still water.
The best drink before training
You probably guessed it already, didn't you? The best drink is water. If that is too boring for you, you can have a Detox water make yourself. Or fill water with cucumber and a few squirts of lemon juice in the drinking bottle.
Do I need to drink during the workout?
It depends on what you have planned. If you have drunk enough before the sport, the body is quite capable of surviving up to an hour without liquid.
If you constantly reach for the water bottle during this time, you will get a water belly. So it bubbles with every movement. So it's better to fill the tanks beforehand and only drink during training if you really have to.
How much fluid do I even need in a day?
An adult consists of 50%-70% of water. With increasing age, the proportion of water becomes less and less. How much to drink a day depends on many factors: Weight, age, muscle and fat mass, outside temperature, physical activity.
The fact is, nothing works without water. But too much can also be dangerous. Normally, one should not drink more than the recommended maximum of Three liters per day. Did you know that you consume about one liter of water through food? That is, depending on the circumstances, you should drink 1-2 liters of water.
If you always drink too little, feel free to drop by our experiment: "3 liters of water every day: our self-test".
If you drink too much (7 to 10 liters per day) you can even get water intoxication. Drinking so much dilutes the blood in the body - the sodium content drops and you get even more thirsty.
Reasons why you should drink more water:
Water is a real jack of all trades and brings with it many benefits. For example:
- People who drink a lot are more efficient.
- The immune system gets better.
- Water makes the skin smoother.
Are you interested in this topic? Then check out our blog post about the "15 Reasons to Drink More Water"
My conclusion:
Drinking is important. However, if you reach for the wrong drinks before a workout, you run the risk of reducing your performance. You can always play it safe by drinking still water.
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