How To Boost Your Energy For Workouts
Should You Take Energy Pills for Working Out?
Everyone experiences slumps in their energy once in awhile. Late nights, stressful days, too much food and drink and not exercising enough or eating a healthy diet are all reasons why we might find it difficult to keep going during a long day – or have the energy for a morning or evening workout.
It’s tempting to pop a pill for energy when there are so many pills out there that promise boosts to your energy level. But these energy supplements can be harmful to your health – and could even cause death if you have a medical condition or don’t take them as directed.
Some of the side effects of taking energy pills before a workout include the following:
Increase of heart rate – If you engage in a good workout, your heart rate is going to rise anyway. Add that scenario to taking energy pills before the workout and you have the potential for a disaster.
If you have a history of heart problems or high blood pressure you could be putting yourself at risk for a heart attack or stroke when you take energy supplements before a workout. You may not know that you have these problems until it’s too late.
Severe headaches – Energy pills – especially those with loads of caffeine – are known to cause severe headaches. Headaches are likely to occur when the caffeine is wearing off and your adrenalin levels decrease.
Many people are more susceptible to caffeine headaches than others, but it’s still not a good idea to take energy pills that are loaded with caffeine just before working out. You may suffer for the rest of the day or evening.
Mood swings – Energy supplements can cause drastic mood swings that range from feeling like you could climb Mount Everest to irritability and depression so severe that you can’t function.
You may easily become dependent on the energy pills to keep you from crashing after one dose, and dependency on any type of drug can lead to problems that are difficult to deal with.
Sleep disorders – Insomnia and other sleep disorders might occur with prolonged use of energy pills. If you ever suffer from sleeplessness after drinking a cup of coffee in the evening, you’ll likely have the same reaction after taking energy pills.
You may be unknowingly sabotaging the reason for exercising in the first place – to pursue or maintain a healthy lifestyle when you take energy pills for a boost of energy before working out.
Rather than taking energy pills for a quick boost before a workout, try the natural way of eating some energy-boosting foods, such as peanut butter, an apple or string cheese. You’ll get a natural high and feel much better after the workout.
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