Nausea after exercise is a somewhat common negative side effect, but it is easy to avoid in many cases. What causes nausea when working out, and what to do about it?
Some days when we feel low on energy, reducing our chances of feeling terrible afterward can make all the difference.
Start and end exercising too abruptly
You should warm-up and cool down before and after a workout to stretch muscles and ease your heart rate in and out of the target zones to avoid injury.
Like our muscles and joints, our organs can feel shocked by abruptly starting physical activity like our muscles and joints. Always start at a slower pace and make sure to cool down.
Eat and drink before a workout.
Nausea also occurs during exercise because blood flow to the GI tract and abdomen is redirected to the muscles we work on, thus slowing down digestion and causing discomfort.
If you eat within two hours of exercise, the reduction in the flow to the GI tract can increase the feeling of nausea or dizziness caused by dehydration, which often leads to sickness but becomes ill.
Avoiding eating right before exercise is something most people know how to do. But foods high in fat and protein can take twice as long to digest as more easily digestible foods, such as toast or bananas, making them more likely to cause nausea.
You will not overeat before a workout, no matter the food, but foods that are easier to digest will be better. Try to eat about two to three hours before you start.
Too much water dilutes your electrolyte levels, causing hyponatremia, low blood sodium levels. And you guessed it: this can cause nausea.
Do not drink abnormally large amounts of water before exercising, and choose foods easy to digest before you start exercising.
Type of training
Particularly intense or bouncy workouts, such as running, are more likely to cause nausea.
Anything that is still in your stomach and is digested while you exercise will be pushed around (and more as your exercise intensity increases).
You can also consider replacing your current workout with something that will bounce around less. For example, replace the elliptical trainer with running or indoor cycling with Zumba. Also, if you have not had much fluid with what you ate, take small sips of water to see if it helps.
Exercising in the heat
Heat makes us sweat, which can be a great way to detox and help us feel like we’ve had a challenging workout. However, it can also cause intense dehydration and low blood pressure, reducing blood supply.
Also, slow down here and there to recover a bit and cool down. If you alternate it with increasing intensity, your workout may be similar to a HIIT workout or high-intensity interval training, which burns more calories than staying at a single pace all the time.
Hard training
Whether you have just started or are training six times a week, train at your level, you should push yourself to reach a new level, but do it carefully.
Pushing yourself too far beyond your limits can lead to all kinds of problems, including injuries and strains on muscles and joints.
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