Don’t chew gum while working out you could get hurt. Ok maybe I am being an overprotective dad at the moment and 5 years ago I would have never written this article. A lot of people coming to the gym that do not have a strong background and weightlifting like to chew gum. I mean it probably soothes their mind as well as freshens their breath. Unfortunately there is a couple of reasons why you shouldn’t chew gum.
Bracing
When you are weightlifting, one key thing is to brace your belly. What this means is i take a deep breath in and squeeze my belly as if I was about to absorb a punch. The reason I do this is to protect my spine from rounding and prevents back issues. It would almost be impossible to brace while chewing gum due to the fact that holding your breathe is a big part of it. This is also called “the Valsalva maneuver”. You increase pressure in the upper half which creates tension to deadlift or squat heavy.
Choking Hazard
Ok this is definitely the dad in me, but I always hold my breathe “pun intended” when I see someone pulling or squatting heavy while chewing gum. I have never actually seen this happen but I believe it could happen. As we go to lift its possible you could swallow your gum causing you to choke. For these two reasons I don’t like people chewing gum while working out. Yes before and after is encouraged!
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