This Is Why You Fart In The Gym | Men's Health Magazine Australia

Here’s Why Going To The Gym Makes You So Gassy

We previously found out that eating big and training hard can make your farts smell like death. But there’s another reason why your gym-related activities are making you gassy as hell. 

Speaking to Health, gastroenterologist Peyton Berookim explains that any sort of exercise can make your body pass wind.

“Any exercises that involve physical bending or twisting can cause the air in our digestive tract to be literally pushed out,” says Berookim.

Unfortunately, no modes of exercise are off limits. Anything from pilates to cycling to yoga or weights – anything where you find yourself compressing the intestines. If you’re gunning for that six-pack, there’s a good chance that ab workout will cause a bit of backroom breeze. 

RELATED: 6 Reasons You Can’t Stop Farting

Berookim also adds that strength athletes use a breathing technique called the Valsalva manoeuvre to get that extra bit of energy out. And if that extra air doesn’t come out of the mouth, chances are it’s coming out the rear end. 

“This way of breathing is most common in exercises that involve pushing, hinging, and squatting, so powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters might notice more gas being expressed,” she continues. 

It’s not just your movements that will play a role. If you’re not efficiently breathing during exercise, chances are you’ll let one fly. 

“An individual’s inability to inhale and exhale properly can cause flatulence at a higher rate,” exercise Physiologist Jim White told Health.

RELATED: Feeling Gassy? Here Are 5 Tips To Keep Your Wind At Bay

White suggests that breathing rapidly causes excess air to end up in the stomach and intestines and there’s only one way out. If you want to limit your flatulence, White recommends breathing through your nose and out your mouth.    

Need to plug up the hole? White advises a combination of banana and peanut butter as a pre-workout snack, giving you a good amount of protein and fat. 

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