Workout worries: Healthy ways to hit the gym and avoid harmful chemicals

A cardio or yoga class or some weightlifting can be great for kicking off a healthier new year and new you. But common products used before, during and after you work out may expose you to an array of harmful substances. 

You could be consuming chemicals of concern in pre-workout drinks. They can also lurk in the sprays and wipes used to clean weightlifting and cardio machines, other equipment and even your post-workout protein bar or shake.

But you shouldn’t have to worry about chemical exposure during sprints on the treadmill, your deadlifts or during yoga. 

With a few simple lifestyle changes and the help of our free, searchable databases of consumer products and their health harms, you can significantly lower your exposure to toxic chemicals when you work out. The information can safeguard you against harmful exposures, particularly as potential efforts to roll back protections intensify.

Everyone deserves protection from hazardous substances – whether that’s at one of the 90,000-plus gyms in the U.S. or anywhere else. EWG is committed to providing information that empowers people to protect against harmful exposures and help them live safer, healthier lives.

Check what you consume

The idea of a healthy diet extends to your fitness life, so watch what you eat and drink before and after the gym.

Energy drinks and similar pre-workout beverages are popular and can help put a little pep in your step. But they can contain heavy metals, traces of pesticides, phthalates, the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS and other potentially harmful substances, as Mamavation reported after testing 11 chocolate protein powders.

Or you may discover other problematic ingredients in these products, as highlighted on Food Scores, EWG’s free searchable database that rates more than 80,000 food and drink items on nutrition, ingredient and processing concerns. 

Some sports drinks and drink mixes rate poorly on Food Scores. This includes brands made with the ingredient “flavor,” which can refer to a concoction of undisclosed chemicals tied to health harms.

Post-workout refreshments aren’t much better. Check protein shakes and bars in Food Scores, since some rate 5 or worse. That’s because of problematic ingredients, most prominently Red Dye No. 3, a food chemical that makes food and drink more vibrant. It has no nutritional value and has been linked to cancer and, for children in particular, behavioral problems.

Because of these risks, EWG is urging the Biden administration in its last few weeks to quickly ban Red 3 in food.

Concerns about cleaning

In many gyms, patrons use disinfectant wipes or spray to clean surfaces – a bench, yoga mat, weights or cardio machine – either before or after they’re used. That spritz might seem like a great health precaution – but the opposite may be true.

For a disinfectant to work as intended, it must be left wet on a surface for a minute or several. But that doesn’t always happen at the gym. Someone may use a piece of lifting equipment or mat just seconds after someone else has wiped it down.

The overuse of wipe and spray disinfectants can even contribute to antimicrobial resistance, which prevents bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses from defeating the chemicals that target them.

Many disinfectants rate F – the lowest score – in EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which scores cleaning products on the basis of risks associated with their ingredients and formulations. Some name-brand disinfectant sprays contain chemicals that may worsen skin allergies and irritation, asthma and other health concerns. Watch out for sodium hypochlorite, or bleach, as well as common quat groups, including didecyldimethylammonium chloride and alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.

If you’d like to wipe down your equipment, use a small towel from home or paper towel, without any sprays.

Protecting your skin

It’s also a good idea to think twice about what you put on your body before and after a trip to the gym. 

New research finds that fitness wristbands and smartwatches might contain high levels of PFAS, raising questions about exposure risks from skin contact with the bands.

And problematic chemicals, such as undisclosed “fragrance” and benzene contamination, tied to health harms can also be found in some brands of antiperspirants and deodorants. 

If you ache after lifting weights or trying a particularly demanding yoga pose and want to reach for a muscle or joint soreness product, check the ingredients. Several products used for treating joint soreness contain propylparaben, which can act as a potential endocrine disruptor. They rate 6 or worse in Skin Deep®, EWG’s free, searchable database of personal care products and their ingredients and potential health harms.

And ditch the waterproof cosmetics, like mascara, you may want to apply before hitting your favorite exercise class. In general, any cosmetic whose label states “long-lasting” or “24 hour coverage” may well contain PFAS. That’s likely to change in coming years, when California’s PFAS-Free Beauty Act goes into effect, in 2025. It will likely influence products around the country, not just in the Golden State. 

In Skin Deep and the Guide to Healthy Cleaning, look for low-hazard products and those bearing the EWG Verified® mark, which signals it has been reviewed by our scientists and found to be made according to our strictest health standards and formulated without EWG’s chemicals of concern, and manufactured with full transparency. 

On the go, use EWG’s Healthy Living app to find out what may lurk in the products you use, both when you exercise and for your other daily routines.