Importance of fresh air when working out

Importance of fresh air when working out With the climate growing colder and the days growing shorter, people that workout are going to switch to working out indoors rather than outdoors for a better exercise. Gyms offer people with a long range of machines including treadmills, weights, rowing machines, and a warmer environment as compared to the cold and dark set-up outdoors. The gym workout can help you sweat as good as any outdoor workout. However, the indoor workout has a number of drawbacks.

A latest study published in research journal “Building and the Environment” looked at this question.

The researchers from Portugal’s University of Lisbon and Technical University Delft from Holland tried to test this question and its deliverables. They did so by checking various gyms within Lisbon. The gyms have a similar architecture like the ones in the US, with a main room for weights based machines and other comparatively smaller rooms for aerobics and yoga.

The researchers were given permission by eleven gymnasiums to install monitors for air quality. These were installed in the weight rooms as well as the smaller rooms. These machines measured pollution in the air for two hours when the gym was heavily crowded i.e. the late afternoon and evening. These machines gauged air pollution based on the content of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, dust, formaldehyde and other chemicals that might arise from carpeting, paint or cleaning products.

The researchers got very disturbing results when they checked the monitors. It was found that the air had high levels of formaldehyde and dust. Meanwhile, the carbon dioxide content in the air was way beyond indoor air quality standards. These levels were the highest during the evening workout when people were packed into small rooms. These people stirred up dust and inhaled large amounts of carbon dioxide in their breath. The biggest concerns though, were formaldehyde and the dust particles as the constant exposure to these components have been known to cause a number of respiratory conditions including asthma.

The pollution in the air should be the main concern for people in the buildings that they regularly visit.

However, the concern should rise even more in fitness centers, where they breathe heavily. Hence, to avoid this issue, it is best that you avoid going to the gym at busy times. It would be even better if you can wear a couple extra layers and manage a sweat outdoors in these cold nights.

Related Article: http://www.researchomatic.com/New-Research/Problems-Caused-by-Air-Pollution-155157.html