Guest post by Alain Gonzalez of Muscle Monsters
"Although exercise clears up acne in some cases, sometimes it can actually make your acne worse. Alain Gonzalez, ICF fighter, (as shown in this video) and a personal friend of mine, wanted to share with you his thoughts regarding this issue. "
Are you breaking out due to working out? There could be numerous reasons why this is happening. It would take me days to come up with every little detail on all the causes, heck, it could even be possible that your breakouts have nothing to do with exercise.
With that being said, I have put together what I feel to be the top 5 reasons you are breaking out from working out. If your acne is caused by exercise related activity, chances are it is due to one of these five reasons. I have also included a few ways to fix the problem.
#1 Moisture - Sweat
One of the top causes of acne from exercise is moisture. Staying in your sweaty gym clothes for too long can be a huge issue. The best route to go is to shower immediately after your workout and change into fresh clothing. If it is not possible to shower right away, keep a change of clean clothing with you for after. Take a towel and wipe yourself down before getting into the dry clothes. To see more tips, check out how to get rid of back acne!
#2 Gym equipment
Let’s face it, as much as we are concerned about our skin, the gym could possibly be the worse place for it. Although most gyms provide some sort of disinfectant spray to wipe down the equipment, only about 20 percent of people use them. Say someone has just finished their chest routine on the bench 5 minutes ago, the bench is now free and you (like most people) assume that it is clean. You start your routine and the sweat and bacteria from the person before you and your own sweat and bacteria mix; it ends up all over your back and causes breakouts. The best way to avoid this is to wipe down the machine prior to using it in case someone before has forgotten to. Also, I recommend bringing a clean towel to lay over the equipment to avoid too much contact with the equipment.
#3 Make-up (women)
If you are a women (or man) who wears makeup, I really suggest that you wash it off before or directly after your workout. A lot of the cosmetics that are used will actually clog your pores which will result in acne breakouts. The mixture of sweat and pore clogging cosmetics earns the number 3 spot in my top 5 reasons you are breaking out from working out.
#4 Supplements
You may have noticed that you had acne breakouts while taking some sort of muscle building supplement. Does this mean this product causes acne? Not necessarily, it just means that this is one of the side effects that your body had to this particular product. In this case, there is no way to avoid the breakouts except for to completely stopping the supplement. In some cases, the acne can be a small price to pay, in others, not so much. This will be totally up to you to decide. I recommend stopping the supplement and trying something different to see if the problem continues. If so, ask yourself this; are the results from the product worth a small (or large) acne breakout?
Also, if you are taking a protein powder, most people use milk to mix it. Milk has been known to cause acne in some people. If you are breaking out from a protein powder that you mix with milk, I would say replace the milk with water before completely giving up on it.
#5 Vigorous workouts
While working out plays a big part of living a healthy lifestyle, it has been know to cause acne for some people who perform vigorous workouts. This type of exercise stimulates oil production. The oil combined with heat, perspiration, and friction can aggravate pre existing acne. One thing you can do if you must workout vigorously is help yourself to a swim following your workout. This will eliminate heat, perspiration, and friction. Another thing you can do is make sure to shower in cool water following your workout.
All in all
Even though there are a few things about working out that may cause acne, there are simple solutions. In reality, exercise is very beneficial when battling acne breakouts. The main cause of acne is stress; exercise may very well be the best solution to stress. Less stress equals less acne (in some cases). If you are having breakouts due to any of the items listed above, I hope I was able to help you find a simple solution.
Alain Gonzalez is the writer for MuscleMonsters.Com , a health and fitness site targeted to hardgainers, weight lifting, weight loss, and mixed martial arts conditioning.
8 comments:
Hey taylor, long time no talk. Hope all is well.
Oh BTW, have you checked out the book? Its at www.weightgaintruth.com
How can working out possibly CAUSE acne?
Working out is good for you! Its bad hygeine that might possibly follow a workout that would be the cause, surely?!
How to Remove Pimples
working out is one of the best but it is always advisable to choose a hardgainer supplement which combines and works with the natural hormones of your body to help you reach your goal.
I always had acne but when I started using powder thts when the acne started to get worse
Good stuff, this will definitely help guys who suffer from bad acne.
I think that this article definitely has a point that these 5 factors due aggravate acne if you already have acne. But that being said, working out doesn't necessarily cause acne. I've had acne for many years, tried many things, and have naturally cleared my acne through hard work, proper nutrition, and care for my body.
I've also started an acne consultation website and have consulted many people about how to clear their acne successfully.
And what I've found is that working out doesn't necessarily cause acne. It's how you incorporate into your life that's important. When you work out and take too much protein, it can clog and slow down your body and system. It's important to recognize the right kind and the right amount of protein. Generally, sweat and the gym machines which are external factors can aggravate your acne if you already have an acne problem.
However, if you clear up your acne from the inside of your body, you'll never have to worry about sweat and make up causing your acne. This is because if you have acne, then acne can be influenced by sweat, make up, and working out, but if you clear your acne naturally, you usually don't have to worry about any of these and can work out as you please.
That's why some people work out all the time, never wash their faces, and still DO NOT break out.
Thanks for the advice. Greatly appreciated
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