OUR POST-WORKOUT HABITS STINK

Ever since we were plunged into lockdown thanks to COVID-19, people have been getting their workout fix from their living room with online exercise classes and free dance lessons.

And while it’s great to see so many people have been able to maintain their exercise routine or start a completely new one, working out at home has caused some of us to adopt a not-so-healthy habit: Skipping the post-workout shower.

According to a survey by Uk-based business Showerstoyou.co.uk, 93 per cent of people complete a home workout at least once a week, but a whopping 73 per cent of fitness buffs avoid the shower for as long as they can.

Forty-three per cent of respondents also admitted they don’t change out of their workout gear until hours after their sweat session, and 18 per cent don’t make it to the shower at all.

Guilty of at least one of these postworkout habits? As you can see, you’re not alone, but that doesn’t make it okay.

Not only will your sweat start to smell if you don’t shower within an hour or two of working out, bacteria, fungus and yeast can start to multiply as well. In the short-term, this can lead to a pungent odour, and in the long-term experts say it can lead to skin irritation like heat rashes as well as aggravate existing skin conditions like eczema.

“Think you don’t need to shower because you don’t stink? Wrong,” says Shoshana Eisner, pharmacist and founder of QED Skincare.

“Firstly, if you sweated at all (even if it has evaporated already and you are no longer sweaty), you will have a fine coating of electrolytes and potential toxins all over your body,” she says.

If you regularly skip a post-workout rinse, you also run the risk of clogging the pores on your face and body with sweat and bacterial overgrowth, which can lead to a whole bunch of skin woes, says Eisner.