{"id":2030,"date":"2025-03-01T19:50:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T19:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/is-it-risky-to-dry-scoop-pre-workout.html"},"modified":"2025-03-01T19:50:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T19:50:23","slug":"is-it-risky-to-dry-scoop-pre-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/is-it-risky-to-dry-scoop-pre-workout.html","title":{"rendered":"Is It Risky to Dry Scoop Pre-Workout?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDry scooping\u201d is a trend made popular by social media influencers in which you consume a dry scoop of pre-workout\u00a0\u2014 straight-up. (You can also dry scoop\u00a0protein powder, but that\u2019s not as common.) Instead of mixing the powder with water, you put it directly in your mouth and then drink a\u00a0little\u00a0water to wash it down. Before you try this at home, know that this trend is downright dangerous.<\/p>\n

So even if you\u2019re tempted to give it a try \u2014 please don\u2019t. Read on to learn what can happen if you \u201cdry scoop\u201d pre-workout instead of mixing it with water like the instructions recommend.<\/p>\n

Why Are People Dry Scooping?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

More people than ever are dry scooping because it\u2019s gained popularity on social media.<\/p>\n

One study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that video demonstrations of dry scooping on TikTok have gained\u00a0more than eight million views. When researchers looked at 100 videos posted under #preworkout on TikTok,\u00a0they found that only eight percent showed people taking pre-workout as directed by the instructions.<\/p>\n

But people who follow the fitness community on Instagram know that dry scooping has been around for a while. Popular \u201cfit-stagrammers\u201d have posted videos of them dry scooping pre-workout before exercising.<\/p>\n

How Dangerous Is Dry Scooping?<\/h2>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Trying to dry scoop pre-workout powder carries serious risks. When you take these dietary supplements as a powder instead of mixing them with water, \u201cthey can, and likely will, be inhaled directly into the lungs,\u201d warns\u00a0John R. Windle, MD, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at University of Nebraska.<\/p>\n

Unlike certain medications formulated to absorb through the lungs, \u201cpowders carry a lot of additional substances that are not absorbed,\u201d Windle explains. These additional substances \u201ccan cause dangerous bronchospasm (asthma) and potentially permanent lung damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201ccinnamon challenge,\u201d which saw people on social media attempting to ingest dry spoonfuls of cinnamon, had similar risks.<\/p>\n

Windle wants to put that risk into perspective, though. \u201cLike with everything, quantity matters,\u201d he says. He explains that you don\u2019t need to see a doctor if you accidentally inhale some powder as it lingers in the air \u201cunless you start wheezing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if you attempt to take a dry scoop of pre-workout and inhale while doing it, you should call poison control or seek medical attention.<\/p>\n

Even if nothing life-threatening happens, coughing on pre-workout is a surefire way to derail any workout and kill your mojo for the day. (It\u2019s also a guaranteed way to end up going viral at the gym for all the wrong reasons!)<\/p>\n

Too much caffeine can be dangerous<\/h3>\n

\"Rows<\/p>\n

One of the most significant risks of dry scooping is what Windle calls the \u201cmore must be better\u201d mentality. Many people in these videos consumed more than one level scoop of pre-workout. With caffeine, \u201cthere is a graded response,\u201d Windle explains. At lower amounts, it can make you feel\u00a0more focused and energized, but the other side of that spectrum where you\u2019re taking in large doses \u201cends in toxicity or overdose.\u201d<\/p>\n

To put it in more practical terms, the more caffeine you take, the higher your risk of experiencing side effects. And the side effects of caffeine get more severe at higher doses. Mild side effects include jitteriness, facial flushing, muscle twitches, irritability, anxiety, and restlessness. But \u201cexcessive caffeine\u00a0can lead to heart attacks and dangerous heart rhythms,\u201d Windle adds.<\/p>\n

But even the mild side effects mean you may have taken too much. Pre-workout\u00a0should make you feel focused\u00a0and ready to tackle the workout ahead of you (and sometimes a little tingly from the\u00a0beta-alanine). If you have too much caffeine, it can detract from your focus during exercise.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also no guarantee with most supplements (more on those exceptions later) that the caffeine content listed on the label is what\u2019s actually inside the supplement. One study on the caffeine content of different pre-workout powders found that the actual amount in each supplement\u00a0ranged from\u00a059% to 176% of the amount listed on the label.<\/p>\n

This discrepancy is especially dangerous for people taking more than one scoop of these supplements, since they can\u2019t know if they purchased a pre-workout with more caffeine than it claims.<\/p>\n

Dry scooping has no benefits<\/h3>\n

Besides being dangerous (and isn\u2019t that enough?), Windle explains that \u201cthere is absolutely no benefit to dry scooping.\u201d That\u2019s because the contents of pre-workout are absorbed in solution, whether that\u2019s stomach acids or water. So you\u2019re adding risks to your pre-workout routine without any potential benefit.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Best Way to Take a Pre-Workout Supplement?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Start by buying pre-workout from a brand you can trust. If you\u2019re sensitive to caffeine, that means you may want to\u00a0start with half a scoop\u00a0of pre-workout no matter which brand you try. Building in this trial period gives you some leeway if there\u2019s more caffeine in the pre-workout than the label claims. You can gauge its effects at a half-scoop to see if that\u2019s plenty for your needs.<\/p>\n

You may also want to try a new pre-workout for a morning workout not an evening one. No matter what time of day you take it, you should take pre-workout\u00a030 to 45 minutes before\u00a0starting your workout.<\/p>\n

But once you\u2019ve found a brand you can trust \u2014 which, ideally, contains the most effective ingredients for pre-workout\u00a0supplements \u2014 and given it a trial period, follow the instructions on how and when to take it. If the label says to mix it with water, do so. You can cut down the amount of water if the liquid is too much to take in before exercise, but you still need to dilute it with water.<\/p>\n

If you want to make your pre-workout more portable, Beachbody Performance Energize \u2014 which is Informed Sport certified and contains no synthetic colors or artificial sweeteners or flavors \u2014 comes in single-serving packets that you can take on the go.<\/p>\n

Or you can use it to whip up a batch of homemade pre-workout gummies. They only require 15 minutes of prep time and provide perfectly portioned pieces of energy so you can simply grab a serving and get ready to work.<\/p>\n

Above all, no matter which pre-workout you take, always follow the instructions!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDry scooping\u201d is a trend made popular by social media influencers in which you consume a dry scoop of pre-workout\u00a0\u2014 straight-up. (You can also dry scoop\u00a0protein powder, but that\u2019s not as common.) Instead of mixing the powder with water, you put it directly in your mouth and then drink a\u00a0little\u00a0water to wash it down. Before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[82,130,131,138],"class_list":["post-2030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-energize","tag-nutrition","tag-nutrition-facts","tag-pre-workout"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}