Well, This Is Awkward

Too embarrassed to ask the instructor why you made that sound during a particularly gruelling downward dog? Be afraid no more. We have all the answers…

- Amelia Jean Jones

You’re mid-workout and your body is doing something. Something weird. You look around – nobody else’s body is doing that. What’s up with yours? You want to know, but there’s no way you’re going to tap the gym instructor on the shoulder to find out. So instead you stay silent, persevere, then go home feeling ashamed for not just asking. Well, save your blushes: we’ve left our pride behind and asked the experts everything you really want to know.

When I do cardio it makes me queasy – am I really that unfit?

Good news: this has nothing to do with fitness levels. ‘Highintensity exercise can cause blood flow and oxygen to be diverted from the stomach to the muscles,’ says UK trainer Ciara Madden. ‘This shift can cause nausea at the start of your workout.’

THE SOLUTION: Warm up well, raise your heart rate slowly and avoid eating one to two hours, and drinking 10 minutes, before exercise. Feel funny afterwards? ‘This might be due to the natural fall in blood pressure that occurs after stopping exercise,’ says Dr John Etherington, president of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK. Warm down slowly.

Why do I have a wet patch there? Is it really sweat?