TikTok is full of exercise tips. One of the trends that has emerged on the social media app is the “dry extraction” of powder before a workout. These pre-workout powders are meant to be diluted in liquid — usually water or juice — and consumed minutes before hitting the gym or exercising. Is pre-workout dry gripping a good idea or should you avoid it altogether? Here’s what you need to know before reaching for the scoop.
Pre-workout powders are body building supplements that many weightlifters and bodybuilders use to boost their workout performance. Powders are advertised to increase endurance and energy during training. Technically, dry snapping wasn’t new when it appeared on TikTok. Here’s the bottom line. You should consume a dry scoop of the powder before your workout rather than taking it as directed, which involves diluting the powder with water before drinking it. Then wash the powder with water.
For the most part, people emerge from the trend unscathed. But two people had a pretty scary reaction to the dry extraction. One said he had a heart attack and the other couldn’t breathe and needed an inhaler.
Those cases are pretty alarming – so what’s going on here?
“I took a dry scoop before my workout (because) I saw it was trending on TikTok,” TikTok user Briatney Portillo captioned a photo with a rainbow clown face filter. “I ended up in the hospital because I had a heart attack.”
In an interview with BuzzFeed Portillo, 20, described a “heaviness” in her chest and a “slight pain” after trying to dry grip. But Portillo added that “it wasn’t bad” and went to work as an exotic dancer. Portillo said she “started sweating a lot” despite wearing a bikini.
Portillo developed more intense chest pain that spread to her back and arms.
“My left arm went down slightly, so I knew it was the symptoms of a heart attack. I called 911 and 911 arrived,” said Portillo.
Portillo eventually shared in the comments on TikTok that she had what’s known as a non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). NSTEMI is a partial or temporary blockage of blood flow to the heart.
“I don’t have heart problems and I was still a mess,” Portillo added.
TikTok user @bagels4everr also had a scary incident after a dry catch. In her TikTok video, they take a pre-workout on the advice of another person in the video. They take a deep breath, then take the powder like a bullet, throwing their heads back.
They take a sip of water, but begin to show that they can’t breathe, managing to get out the words “I can’t breathe” as tears pour from their eyes. They continue to belch and gasp for air while the other person looks for their inhaler. The video cuts out before they get the medical device.
Pre-workout generally refers to pre-workout supplements or powders that people take before exercising. Ingredients vary between brands.
“Powders usually contain caffeine, B vitamins, sometimes creatine,” Albert Matheny, RD, CSCSco-founder of SoHo Strength Lab, Promik Nutrition and ARENA, said Health. “Some have amino acids such as tyrosine (…). They are ingredients intended to enhance your training performance.”
So what makes people jump in and give the TikTok trend a try? Well, people may be dry pre-workout to get even more concentrated energy before they exercise to help them work longer and harder.
There are several potential problems with dry gripping before training. The first is the risk of choking, as demonstrated by @bagels4everr’s TikTok video.
“You could very easily drown in it,” Kathryn Bolling, MDsaid a primary care provider at Merci Personal Physicians in Lutherville, Md Health. Dr. Bolling added that dry extracting can also encourage dehydration, reducing the energy you’re trying to get.
There’s even a risk of pneumonia – especially aspiration pneumonia – if you accidentally inhale some of the dust. Aspiration pneumonia happens when you breathe food or drink into your respiratory system. Aspiration pneumonia can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and trouble swallowing, among other symptoms.
But one of the most significant problems is the big hit of concentrated caffeine you can get from taking dry caffeine before a workout, Dr. Boling explained. Pre-workout caffeine content varies, but some powders contain 250 milligrams of caffeine per scoop. That amount of caffeine is almost three times the amount in one cup of coffee.
Plus, those powders aren’t strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so it’s hard to know if the amount of caffeine on the label is what you’re getting.
If you’re drinking 250 milligrams of caffeine or more before a workout, “that’s a pretty big amount all at once,” Dr. Bolling said.
“Ingesting a ton of caffeine is not good for your heart,” Matheny agreed.
It’s unclear whether dry extraction would cause a full-blown heart attack in someone, especially a healthy person. Instead, Dr. Bolling said, taking it dry before a workout is more likely to exacerbate an underlying heart problem.
The bottom line on pre-workout dry powder, according to the experts: Skip it.
“Don’t do that,” Dr. Bolling reiterated.
Instead, boost your training by staying hydrated, eating healthy carbohydrates, and avoiding saturated fat and too much protein. Healthy carbohydrates include:
- Whole grains
- Whole grain toast
- Low-fat or fat-free yogurt
- Whole grain pasta
- Brown rice
- Fruit
- Vegetables
And don’t forget to properly hydrate and refuel your body after your workout. Eating carbohydrates and protein will help fuel, repair and grow your muscles.