People Are Eating Sour Candy Before Workouts To Get Better Results

If you’re like me, you’ve probably got a load of leftover Halloween candy just sitting in the cupboard – we didn’t get a whole lot of trick-or-treaters this year.

But according to some TikTok videos, loading up on candy before a gym workout might help you power through your gym session. While you might have your doubts, the truth is that the possibility is a giant maybe.

If you’re seeing fitness influencers on TikTok using sugary items, there’s a reason for it. According to the National Library of Medicine, sugar is a fast manner of getting glycogen, which is what your muscles require for energy production.

The fitness world has had a lot of improvements over the years, with science helping to highlight the effectiveness of pre-workout supplements, like the 2018 study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition which stated that they can help to not only improve muscular endurance but also anaerobic capacity. As a result, the workout market is expected to hit almost $24 billion by 2027.

However, this sour candy prior to a workout might be taking us back a bit to the early days of pre-workouts. In fact, some TikTok users, such as @danidarlingg, are squeezing citrus onto their sour candy and then adding some pre-workout powder to the mix as well.

Check out her TikTok below:

@danidarlingg @ghostlifestyle @sourstrips #gymtok #preworkout #candy #fitness #fitgirl #preworkoutroll #fitnesstips #gym #workout #fitnessfreak #liftheavy #fit ♬ im obsessed – حسنا🇦🇫

Meanwhile, there are others, like TikTok user @jayuanna.lenee, who find that for them, sour candy helps them lift weights. In fact, @jayuanna.lenee began to incorporate sour candy into the mix after she noticed others in her gym doing it. As she explained, “I had it today y’all, and I was lifting everything.”

Watch the TikTok below:

@jayuanna.lenee @Sour Strips go ahead and make a preworkout….I’LL BE WAITING #sourstrips #gymsnack #preworkoutsnack #midworkoutsnack #BigComfy #EasyWithAdobeExpress #gymgrwm #relatablefitness ♬ over – champangemami

This latest TikTok sour candy workout has become such a trend, that it even got BuzzFeed staff writer Christopher Hudspeth to test it out. What he found was that when he had sour candy beforehand, he managed longer workouts, was able to burn more calories, and even tracked a higher average heart rate. In the end, he concluded, “The workouts after having sour candy were undeniably better than those without!”

According to a registered dietitian and owner of a CrossFit gym in St. Louis, Kim Yawitz, there is some science behind the phenomenon. As she explained to Simplemost, “There’s some evidence that eating simple carbs (like sour candy) right before or during moderate- to high-intensity exercise can help your muscles work harder and recover faster.”

Many believe that the idea behind this is to maintain the amount of glycogen stored in muscles so that it delays the onset of muscle fatigue during a vigorous workout. In fact, if you’re working out for longer than 90 minutes, maintaining your muscle glycogen levels either through sour candy or with other forms of carbs can be beneficial.

Of course, there is the question of nutrition. Yawitz said, “Sour Patch kids have slightly more carbs and sugar than gummy bears, for example. But if you were going to try the strategy, the ideal approach would be to aim for a specific amount of carbs — often 10%-15% of daily carbs — rather than eating a serving.”

So, in conclusion, yes, sour candy can help but it’s also important not to eat too much sugar that you end up impacting your overall diet. But, if you’re like me, a balanced meal a few hours before a workout is probably the best option.

What do you think of the sour candy workout? Would you ever try it? Let us know!