These days, a workout feels incomplete without a cell phone. Whether you’re following a workout app or plugged into your favorite Spotify playlist, there’s a good chance your iPhone is resting on the treadmill or tucked away in a pocket.
However, a new study published in the journal Performance Enhancement & Health reveals how your cell phone could actually be inhibiting your workout.
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The study followed 45 college students and found that texting during a workout impacted the balance of participants by 45 percent compared to not using a phone at all. Talking on the phone impacted balance as well, but not as much — only 19 percent.
Those numbers are pretty significant — not just because the intensity of your workout would suffer, but also because using a cell phone can put you more at risk for injury.
“It could lead to you possibly falling off the treadmill, or if you’re walking outside, falling off a curb and rolling your ankle or tearing your ACL,” lead author of the study Michael Rebold told Time.
The findings make sense; take another study published last year that found that people who texted during a 20-minute workout spent at least 10 minutes at a lower intensity and only seven minutes at full intensity.
Bottom line? If you’re making the effort to work out, don’t sabotage yourself by texting through it. Bring your phone and best playlist to crush your workout, and save the texts for later.
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