Booze and sports seem to go so well together - for a long time the “done” thing was to have a few beers after the game and wind down, this is certainly something I did EVERY weekend when I was playing. I can even remember a drinking game we played around the boardroom table - running around it 8 times and then downing a beer, and continually doing this until one of us fell over - it was the most ridiculous game thinking back now. (As you can see in the attached picture I’m sponsored by Tennants - although we did just win the Irish League - so it was allowed LOL).
I don’t think tradition will ever be broken, and I don’t think its the end of the world if you do - its good for team bonding, and great memories. But if this is something you continually do week in week out after matches just how is them hampering your recovery.
Alcohol and Recovery: The Research
In a recent study sport scientists tested the effects of alcohol on rugby players to see what kind of effects it would have on recovery, as well as physical and cognitive performance. To test this out, the researchers had the players down the equivalent of about 7 shots of vodka in orange juice after a game vs a placebo group. As you can imagine, the results were not too good. Now, it’s pretty obvious that 7 drinks will likely leave you feeling like crap the next day, but what’s interesting in this research is to see what happens on a muscle recovery level and why that is.
We already know that after a workout your body craves an anabolic state to take advantage of the rest and nutrients you feed it so that it can grow bigger, stronger (exercise dependant) and generally recover. We also know that this anabolic state is a fragile balancing act and that just a few things here and there can make it tip on the wrong side and seriously compromise your gains or recovery.
Within this anabolic state, there are two things that happen on a hormonal level that are extremely important: your testosterone-to-cortisol ratio, and your testosterone-to-estrogen ratio. This is where booze hurts on pretty much every level. Even just a few drinks is enough to throw this balance off by raising both cortisol and estrogen, which in turn hinders the possibility for gains because your anabolic potential went down the drain.
“MOOBS” and a Decrease in Strength?
Other research has shown that even 2-3 drinks can boost cortisol and warp you out of that favorable hormonal state; this is far from ideal if you want to recover from a workout and grow or recover. And if you do this over and over again, the hormonal shift will be more and more apparent and you may end up shopping at Victoria’s Secret to find support for your glorious, newly found man boobs. To prevent that from happening, you want to keep these ratios favoring testosterone—moderating your alcohol intake is a good place to start.
Furthermore, not only can alcohol prevent you from recovering from the workout you just did, it will also compromise your next workout(s). Alcohol can cause a decrease in strength and cognitive performance that can last several days, due in part to its diuretic effect. So it’s easy to screw up a week’s worth of training with one night of boozing. In fact, certain studies have shown that a 1-3% drop in water can cause 10-20% decrease in strength!!!!! Alarming when you really think about it.
That means that if you’re 5 lbs lighter on Monday morning than you were on Friday because of alcohol-related dehydration, your max bench of 225 could be down to under 200. This is something I’ve seen before in the gym, and its quite easy to tell those who have had a heavy weekend - sluggish, strength down and generally not firing on all cylinders - and thus the session can become “lets just get through this” , as opposed to a session where you learn and progress.
If you want to maximal results, you can’t let the effects of alcohol cast a cloud on your training all week long, even if it’s from just one drinking session - think about it !
My Thoughts On Drinking
We should all be able to live our life and have fun (and live it the way we choose and not be judged by others), so having a few glasses of wine, or even the occasional night getting out of hand is fine (we’ve all done it - and I’m sure we all will again), but keep an eye out on the big picture to stay on top of your training and your results. If you do decide to have a few drinks, make sure to stay hydrated throughout the night, I think the hydration aspect is the most important element.
In the end it does come down to personal choice, but I know that most of you are serious about your health and your bodies and don’t want to waste any time; that’s why looking at how your alcohol intake affects your training is something I think you should do. I’m not saying you have to quit drinking completely if you like to enjoy the occasional beer / wine / buckfast, - but looking at the big picture here can allow you to find out strategically on what days you can allow yourself a drink or two, and on what days you shouldn’t.
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