I know this probably falls under the "duh" category, but it goes beyond the dangers of combining TRX Incline Presses with keg stands. Alcohol as a profound effect on your body, more than just making you feel a little tipsy (or all out sloshed drunk). Now I'm not advocating an all out beer strike, but if you are going for optimal physical conditioning or trying to trim that waistline, it is good to know the effect one drink has so you can determine if you are willing to make that sacrifice.
In this article, Joe Kita of Core Performance highlights 6 effects even moderate consumption of alcohol (one to two 12 ounce beers a day) can cause.
* * *
Sometimes we want to believe that something is good for us even when
we know it’s really not. Take alcohol, for instance. All the press
about how a daily nip can prevent heart disease has convinced many
people that it’s beneficial overall. But as I’m learning during this
month’s One Small Change experiment
in which I’ve significantly reduced my alcohol intake, there’s a lot
more to consider than just heart health. Athletes need to weigh the
effects of alcohol on fitness and performance. And here, I’m sorry to
say, the evidence is almost entirely negative.
Danielle LaFata,
M.A., R.D., C.S.S.D., a performance nutritionist with Athletes’
Performance in Phoenix, Arizona, recently prepared a report listing
some ways in which alcohol can thwart training and competition. Keep in
mind as you read this that she’s not talking about alcoholics. Just one
or two 12-ounce beers, 5 to 10 ounces of wine or 1 to 2 shots of hard
liquor (mixed drinks) nightly can cause these effects, as can regularly
binging on weekends. Here’s the bar menu:
1. Interferes with deep, restorative REM sleep.
While alcohol can make you sleepy initially, it should never be used
as a sedative because it disrupts your sleep cycles, especially REM.
This stage is particularly important to athletes because it’s when you
consolidate and commit to long-term memory what you learned during the
day. So if you’ve taken a golf lesson, for instance, getting good REM
sleep will help ensure that your mind and muscles assimilate the new
technique.
2. Wrings the body of water and nutrients.
You already know that alcohol is a potent diuretic and that without
adequate fluid your system is like an engine without oil. But what you
may not realize is that in all that pee are lots of water-soluble vitamins and minerals that your muscles need for balance and performance. For athletes, the dehydrating effects of alcohol carry a double punch.
3. Disrupts the muscle-building process.
Reaching for a beer to reward yourself after a hard workout is one
of the dumbest things you can do if your goal is to add lean mass.
Alcohol is a bully in the body. It pushes aside protein, carbohydrate
and other nutrients, which muscles need for recovery and growth, as it
demands to be metabolized first. It always takes precedence. This
deprives your post-exercise body of what it needs most and, thereby,
sabotages improvement.
4. Spikes the production of cortisol.
This is the body’s stress hormone. Think of it as the alarm that
triggers a gazillion little firemen to take off through your system.
The longer these guys are on the scene, the more havoc they wreak,
namely impairing thinking, raising blood pressure, decreasing bone
density and muscle tissue, and increasing abdominal fat.
5. Depresses the immune system.
Alcohol and, subsequently, cortisol also handcuffs our body’s
T-cells, which are activated when germs, a virus or another invader
enters the body. This means you’re not only more likely to get sick and
lose training time if you drink, but injuries will also take longer to heal.
6. Impairs reaction time long after consumption.
It takes roughly one hour for each drink to be metabolized and leave
your system. But since you’re also becoming dehydrated, losing
nutrients, interfering with muscle-protein synthesis, disrupting sleep
and doing everything else we mentioned, your body will be hung over
long after the buzz fades and the cobwebs in your head clear. One study
out of New Zealand detected negative performance effects up to 60 hours
post-binge.
So what does all this mean? Have we quaffed our last Coors? As
LaFata points out, it really comes down to how serious you are about
seeing results from your training. If you have a big race coming up,
then it’s probably smart to avoid drinking 48 hours prior. If your goal
is to lose weight, pack on muscle
and finally put an end to people offering you part-time Santa jobs,
then it’s probably wise to stop rewarding yourself with hi-balls
post-exercise. Instead, rehydrate and refuel first. Then, later that
night, if you want to toast your progress, do so in moderation, if at
all.
Joe Kita is a noted writer, editor, motivational speaker and teacher.
He authors the blog "One Small Change" for CorePerformance.com.