Can I Drink And Reach My Fitness Goals?
You had a great week of training, getting in all the workouts you had planned. You ate tons of nutritious food. You got tons of restful sleep. You prioritized self-care in all the best ways. Then you get the invite to a friend’s place for drinks and you enjoy one or two. Maybe one or two turns into three or four. Did you just undo all your hard work? Sabotage your fitness goals?
Let me start by saying I’m not much of a binary thinker. Not when it comes to training. Not when it comes to nutrition. Not when it comes to human behavior. I believe there is a lot of grey area in the world and we have to be critical thinkers willing to take responsibility for our actions.
So I’ll present the information and leave the decision making to you!
Alcohol and Resistance Training
The good news is… research exists! With anything there are limitations to results you get from a lab, even if the research is conducted with human subjects. In the case of alcohol and exercise, it seems that much of the existing literature is limited to previously trained individuals, which may only apply to you if you are relatively consistent with exercise. But we can make educated assumptions.
Alcohol consumed after resistance training sessions appears to elevate levels of cortisol (stress hormone) and impair muscle protein synthesis. Honestly these are big when we consider many people are exercising to build muscle and strength, i.e. the role of muscle protein synthesis. And raised cortisol impairs recovery where all the benefits of training happen. But we’ll talk a little bit more about that in the next section.
On the flip side, alcohol consumed after exercise doesn’t appear to affect things like force production, power, lactate accumulation, or soreness. It should also be noted that these effects are dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed. Research conducted on mice measured protein synthesis with a considerable amount of alcohol. Exactly how this compares to human beings is unclear.
It’s also worth noting that timing may make a difference. Alcohol consumed within a few hours of finishing a workout can be detrimental, particularly as it relates to protein synthesis again. Drinks consumed more than 4 hours later or on a rest day may have little to no impact on physiological adaptation.
Alcohol and Recovery
When it comes to recovery, alcohol is shown to disrupt sleep, impair cognitive function, and acts as a diuretic (it dehydrates you, hence the hangover). Poor sleep has been linked to slower reaction time, slower walking, and decreased grip strength while impaired cognitive function affects motor performance and neuromuscular adaptation or our ability to get better at exercises. Adequate hydration is imperative for tissue health, maintaining blood volume and cardiovascular function, regulating body temperature, and actually creating the energy (ATP) needed for your body to move! And don’t forget the elevated cortisol, which keeps us from reaping the benefits of parasympathetic nervous activity, the good stuff we need to help our body relax and recover. Again, the amount of alcohol consumed and the time relative to your workout will impact the effect it has on your ability to recover but it feels safe to say it is likely not the go to post-workout shake.
Alcohol and Nutrition
Alcohol contains calories, or the unit of energy our bodies use to function. In other posts, I’ve spent time on nutrients and how some foods are more nutrient dense, or pack a more powerful health punch. Well, alcohol is NOT nutrient dense. While there has been much said of the heart healthy benefits of antioxidants found in red wine (there is not enough evidence for the American Heart Association to recommend consuming moderate amounts of red wine to improve heart health), most alcohol could be considered “empty” calories, lacking any real nourishing benefits. Now, I am very serious when I say, I don’t believe nutrition is all about calories. The role of food AND alcohol in our lives is more nuanced and relates to our emotions, our relationships, and our family traditions. Limiting your decisions about alcohol to their nutritional value may be unrealistic though it is worth remembering that alcohol consumption can impact body composition and body weight.
So what’s the answer?
Well, I said early on, I wouldn’t have that for you. This is going to have to be a choice you make. It is important to note that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to liver and pancreas disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, certain types of cancer, stroke, and accidents. Alcohol can also be addictive. In terms of exercise, it appears moderate alcohol consumption outside of the immediate post workout window will likely leave all your gainz unchanged. But just remember that safety and drinking responsibly should always be of the utmost importance.
