A Glass of Wine Before Training: Are Alcohol and Sport Compatible?
Alcohol is in no way associated with sports and a healthy lifestyle. For every professional athlete, alcohol is a taboo. But what about those who study for themselves and are not going to become an Olympic champion? Indeed, almost every holiday is complete without alcohol, and so sometimes you want to relax with a glass of good wine after a hard workout.
We figured out how alcohol affects the body, what will happen if you drink before or after a workout, as well as in which cases a little portion of alcohol does not hurt at all. If you want to know your safe alcohol dose, call any addiction hotline free number.
What you need to know about alcohol
Before you drink a glass of beer or a cocktail, remember what effect alcohol has on your body. Firstly, it significantly slows down the metabolism and provokes an increase in appetite. The brain ceases to control the saturation process and because of this, we begin to overeat. And, as practice shows, often along with alcohol, we do not eat much healthy food; on the contrary, we prefer junk food. As a result, we have more body fat. That is why alcohol is contraindicated in people who are actively losing weight.
Alcohol also disrupts protein synthesis and slows down the recovery process. This significantly slows down the process of building muscle mass. In addition, alcohol practically nullifies your efforts. So combining sports and alcohol means taking a step forward and two steps back.
But still, only a few people manage to completely abandon the drinks, especially during the holidays. Let’s find out what rules you must adhere to if you want to do sports and, from time to time, allow yourself a glass of wine. However, if you notice, it’s difficult for you to resist alcohol, maybe it’s a nice idea to call an addiction helpline (AddictionResource is a site with a lot of useful information on addictions, hotlines, and rehabs).
Alcohol before training
After drinking alcohol, absolutely any physical activity is contraindicated. And there are reasons for this. First of all, the level of concentration and coordination decreases. This makes it difficult to focus on the correct implementation of the exercise. In the best case, you will simply inefficiently kill your time in the gym; in the worst – you will get a bruise or injury. Also, after drinking alcohol, the reaction slows down, which is very important for game sports: football, volleyball, tennis. Therefore, if you do not want to get the ball on the head, please do not drink before the training.
However, aerobic exercise (for example, running, swimming, ice skating, dancing, rowing) speeds up the process of removing toxic substances from the body. Therefore, after a feast, it will be very useful to go for a run or swim in the pool. Just do this not immediately but after about 3 hours. If the feast was plentiful, and you ate and drank a lot, then it is better to start practicing the next day. This, by the way, will help get rid of a hangover. For more useful facts, you can find an addiction hotline number.
Alcohol after training
After visiting the gym, some prefer to go to the bar and relax with a glass of beer. By the way, even professional athletes allow themselves to drink after exercise. For example, Fabio Capello, an ex-coach of football clubs Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus, did not allow his wards to drink juice or Coca-Cola after training, but beer was not on the list of prohibited drinks. But is it harmless?
Firstly, your liver will be subject to just a crazy load. It is responsible for the elimination of all by-products of metabolism that are formed in the body after heavy physical exertion. Now imagine in what mode it needs to work in order to get alcohol out as well. Maybe it’s better to spare it? Moreover, due to the processing of alcohol, the liver will cease to destroy lactate and turn it into glucose. And this will significantly slow down the recovery process. Because of this, you will feel muscle weakness and pain. So, if you have another workout planned for the next day, it will not bring results.
Secondly, you run the risk of getting dehydrated. During physical exertion, the body loses a large amount of fluid. Alcohol will only aggravate this condition because it has a diuretic effect. Dehydration is extremely dangerous. It leads to the disruption of the cardiovascular system.
What to do if you have a holiday planned for the evening, for example, a friend’s birthday, but you don’t want to remove the sport from your schedule? In this case, refrain from high-intensity loads. Better do something easier – yoga or swimming. After high loads, the body is weakened and you get intoxicated much faster, even if you drink a little. It is best to have 6 hours between training and drinking. Therefore, plan sports in the first half of the day.
Minor exceptions to the rule: extreme sports
Alcohol has sedative properties. Therefore, if you decide to jump with a parachute and are very nervous, you can drink a small dose of alcohol. But do not overdo it because of excitement! Otherwise, the jump will need to be canceled.
But such an extreme sport as mountaineering is completely incompatible with alcohol. A change in height puts pressure on the brain, which causes a lack of oxygen in it. Alcohol exacerbates this condition and disturbs perception. And it is life-threatening.
However, excessive passion for alcohol will not lead to anything good.
Checklist
As you can see, combining sports and alcohol is not a good idea. But from time to time you can relax. Only in this case, be sure to monitor the quality and quantity of drink. A glass of good dry wine once a week will not be harmful if you adhere to the rules that are shared in the article.
Of course, on the eve of the holidays, all the rules are forgotten, but I have a reminder for you that should be hung on the fridge or put as a wallpaper on your smartphone. Read and do not forget:
- A lot of alcohol is harmful.
- You need to give up alcohol before and after training — even a single glass.
- Excessive drinking interferes with weight loss.
- Call an addiction recovery hotline for more questions.
- You can drink a glass of wine during the holidays with pleasure and without consequences. But only if you have no health problems.
- If excessive, consider alcohol recovery programs
