Alcohol Consumption and Its Relationship with Training

Do you also enjoy a reward beer after a long bike ride? You're a bit thirsty and hungry… Why not have a drink? However, you should know how alcohol affects your body. How will it affect your recovery? And while we're at it, how does it affect your athletic performance?

The cognitive effects of alcohol are well known: it impairs coordination skills, decision-making and perception. Beyond these effects there are other impacts that alter metabolism, muscle function, thermoregulation, cardiovascular functions, and neurological functions.

Let's examine these one by one:

Increased appetite

Alcohol increases appetite, so you often eat something unhealthy along with it: pizza, chips, gyros. With regular alcohol consumption, motivation for a healthy lifestyle may gradually decrease.

Alcohol and metabolism

Alcoholic drinks contain (empty) calories that the body can use for energy, but they can also alter and slow down metabolic processes.

The calorie is "empty" because alcohol has no nutritional value, yet it provides roughly 8 calories per gram. The higher the alcohol content, the more calories it contains. These extra, unwanted calories are quickly stored in the body's fat reserves.

Alcohol impairs glycogen synthesis and cuts muscles off from that energy source. Insulin production increases, which further inhibits glycogen synthesis and storage.

Muscle function

Because glycogen sources are less available, muscles have less energy at their disposal. After drinking alcohol you will feel fatigue sooner than usual.

Furthermore, although the exact mechanism is unclear, there is a link between alcohol and calf cramps.

If that weren't enough, alcohol also hinders the intestinal absorption of many important substances, including vitamins and minerals. These nutrients support muscle function, and their deficiency reduces performance.

Tip: If you partied, replace lost fluids with still mineral water or an isotonic drink!

Fluid balance and thermoregulation

Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it increases urine production. After drinking, your body's and muscles' water content decreases almost unnoticed, causing relative dehydration.

Normally muscles contain a significant amount of water, so during dehydration muscle function efficiency declines.

You should also consider alcohol's vasodilating effect. Partly as a result, drinking is usually accompanied by nighttime sweating.

Due to increased urination and sweating, circulating blood volume drops, which increases the workload on the heart. The consequence of this higher "rpm" is a rise in core body temperature.

Cardiovascular function

Fluid loss results in lower blood pressure and higher viscosity, to which the regulatory system responds with a higher resting heart rate.

Because of the increased heart rate, you'll be more easily fatigued when training after drinking, as oxygen reaches the muscles less efficiently and, as a result, your athletic performance decreases.

If you insist on pushing yourself under these conditions, you are more likely to get injured.

Neurological function

Alcohol slows cognitive (comprehension and interpretation) abilities.

It also reduces the absorption of B vitamins, which are critically important for neurological function.

Alcohol consumption is also followed by reduced zinc absorption, which lowers immune protection.

Alcohol also leaves its mark on sleep quality: it worsens sleep, even though sleep is an important time for recovery.

If you're hungover, you'll be in a worse mood, your head and stomach will ache, and because of low spirits you'll likely skip training.

That's not necessarily a bad thing—don't train when tired and unfocused. But don't expect results with less training.

Effects of alcohol on performance

Small amounts of alcohol can have a limited positive effect on aerobic performance. But once you cross a threshold, aerobic performance drops dramatically. In an endurance sport like cycling, a small loss on the aerobic side can lead to a large drop in overall performance.

Greater performance decline occurs when thermoregulatory processes are inhibited (for example, in high ambient temperatures). Tolerance of heat increases sweating, which leads to greater fluid loss.

Because of fluid loss the heart has to work at a higher rate. Less oxygen reaches the muscles and normal blood circulation requires more energy.

Lower glycogen levels mean less energy reaches the muscles, so exhaustion sets in sooner than usual.

Alcohol and recovery

One of the worst effects of alcohol is that it disrupts the sleep cycle. It limits the time the body has for self-repair and improving brain functions. When you sleep, your body produces growth hormone (HGH), which is a powerful substance: it promotes cell growth and regeneration. Without sufficient HGH, so-called repair processes do not take place.

Under the influence of alcohol your body does not function optimally, which leads to reduced performance across the system—dehydration, impaired glycogen transport, and an overburdened circulatory system result in poor recovery.

Of course, all of this affects the following days. Because of a hangover your body is still "recovering" from alcohol's effects. If you drink a few drinks one night, it may take days for your body to recover and be ready for the next training session.

Long-term effects of alcohol

Regular alcohol consumption does not treat the liver or nervous system gently—it destroys cells at a rapid pace. Metabolism and detoxification gradually deteriorate, neural and cognitive functions decline—the habitual consumption of alcohol is a form of self-destruction. Slowly but surely it leads to breakdown and death.

Hormonal changes: estrogen and testosterone

Have you noticed that men who drink heavily often have enlarged male breasts (gynecomastia)?

Regular alcohol consumption lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen levels, which is not good news for men, since testosterone is responsible for strong muscles and muscle mass; without it, muscles begin to atrophy.

Support your body, don't damage it

Drinking alcohol is a social habit and we even like the taste. However, if you have serious sporting goals, think carefully, because even a single bout of alcohol can have a significant effect on your body, and regular drinking is even worse.

Remember, when you drink you walk a razor's edge and declining performance can break or even end your sporting career.

Have fun, but know your limits. Sport demands it.

"If alcohol hinders you at work, stop the work!" – said Manuel Scorza.

I think the opposite: don't stop your training work, stop drinking alcohol!

We are not saying you can never drink occasionally, but be aware of how it affects your body and only resume training when you have allowed time for recovery.

Source: http://www.ilovebicycling.com