Alcohol and Fitness

Sea the Stars

For those of you who take your fitness seriously, do you drink often? Do you feel it affects your training?

arybvtcw0eolkf

Sea the Stars wrote: »

For those of you who take your fitness seriously, do you drink often? Do you feel it affects your training?

Yes I take my training serious.

Yes I drink often, and a lot.

Yes I think it affects my training, so what do I do?.

When I'm preparing for a competition I go off the gargle, usually I'd know anywhere from 4 - 6 weeks away from the competition so thats when life becomes really boring.

Gaz

After a proper session there is no hope of me working out the next day. Plus the urge to fight going to the chipper is a battle i often lose.

However, in a normal week I usually only have a few pints with the lads one night a week. Once I am still strict with diet and training the rest of the week I dont believe this is any harm.

corkcomp

I dont drink anywhere near as much as I did while I was in college, which is probably why I hardly ever went to the gym then! the odd blow out is ok, even once a week but I find i cant lift ANYTHING next day while hung over so i just stick to med intensity cardio .

d'Oracle

I drink less now, because gym fees and food dig into my beer budget.

jambi

I don’t understand the mentality of people who say they are serious about their training but skull a load of pints every week. For me, alcohol is more evil than the devil itself. It affects my body and my training in ways I just can’t abide. For instance, it used to take me at least two days to feel right in myself after three drinks. So I pretty much gave up. I had a few on Stephen’s night having not previously touched a drop since August. Body was knackered after. It took a week to recover. So like I said, it affects my body and my training in ways I just can’t abide. How bout you, can you abide it?

And for those that say their life would be boring without alcohol … seriously? Just think about that for a minute! Alcohol can only paper over those cracks for so long.

ragg

Maybe some people just like going out for a drink with their mates :rolleyes:

I find that alcohol really doesn't have a huge effect on fat loss. Try and stear away from loads of beer and go for distilled drinks and diet mixers.
Wine is also better then beer.

Also, beer is full of sugar, so remember that when passing the a burger king etc.. your insulin levels will be through the roof, meaning that any thing you eat will be more likely stored as fat as a result.
So post pub junk food really is a double whammy of badness. with that said, supermacs snackbox after a feed of pints is bliss :pac:

Also, be sure to resist the urge to splurge the next day and get right back on the diet. Don't bother training the next day, unless its a bit of light cardio

corkcomp

jambi wrote: »

I don’t understand the mentality of people who say they are serious about their training but skull a load of pints every week. For me, alcohol is more evil than the devil itself. It affects my body and my training in ways I just can’t abide. For instance, it used to take me at least two days to feel right in myself after three drinks. So I pretty much gave up. I had a few on Stephen’s night having not previously touched a drop since August. Body was knackered after. It took a week to recover. So like I said, it affects my body and my training in ways I just can’t abide. How bout you, can you abide it?

And for those that say their life would be boring without alcohol … seriously? Just think about that for a minute! Alcohol can only paper over those cracks for so long.

IMO there is nothing wrong with enjoying a few drinks or copious drinks on ocasion. having said that, if I was f****d for a week after only a ew drinks then i would seriously consider never drinking again.

arybvtcw0eolkf

jambi wrote: »

I don’t understand the mentality of people who say they are serious about their training but skull a load of pints every week. For me, alcohol is more evil than the devil itself. It affects my body and my training in ways I just can’t abide. For instance, it used to take me at least two days to feel right in myself after three drinks. So I pretty much gave up. I had a few on Stephen’s night having not previously touched a drop since August. Body was knackered after. It took a week to recover. So like I said, it affects my body and my training in ways I just can’t abide. How bout you, can you abide it?

And for those that say their life would be boring without alcohol … seriously? Just think about that for a minute! Alcohol can only paper over those cracks for so long.

There's none so pure as a reformed whore!..

Not calling you a whore of course, you just remind me of the ex-smoker, the poacher turned game keeper, your the Dr.Phil success case.

And good for you, personally I love a gargle with the mate's. Then the night the competition is over I treat myself to a nice big steak and as much Carlsberg as my wallet can shift!.

Oh yea, and lol.

yop

Depends on how much drink too remember, if you have 4 or 5 pints of a weekend it wont take 1/2 as long to get rid off as a full days or 5 or 6 hours of drinking.

I have downed the amount I drink and if I haven't done a right weeks training I dont have a drink at all as I dont deserve it.
That said every 2 or 3 months after a big event I will have a good 7 or 8 pints, its a reward I give myself

jambi

Well the OP's question was if you feel drinking affects your training and if you do it often. In my case it does affect my training so I don't do it often. In my experience, frequent sessions are not conducive to enhanced fitness. If you feel otherwise I would suggest that you are floating merrily down a big river somewhere in Egypt.

J-Fit

I rarely ever drink but indulged quite considerably over Christmas. Didn't affect my training in any way whatsoever (in fact I hit some PRs) and I shouldn't be saying this because I encourage the people I train to abstain, but I think alcohol's impact on training can often be overstated. That said, everybody is different, and my diet over Christmas was generally adequate to ensure recovery. I never train hungover and always wait a day or two. Remember that a drinking session is almost like another training session (or two) in itself and requires recovery time sans the benefits. All in all, alcohol is a bad idea but is not something that you should eradicate if you genuinly like socialising with it.

Sangre

jambi wrote: »

For instance, it used to take me at least two days to feel right in myself after three drinks. So I pretty much gave up. I had a few on Stephen’s night having not previously touched a drop since August. Body was knackered after. It took a week to recover.

Jambi? More like Bambi.

G86

I only drink spirits, so the calories aren't that bad - although I know they're 'empty' and I never do the takeaway thing either.

The way I see it, I work out hard 5/6 days of the week, I don't see the harm in having a bit of craic with the odd night out here and there

token

My 2cents. If you skull a load of pints the night before a training session yeah it's going to affect you. That training session will most likely be a write off. It is for me anyway. I get most of my training done during the week though and count any weekend training as a bonus. If I drink on a Friday night I won't train Saturday and if I drink on a Saturday night I won't train Sunday. I still get at least 5 days quality training in with one night or occasionally two nights on the booze. I find it has little effect on my training then and I still progress pretty fast week to week. Unless you are playing competitive sports at a high level where every bit of an advantage you can get counts I wouldn't worry too much about it.

InKonspikuou2

The key is to not work out the day after drinking. I usually know what days i'm gonna go out on so i just adjust my sessions around that. If i know i'm going out Friday i will lift Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If i go out Thursday or Saturday It's Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I can still do cardio the next day after drinking no problem. But i wouldn't touch weights. And i mostly only drink rum and water so the effects aren't as bad as a lot of peoples.

I drink because i love the social aspect of it. Not because i am trying to fill some hole in my life. I have women for that. I don't get those high and mighty type people who think anyone who enjoys a drink with mates now and then is on a lonely road towards lostcauseville. I don't need drink to have fun. But i do have fun while drinking.

Hawk Wing

I drink 6 or 7 pints three times a week, has no effect on me. Don't go on any serious benders anymore as I just can't train after it for a few days

d'Oracle

jambi wrote: »

Well the OP's question was if you feel drinking affects your training and if you do it often. In my case it does affect my training so I don't do it often. In my experience, frequent sessions are not conducive to enhanced fitness. If you feel otherwise I would suggest that you are floating merrily down a big river somewhere in Egypt.

Sounds to me like you might have some sort of allergy.
Most people don't take a week to recover from a few drinks.
If your reaction is that severe, then your input isn't really that relevant to the general populace.

metamorphosis

I am mega steamed after 3 pints of guinness ... and i mean mega steamed. Also i have no probs going out for a night sober. Have done many a time. Usually though ill make my way through 3 pints in a night. But i do really enjoy a pint or two every now and again and sometimes a bit more if called for

The_Kew_Tour

As I have full time job I dont go out really during the week and when I do its rare I say about 10 times in year.

I do try go out on Saturday night if I can but I only go out one day at weekend and no more.

I train 4-5 times a week buring between 1000-1750 calories per session at present. I dont mind letting the hair down though on night out and dont think it ruins my training really. I drink about 6-8 pints on night out but thats about it and there are weeks when dont drink.

I think drink is overrated slightly too if im honest when it comes to fitness. Yes drinking too much has its slides of course but unless your a top pro then really few drinks per week is not going to harm you from acheiving your goals once you have good diet in place everyday.

Degsy

I drink,i train,i'm happy..

AJ STYLES

i do not drink alcool

rubadub

corkcomp wrote: »

I find i cant lift ANYTHING next day while hung over so i just stick to med intensity cardio .

Cardio is good to work off a hangover, if I cannot lift normal I can always manage negatives.

token wrote: »

If I drink on a Friday night I won't train Saturday and if I drink on a Saturday night I won't train Sunday.

I would do similar but if drinking on the friday & saturday I might go all out training on the thursday, maybe do lots of heavy negative work so I would have been unable to train the next few days anyway since I would have severe DOMs and be recovering.

itsallaboutheL

Ya i find my training has a negative effect on my drinking... especially during the summer...

corkcomp

anyone ever gone on a major piss up straight after a HEAVY weights session? three pints = absolutely twisted

InKonspikuou2

corkcomp wrote: »

anyone ever gone on a major piss up straight after a HEAVY weights session? three pints = absolutely twisted

Yeah lots of times and it usually has the opposite effect on me. I struggle to get drunk. But it does tend to increase my DOMS for some reason. Even at times when i didn't expect to have any or very little. This is more true on a Friday workout when i would have done squats and straight led DL's.

sunnyjim

corkcomp wrote: »

anyone ever gone on a major piss up straight after a HEAVY weights session? three pints = absolutely twisted

Well I can't lift very heavy, but if I put a lot of work in and then go dirnking I find that I'll hit a wall somewhere in the night and I'll just put the head down and fall asleep :eek:

jambi

I just love how defensive people get when you start talking about alcohol. I’m not attacking anyone’s right to go out and enjoy a few drinks if that is what floats your boat. But I don’t think you can claim to be truly serious about fitness if you drink frequently.

The all-too-common and utterly sad delusion that you’re not a real man unless you can drink a lot has been trotted out in various forms in this thread already. Ironically, scientific research suggests that alcohol consumption drops testosterone levels in both sexes. Lower testosterone equates to less muscle and more fat. Too much alcohol can actually make a man less of a man.

Some other points to note in relation to alcohol and fitness:
Alcohol is a highly concentrated source of ‘empty’ calories which are not converted to glycogen.
Alcohol intake creates blood sugar irregularities.
Alcohol can directly suppress various immune responses.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and can disrupt sleep patterns.

In short, the more you indulge in alcohol, the less you can say you are truly serious about your fitness.

corkcomp

jambi wrote: »

I just love how defensive people get when you start talking about alcohol. I’m not attacking anyone’s right to go out and enjoy a few drinks if that is what floats your boat. But I don’t think you can claim to be truly serious about fitness if you drink frequently.

The all-too-common and utterly sad delusion that you’re not a real man unless you can drink a lot has been trotted out in various forms in this thread already. Ironically, scientific research suggests that alcohol consumption drops testosterone levels in both sexes. Lower testosterone equates to less muscle and more fat. Too much alcohol can actually make a man less of a man.

Some other points to note in relation to alcohol and fitness:
Alcohol is a highly concentrated source of ‘empty’ calories which are not converted to glycogen.
Alcohol intake creates blood sugar irregularities.
Alcohol can directly suppress various immune responses.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and can disrupt sleep patterns.

In short, the more you indulge in alcohol, the less you can say you are truly serious about your fitness.

you appear to have issues with alcohol. the post above is like a sales pitch for the pioneers association :rolleyes:. I dont have any issues with people who dont drink, fair play to them, but there are those of us who enjoy alcohol and are also serious about fitness. Based on what you told us already, avoiding alcohol is probably the right thing to do in your case.

cardio,shoot me

i dont drink

still too young

Degsy

corkcomp wrote: »

you appear to have issues with alcohol. the post above is like a sales pitch for the pioneers association :rolleyes:. I dont have any issues with people who dont drink, fair play to them, but there are those of us who enjoy alcohol and are also serious about fitness. Based on what you told us already, avoiding alcohol is probably the right thing to do in your case.

+1
This thread isnt supposed to be preaching to people from the converted.

InKonspikuou2

jambi wrote: »

I just love how defensive people get when you start talking about alcohol. I’m not attacking anyone’s right to go out and enjoy a few drinks if that is what floats your boat. But I don’t think you can claim to be truly serious about fitness if you drink frequently.

The all-too-common and utterly sad delusion that you’re not a real man unless you can drink a lot has been trotted out in various forms in this thread already. Ironically, scientific research suggests that alcohol consumption drops testosterone levels in both sexes. Lower testosterone equates to less muscle and more fat. Too much alcohol can actually make a man less of a man.

Some other points to note in relation to alcohol and fitness:
Alcohol is a highly concentrated source of ‘empty’ calories which are not converted to glycogen.
Alcohol intake creates blood sugar irregularities.
Alcohol can directly suppress various immune responses.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and can disrupt sleep patterns.

In short, the more you indulge in alcohol, the less you can say you are truly serious about your fitness.

So if someone indulges in alcohol they are not serious about fitness? Are you for real? Is someone who has a cheat meal now and then not serious about fitness either? Call it defensive if you want but i have a right to when you put forward statements like that. Fitness has been my life for a number of years and since i started taking it 'serious' i have went from 71 kgs to over 100 kgs with a peak of 6.5% body fat. And that was during a time when i would still drink 2-3 times a week. Now it's once a week and only 2 on rare occasions. Imagine what i could have done if i was actually serious about it.

girvtheswerve

Damn those pints, I could have been Hercules!!

squod

Squod waits for study promoting alcohol as a training aid. One pint of beer may help protect against heart disease, ten pints may help you get a sexually transmitted disease.

Reckons some of the posters here need some to lower thier' blood pressure.
Oranjeboom, pints of win!

hinault

To maximise your capability, alcohol is best avoided.

Look at sports like rugby, only recently have they tuned in to the fact that alcohol and sports performance do not mix.

Alcohol adds weight too : alcohol is useless for sports/activities at the cutting edge where weight is a determinant (like professional cycling, for example)

ragg

InKonspikuou2 wrote: »

Yeah lots of times and it usually has the opposite effect on me. I struggle to get drunk. But it does tend to increase my DOMS for some reason. Even at times when i didn't expect to have any or very little. This is more true on a Friday workout when i would have done squats and straight led DL's.

Gets me absolutely locked, but yeah it Increases my DOMS no end, even after a relatively light day

MrPain

To answer the question, I take my fitness serious and I don't drink.
I don't think anyone can deny that alcohol impacts on fitness, but once it's done in relatively moderation it isn't too bad.

hinault

MrPain wrote: »

To answer the question, I take my fitness serious and I don't drink.
I don't think anyone can deny that alcohol impacts on fitness, but once it's done in relatively moderation it isn't too bad.

Alcohol provides zero benefit to sports performance - and as such alcohol should not be consumed if a person is interested in maximising sport performance.

Of course if people choose to drink then that is their own business.

trapsagenius

MrPain wrote: »

To answer the question, I take my fitness serious and I don't drink.
I don't think anyone can deny that alcohol impacts on fitness, but once it's done in relatively moderation it isn't too bad.

hinault wrote: »

Alcohol provides zero benefit to sports performance - and as such alcohol should not be consumed if a person is interested in maximising sport performance.

Of course if people choose to drink then that is their own business.

Mr.Pain never said it provided a benefit to sports performance.He said it isn't too bad.Big difference.

kevpants

I'm not serious about my fitness? Good.

Imagine getting stuck next to someone who doesn't drink because they're "serious about their fitness" at a dinner party or wedding or somesuch. Fuckin yawn.

By the time the soup arrived I'd have either slit my wrists with the butter knife or smothered the boring fecker with a bread roll.

corkcomp

kevpants wrote: »

I'm not serious about my fitness? Good.

Imagine getting stuck next to someone who doesn't drink because they're "serious about their fitness" at a dinner party or wedding or somesuch. Fuckin yawn.

By the time the soup arrived I'd have either slit my wrists with the butter knife or smothered the boring fecker with a bread roll.

id have challenged him to a duel, then decide if alcohol affects performance :pac:

celestial

Do you know I have actually NEVER read a thread on boards.ie about drinking/alcohol/the use and abuse of alcohol etc, without someone coming on preaching on the topic. The problem is, once you come out with a statement like 'you can't be serious about your fitness if you drink regularly' etc, then you're setting yourself it up for a fall. So if I can do x feat of fitness and you're impressed, and then I tell you I drink regularly, then what, I'm not serious about my fitness?

I'm actually boring myself writing this.....as kevpants said....yawn....

The_Kew_Tour

hinault wrote: »

To maximise your capability, alcohol is best avoided.

Look at sports like rugby, only recently have they tuned in to the fact that alcohol and sports performance do not mix.

Alcohol adds weight too : alcohol is useless for sports/activities at the cutting edge where weight is a determinant (like professional cycling, for example)

Your correct in your overall point but I know few of the rugby international boys and they still have there 7-8 pints mainly after a game as they need wind down. One them told me they were told to have the odd pint even.

Once you dont abuse the drink and end up hammered drunk every week your fine.

AJ STYLES

a lot of people are so weak. theres nothin to enjoy about alcohol, but the way some of u talk its like your reliant on it. like without it your not same person. 'boring' indeed

Vampireskiss

kevpants wrote: »

I'm not serious about my fitness? Good.

Imagine getting stuck next to someone who doesn't drink because they're "serious about their fitness" at a dinner party or wedding or somesuch. Fuckin yawn.

By the time the soup arrived I'd have either slit my wrists with the butter knife or smothered the boring fecker with a bread roll.

He or she might take the same view about you

d'Oracle

I think what is important now is for everyone who takes their fitness seriously and has a few drinks to completely ignore the poster who, clearly having no experience of how people with regular alcohol tolerance react to alcohol or how other people are training and developing, thinks that they have some basis for an opinion.

trapsagenius

AJ STYLES wrote: »

a lot of people are so weak. theres nothin to enjoy about alcohol, but the way some of u talk its like your reliant on it. like without it your not same person. 'boring' indeed

Oh cop the **** on will you??This isn't an alcohol bashing thread so stop preaching.Calling people 'weak' is just ridiculous.People like to have a good time-sometimes this involves drinking alcohol.I pity you for being so unbelievably narrow minded with regards alcohol and people who enjoy it.And yes, i drink but i still train hard 3 times a week.

doughef

I often get slaughtered on a Friday night and will be up training for 10 on the Saturday morning, outdoors, circuit training, sprinting, running etc.. always feel great after it..

Will do the same Saturday night and be up for 9 on Sunday for a long run..no problems,
Although if I did feel like crap after it I wouldnt bother..

P,s, I'm nearly 30, so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to get away with it :rolleyes:

corkcomp

AJ STYLES wrote: »

a lot of people are so weak. theres nothin to enjoy about alcohol, but the way some of u talk its like your reliant on it. like without it your not same person. 'boring' indeed

why is it that a lot of non drinkers have a major hang-up with people that drink? saying that "theres nothin to enjoy about alcohol" is a load of bollox. Its pretty much the same as a drinker saying to a non drinker "you are weak because you wont have a drink"

and BTW, if you took a step away from the keyboard and go out and get hammered maybe you might lighten up a bit

rubadub

AJ STYLES wrote: »

theres nothin to enjoy about alcohol,

Thats a strange one, do you honestly think nobody could enjoy drinking?

People have "appetites" for different things, be it food, sex or experiencing altered states of conciousness. People can have varying degrees of such things, some end up overweight, oversexed, junkies/alcos. I know thin people with low appetites who do not like eating particularly much, but they can certainly accept the concept that others do fully enjoy it and can overindulge, some might moan about it but I have never heard them saying that nobody could enjoy food. I expect a celibate nun could accept people enjoy sex though she may have little or no sex drive.

Many people have a deep rooted fear of altered states of conciousness, some religions would have it drilled into you and you just grow up thinking it is normal, I have only met one guy who I knew never drank (could know others who never said it), he was utterly scared of losing control under any intoxicant, he fully accepted that others liked it and never preached to anybody though.

Diabhal_Glas

AJ STYLES wrote: »

a lot of people are so weak. theres nothin to enjoy about alcohol, but the way some of u talk its like your reliant on it. like without it your not same person. 'boring' indeed

So AJ are you Strong because you resist the urge to drink alcohol?