Training and alcohol ?

[Eric Cohen]

I just try to keep in mind that most the people I know who drink in excess will look worse for wear when they're 40, than I'll probably be if I continue to stay dedicated to my training.

[Philip Chubb]

I have heard that one night of social drinking can lead to hormonal imbalances for the next 8-10 days. Still researching it for myself but I stay far from alcohol since it doesn't affect my body or training in a positive manner.

[Andrew Long]

i think a big thing is to ask yourself "why do i want to drink or need to drink?"  id go into my story but its the same old story 13-22 average drink a week was 3-5 bottles of spirits to myself.  basically though i asked myself this question and realised how pointless it was for me to drink as i could still easily hang out with my friends while they drank and i dont need alcohol to have a good time. i also have a few friends now who arent such big party people anymore as well.  water really is the best tasting drink  out there in my opnion and it makes you feel good where as alcohol interfers with training and really doesnt make you feel good.  if you feel like you have to drink then you need to think about making some changes i think.

[James Hall]

 I would be interested to know if B vitamin supplementation would help the non drinker at all too.

I'm not so sure. From a medical perspective, clinical vit b deficiencies ( definitely b12 deficiency) as far as im aware only occur in alcoholics as the carb content of grog is their main/only calorie intake. In our modern diets I reckon you'd see an over supply particularly in heavy meat eaters. Niacin, riboflavin (b something) are critical in aerobic energy production so theoretically are in all plant and animal matter. Importantly their derivatives NAD+ and FAD+ are energy transporters and are recycled. From memory they are vitamins because we can't make them but that doesn't mean that they require supplementation. The CNS being so metabolically active is most affected by vit b deficiencies such as beriberi (b1 deficiency). In your case David your symptoms are likely related to poor iron uptake from low b12 amongst others. If your male or female without pernicious anaemia and non-alcoholic then to generalise to the b group as a whole the you're unlikely to be deficient. A quick google search showed that severe deficiencies result in severe neurological symptoms I.e. depression, anxiety. If your on a balanced diet then these are more likely to result from other factors.

The question (to be answered by someone else) then is whether supplementation is effective for those who aren't deficient?

[Larry Roseman]

Not to mention that alcohol inhibits recovery. If it wasn't for that, and the morning after zonkiness, I'd probably indulge more.

Nothing cited here but an interesting read http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/41581/health/alcohol_and_muscles.html

I also find that the main problem of having more than a few is the feeling of malaise and lethargy the next day.

Not the level of a hangover but still a drag. However, if I drink a lot of water at the same time, or shortly after

drinking it helps a lot to minimize it. Since alcohol is a powerful diuretic, this simply stands to reason. 

 

Most of the horrible things in the article relate to excessive and/or long-term consumption of the product.

Still, I don't like to have more than 1 drink an hour for a few hours ... a few times a month. 

[Klaudius Petrulis]

Yup. Just had a glass of red wine. Followed by a bottle of water. We'll see how I feel tomorrow!

For science!

[Klaudius Petrulis]

Sleep was less than subpar, but could be due to a few conditions. Anyway, glad I'm not training today. Maybe I'll just fool around with the rings later on.

So my expired mint shows that if you want to be at the top of your game, don't drink alcohol.

[Peter Sbirakos]

Sleep was less than subpar, but could be due to a few conditions. Anyway, glad I'm not training today. Maybe I'll just fool around with the rings later on.

So my expired mint shows that if you want to be at the top of your game, don't drink alcohol.

Yep, alcohol ain't no ergogenic aid!

Actually, I think in the first Modern Olympics in 1896, the Marathon runners were given wine to hydrate during their run. And I'm pretty sure in earlier times perhaps during war or gladiatorial contests even right up to the modern era, man partakes of the odd brewesky or two in order refresh themselves. But that doesn't mean we should follow our ancestors.

[Sailor Venus]

I don't know if Coach Sommers approves alcohol comsumption. Alcohol and GST don't go together in my opinion. It would dangerous for me to mount the balance beam with a hangover!