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ALCOHOL AND EXERCISE

Alcohol affects the body's ability to turn food into energy, it slows down reaction times, increases body heat loss and reduces endurance. <BR><BR>If you have alcohol 24 hours before exercising you are more likely to develop muscle cramps. <BR><BR>After exercising the body needs to be rehydrated. It's not helpful to drink alcohol as it will just continue to dehydrate the body further.<BR><BR><STRONG>What difference can a couple of drinks make</STRONG><BR><BR>What may surprise you is the number of ways the proverbial couple <BR>of drinks can affect your performance. <BR><BR>If you take your sport seriously, and like to do the best you can for yourself or your team, it's worth knowing the facts and what you can do to drink sensibly. <BR><BR><STRONG>Endurance<BR><BR></STRONG>The blood sugar your body needs for energy is produced by the liver releasing glucose into the blood stream. Alcohol reduces your body's ability to produce this sugar, so you have less energy and less endurance capac

Alcohol affects the body's ability to turn food into energy, it slows down reaction times, Increases body heat loss and reduces endurance.

If you have alcohol 24 hours before exercising you are more likely to develop muscle cramps.

After exercising the body needs to be rehydrated. It's not helpful to drink alcohol as it will just continue to dehydrate the body further.

What difference can a couple of drinks make

What may surprise you is the number of ways the proverbial couple of drinks can affect your performance.

If you take your sport seriously, and like to do the best you can for yourself or your team, it's worth knowing the facts and what you can do to drink sensibly.

Alcohol can seem like it has an advantageous effect, however, these are just perceptual effects.  Alcohol may increase your self confidence and alter perception of fatigue, but really deep down, the alcohol consumed is causing the body to dehydrate and actually lowers blood sugar levels, meaning you have less energy.  Alcohol can also cause impairments in co-ordination and balance which can inevitably lead to injury.

If you do have a drink or two 24 to 48 hours prior to physical activity, ensure that it is taken after a meal, as this will help to slow down the rate of absorption helping to reduce effects.

Alcohol is also high in calories.  On average alcoholic beverages contain 7 calories for every 1 gram.  Alcohol has often been mistaken as an energy source, and this is most definitely not the case.  Alcohol can only be metabolized by the body at a fixed rate, so has no beneficial use or nutritional value.  The high calorie count means that high volumes of alcohol consumed can lead to weight gain.

Endurance

The blood sugar your body needs for energy is produced by the liver releasing glucose into the blood stream. Alcohol reduces your body's ability to produce this sugar, so you have less energy and less endurance capacity.

Remember - if you were drinking the night before, when the time comes to really dig deep, there might not be anything there.
It is also important to remember that drinking before or during exercise can lead to injuries. Alcohol in the body can slow down the healing process leading to an increased recovery time from an injury.

Body Heat Loss

If you have ever had that feeling of running hot and cold after a big night, you'll recognise the symptom.

First, alcohol in your system makes you feel feverish, then you lose body heat too fast leading possibly to hypothermia or severe dehydration, as it affects your body’s natural temperature regulation – homeostasis – making it difficult to cool down, thus increasing the fluid you lose through sweat.

The longer you play or train, or the colder the weather, the greater the risk.

Reaction Times

The relaxant properties of alcohol can flow on into your sport even well after you've finished drinking.

Alcohol affects the central nervous system and slows down the information processing ability of the brain. This in turn affects your reactions, co-ordination, accuracy and balance - all the things most important for staying on top in any sport.

Stress Levels

Alcohol also causes increases in Cortisol levels.  Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and when this level increases, protein synthesis decreases.  This is not good because protein is needed to build muscle cells, therefore, when protein synthesis decreases, so does muscle growth.  This will eventually affect performance and the athletes’ ability to perform at an optimum level.

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