To drink or not to drink? That is the question. Or really is it a question? Getting to where you want to be takes commitment not only from attending the gym, but also sticking to your diet goals. There is no harm having 'just the one' every now and again, or better yet, a low calorie version: gin/vodka as an example. However, now that the weather has been warmer, people are frequently leaving the gym, their exercise, or their sport in search for a relaxing pint or two with their friends. Socially, this is not wrong at all, however, we need to educate ourselves on the effects of what this does specifically post exercise. In short, drinking alcohol post exercise should be avoided; it effectively ruins the work you did in the gym (the time too) and slows down all recovery processes.
Fatigue and recovery following exercise:
High intensity exercise such as: running, jumping, tackling, or lifting weights will create create temporary muscle damage and soreness. If the exercise is of long enough duration, the fuel stored in our muscles for energy (glycogen) can become depleted too.
In a hot or humid environment (particularly the summer), the body also loses a large amount of fluid from sweating, reducing the blood volume (which is important for getting oxygen around to all our muscles and organs), and electrolyte stores (important for muscle contraction). The body is in a state of dysfunction and repair after vigorous sport and exercise. Athletic qualities such as strength, power and endurance can be depleted for several days after an intense workout. This can be improved with appropriate and timely nutrition and hydration.
The consumption of alcohol directly after exercise will worsen all of the major aspects to recovery:
It slows down the repairing process by inhibiting hormones (such as testosterone).
If you have a small injury it can worsen due to alcohol opens up the blood vessel, which could induce further swelling.
If you drink too much, the next day you may be hungover and the day is considered as a 'write off'.
Consumption can lead to a decrease in sleep duration and quality of said sleep. This most likely will influence your mood of the following day where you may opt to skip things or rely on more napping.
With poor sleep, impaired muscle repair, energy restoration and delayed rehydration, it’s not surprising drinking alcohol immediately after exercise significantly impairs recovery of both strength and power in the following days. And we can assume the impact of a hangover on a training session would also be dire.
When it comes to nutrition, you're less likely to eat something healthy along with your drink and often will go for fried or salty foods. This indirectly slows down the restoration of energy in the muscle.
Alcohol is also a diuretic, something which promotes fluid loss which will lead to dehydration and a stop of normal bodily functions.
Finally, on nutrition, it is generally highly calorie-dense with very little nutritional value (empty calories its commonly known as).
What should we drink after exercise?
So now that we have discussed some vital impairments due to alcohol consumption, let's talk about what should we drink.
It is recommended to ingest a mixture of carbohydrate, protein and electrolyte immediately after exercise to speed up the recovery process. For example, protein shakes, sports drinks, and chocolate milk have both been demonstrated to assist muscle repair and rehydration. Sports drinks are fine if you have done very high intensity work, but should be kept on the more sparing side (outside of athletes), and generally I would not recommend to people aiming for weight loss.
A combination of plain water and foods containing these nutrients would also do the trick, but ingestion of large amounts of plain water on its own does not aid muscle repair, and without the addition of electrolytes, much of this water can not be stored in the body.
So, before you pick up that pint post exercise, consider the thought: is it really worth it?