apart from its various well-documented effects on health, does booze actually impede fitness?
I ask because every five or six weeks I have a rest week from training, of which I spend a good part in the pub.
It might be psychological but I swear I can feel my aerobic fitness draining away. Is that just because boozing make you tired and sluggish? Or is there something physiological going on too?
Last edited by ZootHornRollo; 22-03-2011 at 04:40 PM.
Good OP Zed
I've never been to the pub less than I do now, or had so few hangovers. I feel better for it. There's a boozy culture in fell running (which is one of the reasons I love it) but I feel better for drinking less and training more than I have in the past :closed:
Poacher turned game-keeper
dehydration will affect performance in the short term; alcohol is a diuretic - it makes you pee.
liver function - excessive consumption will cause acute inflammation and in the long term sclerosis. The liver is a major centre of metabolic processes around energy release / storage.
Effect on sleep - if alcohol disturbs your sleep (it does mine) then that disrupts recovery. (related to human growth hormone)
Plenty of physiology going on, all depends on degree.
If you abstain for 5 - 6 weeks then hit the pub, this will be disruptive .
if you ran one week in 6 you wouldn't expect to be very fit (at handling running)
if you booze one week in six you won't be very fit for that (at handling the booze) and it will have more impact.
Last edited by andy k; 22-03-2011 at 05:14 PM.
same here.Originally Posted by Derby Tup
And I really feel it now if I have a boozy week. It also tends to weaken my resolve too, I think.
Well. As a long time advocate of boozing and running, I say:
Aerobic fitness fades quickly any way and it comes back just as quickly once you start training again. As for the booze, it depends what you drink and how much and how late you stay up.
I'm a personal fan of real ale (which is why I brew about 10 gallons a month). Even when running seriously my normal daily intake was 2 or 3 pints as a part of my diet. I once had a tee-total season in 1981, I think, and I didn't enjoy it or get any fitter. Plenty of studies show beer is ideal for re-hydration and contains electrolytes, calories and a number of vitamins. For me it's an ideal way of recovering from a long run or race. It's also ideal to consume in a social setting.
There's a couple of previous threads about this, as usual.
PS. Beer isn't a diuretic because it's not strong enough, it is about 95% water. You'll find plenty of US sites that say it is, but then they still haven't got over Prohibition.. Wine and spirits are, though. And the hops are a soporific (hence hop pillows), works for me.
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Last edited by Brotherton Lad; 22-03-2011 at 05:38 PM.
music to my ears that BL.
I guess that 'session ale' isn't too bad. Red wine or Belgian beer probably aren't the best recovery drinks (well not in terms of hydration anyway)
Poacher turned game-keeper
Also perhaps an age thing. I can't recover from a session like I used to. Think my partying days are over but boy did I use to party!!!
I have to admit to nowadays being a sad old cow that likes to just have a couple of glasses of wine and get to bed early, otherwise I'm useless for days.
I like my real ale, I must admit, but probably drink less now than I have for ages.
A bloke ran past me up Otley Chevin a few weeks back, as I huffed and puffed my way up. I asked him what he'd been taking, and he replied...
..."Guinness". Mebbe he had something there, as I know a few walky types who always drink a pint or two of the black stuff after a hard walk.
It's a good excuse, anyway!
The P&B lads are good at both.
Holmesy and Jebby can do a drop too.
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