Alcohol And Exercise

It has become the norm for numerous persons to have a few alcoholic beverages before participating in exercise.

The dual reasoning are often given that, firstly, a small amount alcohol can actually improve sporting performance, and that, secondly, any negative results of the alcohol will be more than compensated for by the benefits of the exercise.

Both these rationalisations need to be . The groundwork has indeed revealed that small amounts of alcohol do boost muscular fortitude and the output of strength, but these types of benefits are . After 20 minutes or so, the negative effects begin to surface, and these easily outweigh the .

The unfortunate dimensions of alcohol consumption include weakened strength and endurance, diminished aerobic capability, longer recovery time, a depression in the body's ability to metabolize fat, and even a retardation in muscle growth!

Alcohol also effects your central nervous system and brain. Over the long term, indulgence in alcohol consumption can cause serious deterioration of the central nervous system, but even in the short term, nerve muscle interaction is reduced, which brings about a loss of strength.

Alcohol drinking also effects the heart and circulatory system. Drinking prompts the body to reduce heat though the stimulation of the blood vessels that causes them to dilate. This is felt as a lessening in endurance capabilities. Muscles become relatively cold and consequently become slower and sluggish during muscle contractions.

It is the effect of alcohol on the blood that effects recovery time after and during sport. Regular alcohol consumption can cause life long inflammation of the muscle cells, which reduces the functionality of muscle contractions. This is experienced as increased muscle soreness after exercise, and the discovery that it takes prolonged time for the body .

Drinking alcohol can also create digestive and nutrition issues as well. Alcohol consumption starts a release of insulin in the blood that in turn rises the metabolism of glycogen, which makes fat loss far more difficult. Due to alcohol inhibiting the absorption of major nutrients, it can also lead to anemia and vitamin deficiency (especially with the B type vitamins).

As to the benefits of exercise balancing out the negative effects of alcohol consumption, it needs to be noted further that the areas of the body that most benefit from exercise and not necessarily those that are most damaged by alcohol.

The liver is the most obvious organ to be affected in alcohol poisening, as it is the liver that detoxifies alcohol. The more you drink, the harder your liver has to work, and no amount of exercise is going to directly help retore damaged liver cells.

Similarly, since alcohol is diuretic, drinking large amounts of alcohol puts a lot of stress on your kidneys as well. During diuretic action, the hormones are secreted, which leads to heightened water retention, and no one who takes their exercise seriously will want this to .

The message for athletes here is simple: if you want to drink alcohol, make sure you do it in moderation and never drink before exercise. Even a little amount of alcohol consumed before sport will almost without fail reduce the point of the exercise activity for the body as well as decreasing sporting performance.

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To find out more about the effects of alcohol and alcohol addiction, visit Alcohol And Alcohol Addiction

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