this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
15 points (100.0% liked)

Fitness

3979 readers
21 users here now

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

How much does drinking after a workout affect recovery and growth?

top 4 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] djquadratic@kbin.social 19 points 1 year ago

probably not great - alcohol is a toxin and puts the body under stress to process it. Putting additional stress and strain on the body will hamper recovery. A review article from 2010 I found after a quick google said this

A significant body of literature has established an array of adverse symptoms caused by acute alcohol ingestion. However the notion that alcohol consumption effects performance has not received enough consistent validation to advance beyond being anecdotal

really all this says is that there isn't a strong body of evidence (according to this article) showing negative effects of alcohol on recovery - but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

another review article from 2019 had this to say in the discussion

Only cortisol levels seem to be increased, conversely testosterone, plasma amino acids, and rates of muscle protein synthesis decreased

and

The general findings therefore highlight that muscle function is not altered by alcohol consumption following exercise bouts, however the altered endocrinological asset regarding cortisol and testosterone and the consequent suppressed rates of muscular protein synthesis and reduced circulating levels of amino acids, suggest that long-term muscular adaptations could be impaired

effectively saying that alcohol itself doesn't directly impact recovery or hypertrophy - but downstream effects of alcohol on hormone levels can have a negative impact

but it also comes down to how much you're drinking, and the reasons for drinking. If its like 1-2 drinks per week, that's going to be a much smaller impact than if its a 1-2 drinks every evening to wind down.

[–] hydration9806@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

Another way to look at it is alcohols impact on sleep, which is vital to recover and growth. According to Dr. Matthew Walker (a sleep scientist and author of the popular book Sleep), even one drink of alcohol can interrupt healthy sleep patterns. Alcohol gives a sedation like effect instead of allowing for proper sleep cycles.

[–] messem10@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don’t drink, but you light want to look at cyclists. Drinking after a ride seems to be a pretty common thing for them.

[–] djquadratic@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

huh interesting. I didn't know that.

I'd imagine that you lose a lot of fluid after a ride, and drinking alcohol, which is a diuretic - wouldn't be too helpful though.