We Are Scouting Top Writers
by Erik Uuksulainen
By now, most of us have a handle on the ways we should prepare our bodies before, during and after exercise, both to improve performance and optimize recovery of muscle and connective tissue.
Too often though, we overlook the little things that can really be holding back strength and performance gains. I’m talking about alcohol here and what detrimental effects it can have on your training.
So, might you be alright with snagging a few weekend drinks with friends? Or, if you are really good with nutrition and portion control, can you sub out booze for food? And what about if you are in the cutting phase of your program, should you cut alcohol completely out for a few weeks or months?
These are the quandaries many of us face on a daily basis, so the real question is – just what does alcohol to do my body at the biochemical level and how does that impact muscle growth and performance development? Next, we will shed some light onto key issues, so you can take the information and make smart choices about when alcohol can be included in your nutritional plan.
by Erik Uuksulainen
By now, most of us have a handle on the ways we should prepare our bodies before, during and after exercise, both to improve performance and optimize recovery of muscle and connective tissue.
Too often though, we overlook the little things that can really be holding back strength and performance gains. I’m talking about alcohol here and what detrimental effects it can have on your training.
So, might you be alright with snagging a few weekend drinks with friends? Or, if you are really good with nutrition and portion control, can you sub out booze for food? And what about if you are in the cutting phase of your program, should you cut alcohol completely out for a few weeks or months?
These are the quandaries many of us face on a daily basis, so the real question is – just what does alcohol to do my body at the biochemical level and how does that impact muscle growth and performance development? Next, we will shed some light onto key issues, so you can take the information and make smart choices about when alcohol can be included in your nutritional plan.
Performance, Alcohol and Dehydration
Alcohol is a diuretic which is any compound that promotes urinary excretion, much the same as caffeinated products like teas, coffee and energy drinks. If your hydration input does not match your output when you go to the bathroom, symptoms like muscular fatigue, cramping and decreased performance begin to arise because your body is trying to buffer and hydrate tissues with water that it does not have access to. Research shows detrimental effects of power and strength output when total dehydration amounts to only 2-3% loss of total body weight. Those who workout out aggressively and with higher intensities should note that rates of serious injury increase dramatically with dehydration.
Alcohol is a diuretic which is any compound that promotes urinary excretion, much the same as caffeinated products like teas, coffee and energy drinks. If your hydration input does not match your output when you go to the bathroom, symptoms like muscular fatigue, cramping and decreased performance begin to arise because your body is trying to buffer and hydrate tissues with water that it does not have access to. Research shows detrimental effects of power and strength output when total dehydration amounts to only 2-3% loss of total body weight. Those who workout out aggressively and with higher intensities should note that rates of serious injury increase dramatically with dehydration.
Testosterone and Alcohol
Our bodies secrete chemicals naturally to help with growth, maintenance and development of various tissues and structures. Testosterone is a hormone secreted chemically by the body and a key factor in muscle development, growth and maintenance.
When alcohol is in one’s system, it negatively impacts the normal testosterone secreting process, as well as disrupts enzyme patterns necessary for testosterone synthesis. The result is lowered recovery rate, slower muscular gains and having to work harder to maintain the good gains you already have.
Our bodies secrete chemicals naturally to help with growth, maintenance and development of various tissues and structures. Testosterone is a hormone secreted chemically by the body and a key factor in muscle development, growth and maintenance.
When alcohol is in one’s system, it negatively impacts the normal testosterone secreting process, as well as disrupts enzyme patterns necessary for testosterone synthesis. The result is lowered recovery rate, slower muscular gains and having to work harder to maintain the good gains you already have.
Human Growth Hormones and Alcohol
One of the remarkable characteristics of the human body is our ability to regenerate tissues that are damaged during sleep. When our bodies are at rest, and in deep REM sleep, a substance called human growth hormone (HGH) is secreted in order to allow this process to occur. It is also aided by melatonin, another hormone that is responsible for our sleep-wake cycle.
Alcohol has been shown to be disruptive to the melatonin cycle which in turns negatively impacts the release of HGH. This means your body loses its ability to regenerate healthy tissues efficiently, which includes muscle and connective tissue. Additionally, drinking alcohol affects our natural circadian rhythm which determines the quality of sleep we receive each evening. Often, you will wake several times during the night to use the bathroom, or be aware of waking up when you turn over. All these things are detrimental to promoting adequate rest, and more importantly, adequate recovery for muscle and connective tissues.
One of the remarkable characteristics of the human body is our ability to regenerate tissues that are damaged during sleep. When our bodies are at rest, and in deep REM sleep, a substance called human growth hormone (HGH) is secreted in order to allow this process to occur. It is also aided by melatonin, another hormone that is responsible for our sleep-wake cycle.
Alcohol has been shown to be disruptive to the melatonin cycle which in turns negatively impacts the release of HGH. This means your body loses its ability to regenerate healthy tissues efficiently, which includes muscle and connective tissue. Additionally, drinking alcohol affects our natural circadian rhythm which determines the quality of sleep we receive each evening. Often, you will wake several times during the night to use the bathroom, or be aware of waking up when you turn over. All these things are detrimental to promoting adequate rest, and more importantly, adequate recovery for muscle and connective tissues.
Alcohol and Metabolism
Can drinking make you fat? The short answer is yes. The long answer is also yes. Here’s why: during digestion, there is a higher order of how your body processes and breaks down food compounds into readily available energy. But there is also a casting-cost: your body expends its own energy through digestion to extract the energy that the food contains – with the net outcome of getting more energy out from the food, than it needs to expend to obtain that energy. The end result of eating, after all, is to have more energy after the fact so you can continue to keep doing what you are doing. In general, the ease of digestion is carhobydrates, protein and lastly fats. That is because fat is itself, energy. It takes energy to break down fat (to make more energy). Your body recognizes this fact and often digests the fat last.
Now, the interesting – and hopefully mind-blowing fact here – is that your body considers alcohol to be a foreign invader that it wants no part of. In fact, when alcohol is detected by your body, it causes a rapid increase in alcohol oxidation (metabolism) until all the alcohol is cleared from body (metabolized into easier-to-manage compounds and then excreted – remember, alcohol is a diuretic).
But don’t forget, alcohol has a caloric density, meaning it also has ‘energy’ that they body can utilize – and it does. Hence, during alcohol oxidization, the alcohol is used PREFERABLY as an energy source over other substrates and can SUPRESS the oxidation of fat and, to a lesser degree, that of protein and carbohydrates.
This means your body down-regulates fat oxidation (metabolism into energy), while still utilizing protein and carbohydrate sources as well as the alcohol sources. However, as this continues, your body will begin to divert dietary fat into storage as adipose tissue (body fat) since it can obtain energy sources elsewhere.
So, individuals who consume alcohol must reduce their consumption of energy (in the form of food) from other dietary compounds in order to maintain energy balance (and hopefully not subsequent weight-gain).
Can drinking make you fat? The short answer is yes. The long answer is also yes. Here’s why: during digestion, there is a higher order of how your body processes and breaks down food compounds into readily available energy. But there is also a casting-cost: your body expends its own energy through digestion to extract the energy that the food contains – with the net outcome of getting more energy out from the food, than it needs to expend to obtain that energy. The end result of eating, after all, is to have more energy after the fact so you can continue to keep doing what you are doing. In general, the ease of digestion is carhobydrates, protein and lastly fats. That is because fat is itself, energy. It takes energy to break down fat (to make more energy). Your body recognizes this fact and often digests the fat last.
Now, the interesting – and hopefully mind-blowing fact here – is that your body considers alcohol to be a foreign invader that it wants no part of. In fact, when alcohol is detected by your body, it causes a rapid increase in alcohol oxidation (metabolism) until all the alcohol is cleared from body (metabolized into easier-to-manage compounds and then excreted – remember, alcohol is a diuretic).
But don’t forget, alcohol has a caloric density, meaning it also has ‘energy’ that they body can utilize – and it does. Hence, during alcohol oxidization, the alcohol is used PREFERABLY as an energy source over other substrates and can SUPRESS the oxidation of fat and, to a lesser degree, that of protein and carbohydrates.
This means your body down-regulates fat oxidation (metabolism into energy), while still utilizing protein and carbohydrate sources as well as the alcohol sources. However, as this continues, your body will begin to divert dietary fat into storage as adipose tissue (body fat) since it can obtain energy sources elsewhere.
So, individuals who consume alcohol must reduce their consumption of energy (in the form of food) from other dietary compounds in order to maintain energy balance (and hopefully not subsequent weight-gain).
Conclusion
Alcohol can be utilized throughout a training regimen, but it is not without risk. It has been documented that consumption of alcohol has negative impacts on testosterone secretion, melatonin and human growth hormone production; as well as performance detriments and reduced capacity for muscle and connective tissue recovery.
Depending on your sport-specific athletic goals and performance goals (weekend warrior vs. competing body builder, or Cross Fit gamer, etc.), you must find the balance that works for you so you can achieve your ultimate goals and achieve peak-performance at the right times.
For those who use alcohol recreationally, and are less-concerned than those mentioned above, it behooves you to keep moderation in mind. Simple things like consuming additional water with alcohol; eating more protein sources and dark and green leafy vegetables instead of carbohydrate-rich meals; and making it a point of getting between 6-8 hours of well-rested sleep can and will allow you reach performance goals, though in a limited capacity compared to those who reduce or remove alcohol from their diets.
References:
Coiro, V., Vescovi, P. P., 1998, Alcoholism abolishes the effects of melatonin on growth hormone secretions in humans, Neuropeptides, Vol. 32, No. 3, p. 211-214.
Emanuele, M. A., Emanuele, N., 2001, Alcohol and the Male Reproductive System, Alcohol Research and Health.
Goulet, E. D., 2012, Dehydration and endurance performance in competitive athletes, Nutr Rev, Vol 70(S), S132 – 136.
Suter, P. M., Tremblay, A., 2005, Is Alcohol Consumption A Risk Factor for Weight Gain and Obesity?, Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Vol. 42, No. 3, p. 197-227.
Alcohol can be utilized throughout a training regimen, but it is not without risk. It has been documented that consumption of alcohol has negative impacts on testosterone secretion, melatonin and human growth hormone production; as well as performance detriments and reduced capacity for muscle and connective tissue recovery.
Depending on your sport-specific athletic goals and performance goals (weekend warrior vs. competing body builder, or Cross Fit gamer, etc.), you must find the balance that works for you so you can achieve your ultimate goals and achieve peak-performance at the right times.
For those who use alcohol recreationally, and are less-concerned than those mentioned above, it behooves you to keep moderation in mind. Simple things like consuming additional water with alcohol; eating more protein sources and dark and green leafy vegetables instead of carbohydrate-rich meals; and making it a point of getting between 6-8 hours of well-rested sleep can and will allow you reach performance goals, though in a limited capacity compared to those who reduce or remove alcohol from their diets.
References:
Coiro, V., Vescovi, P. P., 1998, Alcoholism abolishes the effects of melatonin on growth hormone secretions in humans, Neuropeptides, Vol. 32, No. 3, p. 211-214.
Emanuele, M. A., Emanuele, N., 2001, Alcohol and the Male Reproductive System, Alcohol Research and Health.
Goulet, E. D., 2012, Dehydration and endurance performance in competitive athletes, Nutr Rev, Vol 70(S), S132 – 136.
Suter, P. M., Tremblay, A., 2005, Is Alcohol Consumption A Risk Factor for Weight Gain and Obesity?, Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Vol. 42, No. 3, p. 197-227.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий