Does alcohol interfere with training?

I am motivated today to share with you this article because I have observed that many people tend to neglect (and / or minimize) the effect that alcohol can have on their athletic performance! My objective is in no way to convince you to stop drinking it and even less to lead the life of a "Cistercian monk", but just to inform you of its disadvantages and disadvantages during the practice of sport and during recovery. Some will proudly tell the anecdote of their talented neighbor who can drink from 19pm to 7am and compete on a 10km one hour later… I will not judge but I will answer with a question: "What would have been the performance of said neighbor if he hadn't drunk? "

Adverse effect of alcohol on recovery:

In a study published on PLoS ONE, eight people completed a workout that included strength exercises, endurance cycling and interval cycling. Following their training, they ate one of these three meals:

  • Immediately after exercise = drink containing protein, then a meal rich in carbohydrates 2 hours after and another drink containing protein 4 hours after exercise (PRO condition).
  • Immediately after exercise = drink containing protein, then a meal rich in carbohydrates 2 hours after and another drink containing protein 4 hours after exercise + 1,5g / kg of alcohol weight (approximately 7 drinks) (Alc -Pro).
  • Immediately after exercise = drink containing carbohydrates, then a meal rich in carbohydrates 2 hours after and another drink containing carbohydrates 4 hours after exercise + 1,5g / kg of alcohol weight (approximately 7 drinks) (Alc -CHO)

Muscle biopsies were taken before training, as well as 2 and 8 hours after training.

Here is the most important graph of the study:

In the vertical, you have the speed at which the muscle fibers repair themselves, and in X, the different conditions. You will notice that in subjects consuming seven drinks, muscle synthesis (repair of muscle cells) is greatly slowed down. It is less slowed down when protein is consumed with alcohol, probably because protein digestion is slower, thus slowing its absorption.

In practice, consuming after a workout certainly does not harm recovery, but it certainly does not help! The training stimulus was quite high in the study. Also, I wondered, if for a less intense training, a smaller amount of alcohol could reduce the adaptations ...

 

author avatar
Daniel Riou General director
Managing Director of Challenge Group, Founder of Corporate Challenge and co-founder ofAltterre. I love anything related to physical activity and overall health. Holder of a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from'Laval University Various trainings by The Runner's Clinic Emergence ProgramBeauce School of Entrepreneurship National Coaching Certification Program Level 2 in Badminton National Coaching Certification Program Level 1 in Weightlifting

6 thoughts on “Does alcohol interfere with training?”

  1. 7 drinks is huge, a probably difficult awakening for me at least (So I knew instinctively that 7 drinks was not ideal for my training 😉).

    What it would be interesting to know is is the progression linear or exponential and is there a level that has little or no influence apart from abstinence.

    I raised the point in the spring when posting an article on Merrel's blog. I also made the link on another research which says that 15ml of beer is enough to trigger the release of dopamine… remains to be seen who can be satisfied with 15ml… .hahaha

    http://courseensentier.ca/Dev/content/lalcool-peut-fragiliser-les-coureurs#overlay-context=forums/discussion-g%25C3%25A9n%25C3%25A9rales

    Reply
    • I second Guest above with his very relevant question "is the progression linear or exponential and is there a level that has little or no influence ...?"

      If you have a clue, I'm interested! It probably won't make me stop having my delicious glass of red for supper (or two), but the subject is very interesting.

      Reply
      • I tried to change something to my comment and it went under guest ... finally

        I too will continue to take my weekly beers quiet, but it's interesting to know that this day may be the perfect day for rest from training :). Besides, would this alcohol have an influence on the training of the next day and the following days?

        Reply
    • 15 ml? Indeed, difficult to stop there.
      Indeed, no way with this study to know if it is linear or exponential. Probably 15ml has a totally negligible effect 😉

      Yes, 7 drinks, that heralds a difficult tomorrow.

      Reply

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