How does alcohol really affect your fitness?

While we’ve been busy doing more at-home workouts, more baking and putting in more video calls with family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s another thing many of us have been doing more of – drinking.

You’ve probably seen the figures: while retail sales overall have plummeted, sales of alcohol in the USA are up across the board. The same goes for the UK, Canada, Australia, and beyond.

It’s no secret that alcohol has an effect on our weight loss goals. But what are the implications of this apparent spike in alcohol consumption on our fitness and physical performance? With so many of us embarking on a new fitness journey during this time, are we undoing all of our hard work if we’re enjoying an extra few drinks each week?

We turned to Advanced Sports Dietitian Lisa Middleton to talk us through what a tipple can mean for your training.

1. The big one – reduced muscle building

The main concern for athletes and anyone training to improve their fitness when it comes to drinking? “Even small amounts of alcohol can have an impact on muscle protein synthesis,” says Lisa.

In fact, alcohol can suppress your body’s entire anabolic (building) response – reducing testosterone, increasing cortisol, and decreasing muscle protein synthesis by a third. That means there’s a big old roadblock in your body’s process of repairing and building muscle – and it can last for 2-3 days. “Not ideal if you are trying to improve strength, functional fitness and gain muscle mass,” says Lisa.

2. A higher risk of injury

As we all know, alcohol can also impair judgment, “putting you at greater risk of injury and thus reducing your training time,” says Lisa.

3. The wrong kind of hydration

“Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it causes your body to produce urine,” says Lisa. “And if you don’t replace all that sodium and water you’re expelling, you become dehydrated.” This impairs your body’s ability to regulate heat, meaning you tire more easily during workouts, and can cause muscle cramps.

4. Inflammation impacts your recovery

Alcohol is a vasodilator, which means it dilates or opens your blood vessels. “This can make post-exercise inflammation worse and impair soft tissue repair, impacting your recovery,” says Lisa.