Tip of the Month -- Sept. 2005

Performance Consequences of Alcohol Consumption

Many athletes easily rationalize the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the context of celebration, team-building, and acceptability amongst their peers.  At the same time, these individuals choose to minimize the consequences of the behavior with the belief that they can “run it off” the next day.

Alcohol is a drug and when consumed in large amounts can be toxic.  When a competitive athlete consumes alcohol during the course of training, following a victory, or an evening or two before competition, the body’s ability to recover fully, to train effectively, and to compete optimally is compromised.

Injuries

Alcohol consumption lengthens recovery time from injury.  Alcohol can cause vasodilation, which may impair recovery and repair processes.  This can be counterproductive to icing an injury or taking anti-inflammatory medications to reduce inflammation.  Consumption of alcoholic beverages should be avoided for at least 24-36 hours after sport or exercise induced muscle damage or injury.

Reaction Time

Hangovers reduce performance by 11%.  Regardless of what an athlete thinks, “sleeping” or “running” off nausea or a hangover will continue to compromise recovery and performance prospects by further sacrificing carbohydrate and fluid intake and good nutrition behaviors.  Reaction time is significantly reduced for up to 72 hours following alcohol consumption.  Since collegiate sports rely on fine motor skill coordination, it is clear that drinking alcohol will compromise performance.

Hydration

Alcohol increases urine losses.  The resulting dehydration can reduce endurance capacity.  Within 4 hours of drinking alcohol, fluid losses can account for as much as 3% of an individual’s body weight.  Just a 2% decrease in body weight due to fluid losses can impair endurance performance by 22%

Recovery

Drinking alcohol interferes with muscle recovery following exercise training or a competitive event.  Endurance athletes must refuel with carbohydrates immediately after training and competition, as well as during the next 4 to 12 hours post exercise.  This means consuming a carbohydrate based sports drink or snack immediately, followed by carbohydrate rich meals. 

Nutrition

• Alcohol consumption compromises carbohydrate metabolism and glycogen replenishment.  Both of these processes are essential to optimal training and performance.
• Chronic glycogen depletion is the endurance athlete’s worst enemy.  While one might be able to survive a season in this state, the outcome can be devastating during regional playoffs and national championships when events are more tightly scheduled and back-to-back events are common.
• Athletes who are drunk are unlikely to eat or drink in accordance with recommended sports nutrition guidelines because it is not a priority.  Meeting carbohydrates goals should be central to an elite athlete’s training and recovery nutrition.  Unfortunately, most athletes fail to eat sufficient fuel replacement foods when drinking alcohol.

Contrary to popular belief, alcoholic beverages ARE NOT ideal rehydration beverages and DO NOT provide a significant source of carbohydrate.

During training and the competitive season, athletes SHOULD NOT consume alcoholic beverages.