Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights_ - Alex Hutchinson [64]
However, “moderate” in this case was 1 gram of ethanol per kilogram of body weight, corresponding to about 6.5 bottles of 5-percent-alcohol beer for the subjects, who had an average weight of 193 pounds (87.6 kilograms). “When you look at how much athletes are reported to drink in the scientific literature, this is actually a moderate dose,” says Matthew Barnes, a researcher at Massey University and the lead author of the study. “This is not just in New Zealand but in the majority of Westernized countries where contact team sports are played.”
Sure enough, researchers have recorded some fairly prodigious feats of drinking by athletes—Barnes points to one study of rugby players in which post-match consumption reached as high as 38 units of alcohol, or 22 bottles of beer. Since most people are dealing with smaller quantities, Barnes ran a follow-up study that cut the dose in half, to 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight. The results, published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, offer good news: he found no difference at all in recovery between the alcohol and orange juice groups.
He and his colleagues are now conducting further experiments that suggest the higher dose of alcohol may affect the central nervous system rather than the muscles themselves, weakening the signals sent from the brain to the muscles. However, it’s possible that there are also changes in the muscles, or in the levels of hormones like cortisol and testosterone.
Two other key factors affect how well you recover after a workout-booze combo, Barnes says: rehydration, and refilling your carbohydrate stores. Drinks containing more than about 4 percent alcohol have a diuretic effect; drinking a standard shot of hard alcohol will make you expel four times that much urine. The solution here is simple: drink a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have during the evening.
In order to recover properly after a workout, replenishing your energy stores during the two hours following exercise is crucial. Some animal studies have suggested that alcohol can directly hinder your ability to restore carbohydrate levels, but these results remain disputed. However, problems definitely arise if the calories you consume from alcohol displace more functional calories. A 2003 study of Australian cyclists found that simply adding alcohol to a post-workout meal didn’t change the amount of carbohydrate stored. But if the alcohol replaced some of the calories in the post-workout meal, carbohydrate stores were 50 percent lower after eight hours, and still lower 24 hours later.
Overall, these studies fit with the prevailing wisdom that one or two drinks a night won’t have any negative effects on your health and performance. Indeed, light to moderate drinkers appear to have 20 to 40 percent lower risk of heart disease, among other reported benefits. But if you’ve arranged a big night out with a group of Kiwi rugby players, you might want to schedule a fairly light workout for that day—or at least, don’t expect to set any personal bests in the days that follow.
CHEAT SHEET: INJURIES AND RECOVERY
• “RICE” (rest, ice, compression, elevation) is important immediately after soft-tissue injury, but after acute swelling has passed switch to “MICE” (mobilization, ice, compression, elevation) to avoid scar tissue build-up.
• Ice baths may help speed recovery from muscle soreness, using bouts lasting at least five minutes and temperature of 50°F (10°C).
• Heat packs can loosen tight or injured muscles, but only if they’re near the surface. Use heat before exercise to aid warm-up, not after.
• Massage doesn’t flush away lactic acid but may speed recovery from muscle soreness. Use a practitioner