Alcohol - Is it really bad for your health and fitness?

ALCOHOL AND FITNESS
Alcohol plus health and fitness is a hot topic and even though most of us enjoy a drink here and there just exactly how influential is alcohol on your results?

Below we’ll take a look at what exactly is in your drink as well as how it affects every aspect of your health and fitness goal.

ALCOHOLIC AMOUNTS
Let’s take a look at how much exactly is in your alcoholic drinks:
1 x Pint of Guinness = 204 calories
1 x Pint of Strongbow = 187 calories
1 x Pint of Heineken = 227 calories
1 x Double Vodka and Diet Lemonade = 112 calories
1 x Double Jack Daniels and Diet Coke = 128 calories
1 x 175ml Glass of Medium White Wine = 131 calories
1 x 175ml Glass of Red Wine = 133 calories

As you can see most people rack up a fair few extra calories on a night out, especially those that drink excessively, but this is only one side effect to drinking alcohol.

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Alcohol negatively affects your ability to exercise and play sports as it impairs reaction time, balance and hand-eye coordination, all of which you require for athletic performance. Alcohol will also dehydrate you and speed up the loss of fluids which can worsen fatigue when exercising.

WEIGHT LOSS
Like soda, alcohol contains sugar and calories that can contribute to weight gain. Drinking more than two of any alcoholic beverages per day may lead to increased belly fat and overall weight gain. Avoid drinking excessively and often when weight loss is your goal.

REDUCED MUSCLE GROWTH
Excessive drinking causes a drop in testosterone levels while increasing cortisol, a hormone that destroys muscle and it also impairs protein synthesis which is vital for muscle development and growth. Avoid drinking alcohol shortly before or after hitting the gym in order to prevent muscle loss.

HEART HEALTH
When added to a healthy lifestyle, moderate alcohol consumption can be beneficial for overall health and compounds the positive effects of exercise on cardiovascular health.
As you can see alcohol can harm your fitness results and should always ben kept to a minimum and moderate and occasional drinking is always your best option.

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