Have you been noticing a decline in your gym performance? If so, alcohol might be to blame. As it turns out, alcohol can result in some poor exercise results. That’s why it’s important to understand the relationship between alcohol and fitness. That way, you can begin to make some potentially needed changes…
Poor Exercise: How Does Alcohol Contribute?
Bad performance
Alcohol can contribute to having a bad performance at the gym, and in turn some poor exercise. Alcohol works as a sedative, which is why it tends to have such a “relaxing” effect. However, these effects can linger even after you’ve finished drinking. As a result, your performance at the gym can suffer.
Alcohol tends to lower a person’s reaction time, judgement, and hand-eye coordination. All three of those are important parts of ensuring your workout is safe and productive. That’s why it’s a good idea to avoid any drinks before you plan on hitting the gym.
Impede weight loss
Another example of how alcohol can lead to poor exercise is how it relates to weight loss. Alcohol contains what is considered to be “empty calories”. These calories provide little to no real nutritional value, and combined with how easy they are to get, they can add up very fast.
Therefore, a lot of drinking will get in the way of your weight loss goals. All of those empty calories will end up preventing you from getting the results you want. Plus, they won’t give you the right energy for your workout. Therefore, it’s a good strategy to cut out alcohol if you want to lose weight.
Dehydrate faster
Dehydration and fatigue go hand-in-hand for resulting in poor exercise. If you don’t keep your fluid intake up while working out, then you’ll quickly end up dehydrated and fatigue will continue to set in. However, alcohol also can have a similar effect and result in you having to cut your workout short.
Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on the body. As a result, it’ll make your body lose water even faster when you work out. Combine this with potential hangover symptoms that can also come from alcohol dehydration, and your workouts will be very limited.
