Alcohol and Exercise (not at the same time)

EMc8800
EMc8800 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Firstly this is to people who do like a tipple 🤔

Two questions:

How do you maintain your motivation the day after a few drinks?

How do you find it impacts on your exercise of choice?

Replies

  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited August 2021
    Drinking does not affect my motivation or ability to exercise.
  • YellowD0gs
    YellowD0gs Posts: 693 Member
    I get off work, go to the gym, come home and get ready to cook dinner. I find grilling goes better with a cold one or two. Could be discipline, could be routine, but the latter doesn't affect the former.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    EMc8800 wrote: »
    Firstly this is to people who do like a tipple 🤔

    Two questions:

    How do you maintain your motivation the day after a few drinks?

    How do you find it impacts on your exercise of choice?

    One glass of wine and I am fine the next day, but if I have a hangover - forget about it. This will mean I didn't sleep well and my hunger hormones are all out of whack.

    As a general rule I use discipline rather than motivation to get me to exercise, but lack both when I'm hungover/sleep deprived.
  • sarah7591
    sarah7591 Posts: 415 Member
    Two or more glasees of wine and I lose all motivation. Also get hungover VERY easily as I am older (63). I also don't sleep well and tend to binge eat when I have had a few. I usually only have a few once a week so it works out ok.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    At this point exercise is a habit and firmly part of my routine, I don't need to be "motivated" to do it any more than I need to be "motivated" to brush my teeth or go to work.

    I don't drink to the point of being hungover anymore, either - I don't like hangovers (find me someone who does though tbf). I also have found that I only enjoy being drunk for like, ten minutes, before I'm just dizzy and sleepy and not having fun anymore, so it's rarely worth drinking that much. I consume alcoholic beverages mostly because I like the taste of them, at this point; I might get a little buzzed but I haven't been proper drunk in years. Like, I'll enjoy a craft beer with dinner, or maybe a (small, measured) glass of something nice for dessert if I've got space in the budget for it. I'm a fan of gin and scotch, mostly. Not together, of course, that would be gross. Just, those are my spirits of choice, if it's a liquor kind of night.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    goal06082021 wrote: »
    At this point exercise is a habit and firmly part of my routine, I don't need to be "motivated" to do it any more than I need to be "motivated" to brush my teeth or go to work.

    I don't drink to the point of being hungover anymore, either - I don't like hangovers (find me someone who does though tbf). I also have found that I only enjoy being drunk for like, ten minutes, before I'm just dizzy and sleepy and not having fun anymore, so it's rarely worth drinking that much. I consume alcoholic beverages mostly because I like the taste of them, at this point; I might get a little buzzed but I haven't been proper drunk in years. Like, I'll enjoy a craft beer with dinner, or maybe a (small, measured) glass of something nice for dessert if I've got space in the budget for it. I'm a fan of gin and scotch, mostly. Not together, of course, that would be gross. Just, those are my spirits of choice, if it's a liquor kind of night.

    This is me too. My tolerance is rather low at this point but I'm OK with that because to me it's about enjoying my drink (just one usually) and socializing. For me the bigger concern is food - I'm much more likely to have my inhibitions lowered to the point where I'll just go ahead and continue eating because I feel like it, and the rational side of my brain can't catch up fast enough to say it's not a good idea.

    Staying properly hydrated also helps with avoiding hangovers or just that general blah feeling the next day (for some reason I frequently have cold-like symptoms the day after consuming alcohol, not just a headache - which has definitely been an incentive to lessen consumption).
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    Exercise is something I do every morning. If I am feeling a little jaded from the night before I just get on with it. My performance might suffer a bit, but usually it doesn't. In fact, raki the night before seems to improve my lifts!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    I do exercise, and I do drink. (I'm also old, 65, and non-large, 5'5" and 125lbs, which some above have found relevant, but I kinda don't, except that thin me gets more intoxicated on smaller amounts of alcohol than fat me did, not surprisingly: That's a portion-size or frequency adjustment, similar to other food/drink, just for slightly different reasons.)

    I'm not sure what you (OP) mean by "a few drinks". It's pretty rare that I'd drink to the point of what I'd consider true hangover - can't remember the last time, but can't say never. Once in a while, some combination of drink, food, maybe staying up late, but for sure compromised sleep quality - that will leave me feeling sub-par in the morning: A little foggy cognitively, low energy, just generally sub-par.

    My morning exercise is "appointment exercise": I'm meeting friends at the river to row. (Pre-pandemic, I had AM spin classes at the Y, too.) Even feeling sub-par, I gather my (bleep) together, get dressed/ready, eat something, and go do it. My performance may not be as good as if I didn't drink, ate nutritiously, slept well . . . but it's good enough to do the thing. Afterward, I feel better.

    I do other exercise that's not "by appointment", like bike rides, or machine rowing in Winter. I usually do those things in the afternoon/evening by preference, not being a morning person, so really no effect from moderate indulgence the night before.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I didn't realize you were supposed to separate alcohol and exercise. ☹️ I thought that's why those dogs had kegs around their necks.

    I remember one coach (teaching a coaching class) saying "masters rowing is all about the beer". It's a mild exaggeration. Maybe.😉

    P.S. I think we use rescue dolphins.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    edited August 2021
    1) motivation: like @goal06082021 said, I rely more on habit than motivation. If I over-imbibe and feel awful, exercise actually makes me feel better so I'm "motivated" to do it even if I don't feel like it at the start. Like @kshama2001 said also, too much alcohol throws my hunger hormones out of balance. That sucks.

    2) impact: Back when I was a daily drinker & daily runner, I did feel a difference in my energy level in my morning run. I had more energy when I had wine the prior night. Maybe counterintuitive but maybe it makes sense, as bodies metabolize alcohol first (no ability to store it) while storing other nutrients until the alcohol is gone. So that means all those nights I was drinking, I was storing glycogen and other good stuff for energy later. I used to give up alcohol for lent, and I really felt it in the morning cardio. These days I drink less (frequency & volume), but also my exercise has less intense cardio (more strength). Honestly, sleep quality has a more noticeable impact than alcohol these days.

    OP, how does it impact you?
  • rosenatellez695
    rosenatellez695 Posts: 1 Member
    edited February 2022
    "When it comes to professional sports, the answer is obvious and unambiguous: they are incompatible. Alcohol has a predominantly negative effect on the body. It slows down recovery processes worsens the physical condition. At the professional level, it is unwise to give opponents such a head start. If you have problems with this, it is better to refer to a specialist psychotherapist or the site https://www.theluckiestclub.com/join-community Another thing, if by sport we mean amateur engagement in any physical activity, whether it be swimming, playing tennis on weekends or a morning jog. Here the situation is not so clear-cut. Of course, taking alcohol and physical activity should be separated in time, at least for a day or two. Before forcing the body to work intensively, it makes sense to give it time to recover and neutralize the consequences of drinking.
    "
  • stv1520
    stv1520 Posts: 199 Member
    There's nothing like that first pull on an ice cold beer after playing 45 minutes of hockey. And after a few more, I'm still in a deficit because I just burned 900 calories! I hit the gym after work 3 days a week, so I don't drink on those days unless I have a game that night. The weekends however.... another story. But-I'm still at a deficit weekly so it fits in my chosen lifestyle, and I'm still losing weight.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    EMc8800 wrote: »
    Firstly this is to people who do like a tipple 🤔

    Two questions:

    How do you maintain your motivation the day after a few drinks?

    How do you find it impacts on your exercise of choice?

    A few drinks isn't really going to impact me in a negative way the next day. An all out party night on the other hand and nothing is happening the next day. I was a daily drinker, and pretty heavy daily drinker for the last couple of years, and that had a huge negative impact on my fitness and desire to go out and be active and exercise, etc. A lot of times I would still force the issue, but it wasn't necessarily fun, and my performance was crap.

    I'm trying to get back to my pre-COVID self and I cut back a lot in December and even more in January, and I no longer drink during the week. When/if I drink on the weekend I try to keep the volume down, especially if it's a Friday night because I'm usually in the weight room Saturday morning, and mountain biking or something in the afternoon. Saturdays get away from me from time to time due to Sunday typically being my "day of rest" and I don't really do much on Sundays except make an awesome family breakfast and walk the dog...so Saturday nights I can get a bit carefree so to speak.

    Many of the cycling events I participate in have a beer tent at the finish line.
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,479 Member
    complete coincidence, but while looking for something else, I stumbled across this earlier today:

    The Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Recovery Following Resistance Exercise: A Systematic Review
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33467356/

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