With all the social gatherings at this time of year, most people drink a little more alcohol than usual.
And if you’re a regular gymgoer, you might wonder if this holiday boozing will sabotage your progress, especially if you find yourself tippling after training.
Results from a 2019 review published in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology suggest you probably don’t need to stress too much.
The researchers analyzed 12 studies and found that moderate drinking—around 3 drinks for a 180-pound man—doesn’t impair how fast you recoup strength, power, or endurance, nor does it impact soreness or muscle growth after training.
Things change when you drink more heavily, however.
Heavy drinking—around 6 or more drinks for a 180-pound man—increases cortisol levels, lowers testosterone and blood amino acid levels, and reduces muscle protein synthesis rates. These changes could stall muscle growth and recovery, especially after a particularly demanding workout.
Interestingly, women don’t seem to experience the same issues. They recover well regardless of how much they drink, likely because of hormonal differences, faster alcohol metabolism, or simply drinking less overall.
So, does drinking alcohol after a workout ruin your gains?
A drink or three after training won’t derail your fitness. But if you overdo it, recovery slows, muscle growth suffers, and your next workout will probably be less productive.
To minimize potential downsides, keep these tips in mind:
Enjoy a drink or two, but avoid binging.
Have a protein-rich meal or shake after your workout to support muscle growth and repair.
Don’t schedule particularly taxing workouts immediately before or on the day after drinking heavily.
In short, the occasional drink isn’t a problem. Just don’t make post-workout partying a habit, and your gains will still be there when January rolls around.
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Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Puerto Rico, or Guam, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $299.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
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