On Friday
afternoon after you leave work, you probably think
about going out and having a few drinks with friends
to relax and wind down. Even though you may think
you deserve to go out and have a few drinks, there
are some things that you should certainly keep in
mind.
Like any
other day, tomorrow is going to be a day for exercise,
and since you are exercising on a regular basis, a
few drinks of alcohol won't really hurt anything,
right? Before you decide to rush out to the local
bar, there are a few things below that you should
think about before you make your choice about going
out to drink some alcohol.
Research
has proven that even small amounts of alcohol with
increase muscular endurance and the output of strength,
although these types of benefits are very short lived.
After 20 minutes or so, the problems will begin to
surface. All of the negative side effects associated
with alcohol will easily outweigh any possible benefits
that it can have. No matter how you look at it, alcohol
is a poison that can really harm your body if you
aren't careful.
The negative
side of alcohol can reduce your strength, endurance,
aerobic capability, recovery time, ability to metabolize
fat, and even your muscle growth as well. Alcohol
will also have an effect on your nervous system and
brain. If you use it long term, you can cause severe
deterioration of your central nervous system. Even
with short term use, nerve muscle interaction can
be reduced which will result in a loss of strength.
Once alcohol
reaches the blood cells, it can and probably will
damage them. With alcohol users, inflammation of the
muscle cells is a very common thing. Over periods
of time, some of these cells that have been damaged
can die which will result in less functional muscle
contractions. Drinking alcohol will also leave you
with more soreness of your muscles after you exercise,
which means that it will take you a lot longer to
recuperate.
Alcohol will
also have many different effects on your heart and
circulatory system as well. When you drink any type
of alcohol, you may begin to see a reduction in your
endurance capabilities. Anytime you drink, your heat
loss will increase, due to the alcohol simulating
your blood vessels to dilate. The loss in heat can
cause your muscles to become quite cold, therefore
become slower and weaker during your muscle contractions.
Drinking
alcohol can also lead to digestive and nutrition problems
as well. Alcohol cause a release of insulin that will
increase the metabolism of glycogen, which spares
fat and makes the loss of fat very hard. Due to alcohol
interfering with the absorption of several key nutrients,
you can also become anemic and deficient with B type
vitamins.
Because your
liver is the organ that detoxifies alcohol, the more
you drink, the harder your liver has to work. The
extra stress alcohol places on your liver can cause
serious damage and even destroy some of your liver
cells.
Since alcohol
is diuretic, drinking large amounts can put a lot
of stress on your kidneys as well. During diuretic
action, the hormones are secreted. This can lead to
heightened water retention and no one who exercises
will want this to happen.
If you must
drink alcohol, you should do it in moderation and
never drink before you exercise, as this will impair
your balance, coordination, and also your judgement.
Think about your health and how you exercise - and
you may begin to look at things from a whole new prospective.
