Among beer lovers there are many people who care about their health and regularly visit the gym. After playing football or shaking your muscles, there is a desire to relax by drinking a bottle or two of beer with friends. But it can harm the body. I propose to figure out whether it is possible to drink beer after a workout. This is true for other alcoholic beverages, including cocktails.
Most doctors believe that alcohol and physical activity are incompatible, as their combination causes additional stress on the heart. Until recently, no one argued with this statement. But Spanish scientists from the University of Granada came to the conclusion that one bottle of beer after a gym helps the body to restore water balance faster.
The research was conducted on a group of 25 student volunteers running on a treadmill. Those who quenched their thirst with beer restored their water balance a little faster than those who drank ordinary water. Based on the results obtained, the head of the research team, Professor Manuel Garzon, even recommended that male athletes drink 0,5 liters of beer every day, women – 0,25 liters.
There is a legend that the famous bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger also drank beer during training. Together with his comrades, he took a keg of beer, a barbell and a squat stand, after which the group went to the forest, where they had their own rocking chair. There they did exercises and drank beer until the keg was empty. But I did not find official confirmation of this fact.
Most coaches do not doubt the dangers of beer for bodybuilding and sports in general. The fact is that in addition to an additional load on the heart, alcohol blocks the production of protein, which is necessary for gaining muscle mass. This leads to muscle fragility.
It is believed that even one drunk bottle of beer negates all the efforts of the athlete during training, the effect disappears completely. On this day, a person went to the gym for nothing.
To properly combine alcohol and physical activity, you should follow the following tips:
- you can’t train for two days after drinking alcohol, during this period it is very easy to damage the muscles;
- it is not recommended to drink alcohol 1-2 days after training, as this neutralizes the positive effect of training;
- as a snack for beer, choose foods containing protein (cheese, fish, meat), they reduce the negative impact of alcohol on muscle mass.
- to restore water balance the next morning after drinking alcohol, you need to drink plenty of mineral water and take 500 mg of ascorbic acid.
Conclusion: beer after the gym will do more harm than good. To maintain your health, doctors recommend taking a break of two days between training and drinking alcohol.