Boozing after exercising is WORSE than skipping a work-out altogether: Alcohol ‘stunts muscle growth during exercise recovery period’
After a workout our muscles need time to recover and strengthen
But alcohol disrupts a chemical pathway, hampering that process
It is particularly bad for men, University of North Texas study shows
That is likely because men’s muscles use testosterone post-workout more than women, and alcohol is particularly damaging to testosterone
Source: Daily Mail
By Mia De Graaf
12 August 2016
It seems logical: if you want a guilt-free hangover, best hit the gym before the bar.
But according to new research, that is the worst thing you can do.
The hours after a workout are crucial for letting your muscles slowly recover, strengthen and grow.
Alcohol, however, interrupts that process, slowing down how efficiently your hormones stimulate muscle-growth.
It is particularly bad for men.
‘If you’re doing heavy resistance training, if you’re going to go out drinking that night, don’t go to the gym right before,’ co-author Jakob Vingren at the University of North Texas warns.
‘It’s possible the next day you’re going to be worse off than if you hadn’t gone to the gym.’
The study followed 10 men and nine women, all physically active.
All of the participants did six sets of 10 squats with heavy weight twice a week.
Before the workout, the team took a muscle biopsy.
After, the participants were given a tray of drinks – half had water, half had water-diluted vodka.
The alcohol-drinking group consumed about six glasses of diluted vodka in 10 minutes.
As they drank, the team took more muscle biopsies, one three hours post-workout, then again two hours later.
The results showed the alcohol-drinking group experienced a dramatic drop in muscle growth – particularly in men.
Drinking reduced the activation of mTORC1, a chemical pathway that stimulates the muscle-growing process after exercise.
The researchers believe men were affected more because alcohol is particularly damaging to testosterone.
‘Our research shows men are more affected by alcohol than women,’ Vingren explained to Daily Mail Online.
‘We know alcohol affects testosterone, and it is a gender difference, so testosterone appear to be an obvious thing to look at.’
Post-exercise, men experience a rush of testosterone, which in part contributes to the muscle-growing process.
Women do see a rise in testosterone after a workout but nowhere near as much.
The team are now carrying out more tests to investigate exactly why and how alcohol affects men.
Vingren suspects there are two possible reasons for it.
First, it could affect the amount of testosterone you have.
Second, if could be that the receptors stimulated by testosterone are being affected.
Either way, Vingren advises athletes to resist boozy celebrations.