Alcohol and athletic performance

Alcohol on Athletic Performance Background 

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an effective approach to improve physical fitness, but consuming beer, which is a regular practice in many physically active individuals, may interfere with these effects.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of a 10-week (2 days/week) HIIT program on cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and power parameters, and also to assess the possible influence on them of moderate consumption of beer (at least from Monday to Friday) or its alcohol equivalent.

Methods: Young (24 ± 6 years old) healthy adults (n = 73, 35 females) were allocated to five groups.

Four groups participated in the HIIT intervention program, while the fifth group was a control Non-Training group (n = 15).

Participants in the training groups chose whether they preferred receiving alcohol or alcohol-free beverages. T

hose choosing alcohol were randomized to either beer or ethanol intake: (i) T-Beer group (alcohol beer, 5.4%; n = 13) or (ii) T-Ethanol (sparkling water with vodka, 5.4%; n = 14).

Those choosing alcohol-free intake were randomized to (iii) T-Water group (sparkling water, 0.0%; n = 16), or (iv) T-0.0 Beer group (alcohol-free beer, 0.0%; n = 15). Men ingested 330 ml of the beverage at lunch and 330 ml at dinner; women ingested 330 ml at dinner. Before and after the intervention, maximal oxygen uptake in absolute and relative terms (VO₂max.), maximal heart rate, total test duration, handgrip strength, and four types of vertical jumps were measured.

---

Alcohol and Athletic Performance Results

HIIT induced significant improvements in absolute and relative values of VO₂max and total test duration (all p < 0.05) in all the training groups; also and found clinical improvements in handgrip strength.

These positive effects were not influenced by the regular intake of beer or alcohol.

No changes in the vertical jumps occurred in any of the groups.

Alcohol and Athletic Performance Conclusions

A moderate beer or alcohol intake does not mitigate the positive effect of a 10-week HIIT on physical fitness in young healthy adults.

Do professional athletes drink alcohol?

Yes, they do, but in a controlled and regulated way.

If you have alcohol in your blood and train hard, you’re going to be dehydrated, which will lead to a few days outside the pitch. So, during their season, they restrict themselves from alcohol.

But during the off-season, when they’re out of regular training, they do have alcohol. After all, they’re all humans; they need to enjoy sometimes to prevent game saturation. (which is one of the few reasons for form drop)

Like Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best footballers of all time drinks a small amount of wine during the offseason, and he’s at the top level for a long, long time. Taking the example of the English legend, George Best, who had to leave the pitch before peaked. The reason behind it was heavy usage of alcohol. Thus, throwing light on both sides of alcohol usage.

Conclusion: Alcohol is a good thing for athletes, but the time and amount have to be regulated so that it doesn’t affect their professional career.

---

Alcohol and Athletic Performance Source: 

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-020-00356-7