alcohol and training

[commonerg]

Today, I Learned first hand about the effect of alcohol on lactic acid build up. After a very nice date and a night of partying I woke up with a nice hangover. Normally, I try to avoid drinking more than 2 drinks in an evening and rarely drink more than 2-3 times a month. However, girls seem to have a very deleterious effect on my descision making. In anycase, I really cramped up today while I was running.

I do love freediving and have made a lot of sacrifices for performance. However, my economics training compels me to think that the most efficient solution to this problem is continuing to find the most appropriate tradeoff between performance and 'social time'. Right now, giving up my few social drinks a month is not in the cards. I would like to increase my knowledge of the affects of alcohol so that my trade-off descision is the most efficient for me.

What are the effects of alcohol on the muscles?
Any tips on cleansing and removing toxins after a few drinks?
Anyone else dealing with the same problems?
Any other bits of insight?

[commonerg]

Found this, mostly experiences.
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=58936

[perow1]

I think that for most people the really bad effect is that you "loose the next day" you do not have the same energy to go at it with quality. If your not really hung over you are at least a bit tired. The training effect will not be as good. If it is only "a few social drinks" it may be put just before a planned rest day or something to get rid of this effect.

The other part of this that comes from heavy drinking is that your liver will be busy from dealing with the alcohol (roughly speaking). With a busy liver you will not be able to "build" as much as with a rested body and liver. A big part of training is done to "break and rebuild stronger". The rebuilding part will be hard when you have treated your body with alcohol. After this your training will be just "breaking" hence your muscles will not benefit, but suffer from the training. To me that is another reason to rest after drinking. Or at least train very moderately. Actually just moving around like taking a long walk or something may be a good way to deal with the toxins. This and proper nutrition and hydration. This sound really stiff and boring.

In the end if you are a moderate drinker i think the worst thing that will happen is that you are not fit for training close to your drinking and your progress will be delayed. For some people it is hard to really get the proper rest so sometimes drinking can "force you to rest" which may be only positive in the end.

[Bill McIntyre]

I can't imagine that it would be necessary to give up a few social drinks in order to perform well. Of course I wouldn't have a basis for comparison since I drink wine and/or beer every evening with dinner, but it never caused me to cramp up running or cycling, and I don't notice any effect on my diving.

But you said you woke up with a hangover, so it sounds like you had more than a few social drinks.

I recall reading that Frank Shorter drank a quart of good German beer the night before he won the gold medal at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. It must not have hurt his performance much. A few years after that, my wife and I were overnight guests with Frank and his wife at the home of a mutual friend in San Diego, where he had just won an indoor two-mile race that evening. The next day we went for a 15 mile run around Mission Bay with him, and when we got back to the house he said something like "where's the beer, that's what we run for."

A Kenyan who's name I have have forgotten held multiple world records in the 5000 meters and 10000 meters, and then was revealed to be an alcoholic.

I suppose any alcohol consumption might theoretically impede performance at the limits of human capability, but unless you are trying to push those limits, I doubt that moderate consumption will be a problem. Getting drunk and having a hangover definitely will though.

[commonerg]

Well, the light social drinking (1-2) doesn't hurt me. It's the few nights I do go a little overboard that sap me.

[Ron S]

Waaay back when I was a wannabe bicycle racer my doctor told me that "a few too many" in one night also has two other negative effects. First, it dehydrates your body. Second, it depletes the body of potassium. Both of these adversly effect any real excersise the following day.

I like Bill's beer analogy though, and now I realize why he's such an avid cyclist...
Ron.

[Jorg]

When I go out, maybe once a month, I really go all out... hehe. Drinking quite a lot. But my trick is to switch the last hour that the club is open (4:00-5:00) to red bull, and drinking lots of them. Then I get in bed around 5:30 and I wake up by myself, because of the red bull around 8:00 and start working again. Not a day for sports but just doing some stuff. Works for me, everytime! It's not the best solution, but you've got to do something.

Oh and when you've got a headache, then try 100% oxygen for 10 minutes and the headache is over. You didn't get that one from me...

[kmo]

I vomitted into my snorkel on Saturday, so I can safely say that a hangover has a negative effect on my diving.

[fcallagy]

words of wisdom from my Da when I started drinking,
one is enough
two is too many
and three isn't half enough.
I agree with what was already said a glass or two of wine with a meal and no problems for me but if I,m out drinking for the night I usually find its two days later before I could do any serious training but instead of pushing on these days maybe try and work on technique instead.

[island_sands]

Originally Posted by commonerg

Today, I Learned first hand about the effect of alcohol on lactic acid build up. After a very nice date and a night of partying I woke up with a nice hangover.

However, girls seem to have a very deleterious effect on my descision making. In anycase, I really cramped up today while I was running.

REALLY NOW.. DO TELL MORE....

[kmo]

"However, girls seem to have a very deleterious effect on my descision making. "

I always found that alcohol had a worse effect on my decision making when it came to girls than girls had on my decision making regarding alcohol

[adolphin]

Hmmmm! .. I don't know guys and gals if my comment is welcome, it would look like something from some other galaxy other than the Milkyway ..
but yes, there are people on this planet who don't drink alcohol! .. for me being a muslim, I don't drink it at all, now, my question is: with all the negativities of drinking alcohol (too many to count, starting with personal health issues to impact on fertality and you all know what else, to effect on an infant if her mother drinks alcohol while pregnant or lactating, to the huge effect on economy through the national outcome, to making too many doctors busy with alcoholics or elder patients suffering from liver peroblems due to drinking all thier lifes,those same many doctors could have been freed from this to face other illness, to effect on performance at work or on training... etc) .. with all these and much more, why would people drink alcohol, and what makes it so important to drink instead of not to drink? .. I just can't understand it and want to hear an explanation if any ofcourse!
Take Bill's comment for example:

I can't imagine that it would be necessary to give up a few social drinks in order to perform well. Of course I wouldn't have a basis for comparison since I drink wine and/or beer every evening with dinner, but it never caused me to cramp up running or cycling, and I don't notice any effect on my diving.

It's a Give up matter, which means a lot, isn't it .. can't a social drink be something other than alcohol ? (which is toxic if not poisoning substance so forein to our bodies!) something like a soft drink instead.
I my self don't even drink soft drinks, nor cofee or tea, I stopped it about 14 years back, and still I can make a very social days out with no problem ..
I talked alot didn't I .. so I'm handeling the mic to the next participant ..
and Bill, my freind, it's just that your words rang a bell, nothing against you personaly for sure, so, no offense I hope ..

[Bill McIntyre]

No offense taken. If you don't want to drink, fine. But good food is very important to me, and wine with good food is part of the experience.

Of course if I didn't drink, I might live 10 more years. Or at least it might seem that way.

[SanderP]

Did you know, adolphin, that alcohol can be good for your health if you drink it moderately? A cup of beer or a glass of wine every day can actually be healthy.
An old man, who is over 100 years, said that he has drank every day one cup of beer. And well... he's still standing.

[sickbugs]

ive heard of people who have smoked every day for their whole life also, who have lived to be over 100, yet we know that smoking is bad for health.

in my opinion, drinking is pointless.. its proven to be bad for your health, many people say that drinking in moderation isnt bad, but then, what is moderation? if i drink 5 or 6 rum and cokes in a night, i dont feel a thing, yet some people will be drunk and sleeping it off in the street, doesnt that show that there is no set moderate ammount to drink? its proven to slow your reaction times, impair your reasoning, so, why drink? apart from the fact that you can?