Is there any guidance on how long you should wait to drink alcohol after a workout so that it has the least amount of detrimental affects on recovery or on the efficacy of the workout? Is there a difference if the workout is primarily strength training or cardio focused? And would the type of alcohol matter (beer vs wine vs spirits)?
I’m not a nutritionist, but I have been involved in fitness for 34 years. My experience and observations tell me your best bet is to put a good 12 hours between. Alcohol does clear from your body after about 5-6 hours, but you’ve got all the downstream effects and chemical reactions still going on. A ton of water and maybe some cardio will help too.Can you just not drink on the day you’re thinking about? I’m old enough, that people think I can’t put on muscle anymore. But once I quit drinking a few years ago, I dropped 15% bodyfat and gained a ton of strength on my lifts.
Anything within 24-48h of a workout, no matter if before or after, will have an impact on it. The closer to the workout, the more impact.
That being said, as long as you’re not doing this all the time, relax. Messing up the recovery of one of your workouts is not a thing to worry about in the grand scheme. I mean, how much muscle/improvement is that one workout gonna give you anyway? I’ve gone from the gym straight to the pub because I “had to” many a times and it’s grand. Tho I feel like I def got drunker faster but that might also have to do with the lack of food. So maybe at least get some food into you.
Some of the strongest climbers I know have a beer or two after a session. If you’re super competitive, you should avoid alcohol all together. If you can wait an hour, that’s pretty good. Six hours is better. Having a beer with a friend after some strenuous activity has some non-physical benefits, i.e. it’s fun and enjoyable.
https://greatist.com/fitness/how-long-should-you-wait-to-drink-alcohol-after-working-out
I usually run with the same rule for driving.
If you workout fast enough and hydrate with booze during the workout, then you can finish your workout right when the buzz hits. The car version is drinking while driving so you aren’t drunk till you slam ‘er into park in your driveway.
I’d wait a day. At least 12 hours. Give your body time to rid the alcohol from your system and also rehydrate yourself by drinking plenty of fluids(water preferably). You want to replenish yourself as alcohol does dehydrate you very quickly.
Probably just drink some water and get some carbs/protein in your system and then ur good to go. I usually enjoy a shower beer after my runs and I’ve never noticed any affects on recovery. If anything it makes me more relaxed which leads to better rest. If ur working out within 4-6 hours of bed time I would maybe not drink but every now and then is fine. Especially in holidays. I doubt over indulging one day will seriously affect gains and fitness. I tried to find studies on this and many of them are long term chronic alcohol consumption and not just a drink or two post workout. I wouldn’t worry about it.
there are many factors at play here. it depends. how much are you planning on drinking? how intense is the exercise? how much recovery time have you had recently? how much sleep have you gotten? what is your nutrition and calories looking like? let’s say you are lacking all these and did some intense exercise, i wouldn’t recommend drinking at all. Also, the type of exercise and how intense it is will be different in how much time you need to recover. strength training takes a bigger toll on the body for recovery than cardio. Also, if you are having 1-2 drinks max, then i really wouldn’t worry about it too much. It will affect recovery but only for just the couple of hours it takes to metabolize it which won’t make much of a difference at all especially if you aren’t doing it all the time.
Alcohol around a workout will affect how your muscles recover. You know how protein repairs your muscles after a workout? alcohol will interfere with that, you won’t recover as well. As someone else said - day before, day of, and day after.
But look, how often do you drink? If it’s not very frequently, but you do frequently exercise and eat right… then it’s probably not a big deal. It is Christmas Eve, if you worked out today, you can drink. It’s one day
It’s when people try to build muscle, and get big, but just can’t stop going out several times a week, those are the ones who are gonna struggle