Can you combine drinking and exercise?

You’re having brunch with friends and there’s mimosas on the house. You are tempted, but you also want to go for a run. What should you do? Will Drinking Doom Your Workout?

Despite the popularity of drunken sporting events such as Craft Brew races And Bicycles and beerexercise physiologists and nutritionists strongly advise against drinking alcohol before, during or after exercise.

Not only can alcohol affect athletic performance, but “it can make your workouts feel much, much harder,” says Amy Stephens, a sports dietitian for the New York University track and field team. “It’s like trying to do that workout uphill.”

Few rigorous clinical trials have studied the effects of alcohol on workouts, said Jennifer Sacheck-Ward, the chair of the exercise and nutrition sciences department at George Washington University. Still, the existing research indicates that combining the two can negate many of the health benefits of exercise — or even leave you worse off than if you didn’t exercise in the first place.

But if you like to drink and enjoy sports, sooner or later you might want to consider a cocktail before or after a workout or an athletic event. Here are six tips from exercise and nutrition experts on the most strategic ways to have both.

Timing matters.

Drinking after a workout is slightly better than drinking before, said Dr. Sacheck Ward. But anyway, spread the activities as much as possible. Drinking right before (or during) a workout can dehydrate you, increase your heart rate, fatigue faster than usual, slow down your reflexes, and generally make you feel terrible.

If you can, give yourself at least four hours between drinking and exercising, Ms Stephens said, although it will take 25 hours to completely empty your body.

Quantity is important.

Tolerance varies from person to person – body size, how often you drink, even your diet determines how much booze will affect your workout. But in general, limit yourself to one or two drinks before or after a workout, Ms Stephens said.

Most importantly, pay attention to how you feel while drinking. “Knowing when you’re buzzing or feeling dizzy and not crossing that line” is essential, said Ms Stephens, “because that’s your body telling you you’ve had enough.” The more you keep drinking while you’re buzzing, the more you’ll suffer during a workout later in the day or even the next morning.

Drink a glass of water for every glass of drink.

Alcohol is a diuretic — it makes us urinate more often — and as a result, it can dehydrate us, depleting our bodies of essential electrolytes, said Dr. Sacheck Ward.

“If there is less fluid circulating in our bloodstream, that will increase our heart rate to essentially deliver the oxygen to our working muscle cells,” she said. “It will make everything worse.”

For every alcoholic drink you consume, she recommended drinking a glass of water or perhaps an electrolyte drink to avoid dehydration. (This applies to boozing before, during, and after exercise.) Ms. Stephens often tells her exercisers to dissolve an electrolyte tablet or packet in water and drink it before bed if they’ve had alcohol that night and plan to can be trained the next day.

Avoid sugary cocktails.

While a high-sugar cocktail — think spiked lemonade or a frozen margarita — can give you a short-term burst of energy, it will also spike your blood sugar, said Dr. Sacheck Ward. After a peak comes a crash, which will make you feel even more tired than if you drank pure alcohol. Beer is one better choice – although one alcohol-free beer is ideal.

Don’t forget to eat.

Alcoholic drinks are not good fuel for exercise. “Alcohol does not provide calories that can be used effectively for energy production,” said Dr. Sacheck Ward. So when you imbibe, you’re “crowding out ‘healthy’ calories” that can fuel your workout and improve your endurance.

If you drink before you exercise and don’t eat enough first, you’ll likely tire quickly, she said, and you may not be able to recover as much muscle tissue after a workout. Alcohol can also deter the body from it utilize nutrients effectively that support muscle performance and endurance.

Be sure to eat a balanced meal that contains carbohydrates and protein along with (or after) any alcoholic beverages you consume, she said, to ensure you have enough energy to sustain you through your workout. While little evidence supports the popular belief that eating bread “soaks up” alcohol, having food in your stomach can slow absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.

Eating is just as important post-workout, Dr. Sacheck-Ward said. The 30 minutes after a workout are crucial for the body’s recovery – during that window, the body must replace the fluid and fuel it lost, and the muscles are prepared to receive it.

Give your body what it needs most after exercise, but before you drink a celebratory drink: food and drink. “Think recovery first and then enjoy,” she said.