Drinkaware.co.uk – March 2010

Alcohol and exercise: Introduction

What impact does alcohol have on your fitness regime? Whether you prefer jogging around the park, or working out down the gym, there’s plenty of body-positive benefits that regular exercise can bring. As well as helping you lose weight, exercise also boosts your mood and actively reduces stress. But however good your intentions are, sometimes it feels like you deserve a medal for getting yourself down the gym after a hard day. And all too often the temptation can be to make that reward a few drinks.

Running on empty. Many people, like 32-year-old Jill from Worthing, manage to squeeze in exercise between work commitments and a busy social life. She’s found first-hand how drinking alcohol can affect the quality of her workouts. “Running with a hangover is hell,” admits Jill. “Last Saturday I went to a wedding and ended up drinking too much champagne. The next morning I had to get up, put my trainers on and do a 10 mile run with my training buddy.”“I thought I was doing fairly well until the end when I found out I was at least ten minutes slower than usual. I had the sweats most of the way and had to keep swigging water to try and get rid of the taste of stale booze!”

Personal trainer and fitness writer Laura Williams isn’t surprised that Jill found her run difficult. “A hangover is always going to make your workout feel much tougher,” she says. “It’s more likely that your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is going to be much higher than the rate at which you’re really working. Or to put it another way, exercising on a hangover means you think you’re working much harder than you really are.”

Fitness experts agree that to get the most from cardiovascular exercise such as running or swimming, you have to put in the physical effort. But while your hangover may make a less hectic workout feel welcome, it’s harder to build up the head of steam you need to stay in shape when you have a headache, and nausea is beginning to kick in. Laura also points out that the night before’s alcohol leaves your body dehydrated, even before your session starts.

To book a session or to find out how Laura can help you get into shape, email her at laura@laurawilliamsonline.co.uk

Or call her on 07712 001525.