Drugs, Alcohol And Physical Fitness
How does alcohol effect my physical fitness?
Alcohol is bad for physical fitness because alcohol contains empty calories from which the body doesn't benefit. Alcohol can also contain sugars which the body can store as fat if it cannot use them, which in turn causes more weight gain. Alcohol is also bad for the liver which needs to be at its peak performance in order for you to obtain your fitness goals.
Should I exercise with a hangover?
If you decide to exercise the day following alcohol consumption and you're feeling hung-over, the first thing you need to do is make sure you consume enough water to replenish what the alcohol depleted the night before. If you do decide to exercise the next day, if you have a hangover, I would suggest doing something very general; something very moderate in intensity. Again, following the activity, make sure you drink even more water.
Will alcohol effect my muscle gain?
Alcohol itself may not affect the amount of muscle you can build if you're still continuing to work out on a regular basis with the appropriate intensity. However, because it has empty calories and often has way to much sugar, it may make you fat, so you may have that muscle underneath but it could be well camouflaged by the fact you gained weight and fat by drinking the alcohol.
Will recreational drugs effect my physical fitness?
If your intent is to gain a physically fit and healthy body, and you are using recreational drugs, whether they be marijuana, ecstasy or anything else, using those drugs will absolutely diminish the results that you get from your exercise program, there's no doubt. For one, introducing un-needed chemicals of any kind into your body that aren't needed toxifies your body, and it makes it work overtime to help process those chemicals. Therefore, if you only have so much energy in your body in 24 hours, and it has to expend a lot of its energy to process the drugs that you put into it, it's not going to expend its energy growing, developing muscles, and making you a better athlete; it just won't happen. Also, if it makes you tired, lazy, or incoherent and your balance is off, you're not going to be able to do the exercises appropriately, especially if you're doing, for example, speed, agility, and quickness drills for your athletic game of choice. You have to stay away from that stuff if you have any intent on getting very fit and healthy.
