Is it ever OK to mix alcohol and exercise?

Tolerance varies from person to person – body size, how frequently you drink, even your nutrition determine how powerfully booze will affect your workout. But as a general rule, limit yourself to one or two drinks before or after a workout, Stephens says.

More important, pay attention to how you feel while drinking. “Knowing when you feel buzzed or dizzy and not going beyond that limit” is essential, Stephens says, “because that is your body telling you that you’ve had enough”. The more you keep drinking while tipsy, the more you’re likely to suffer during a workout later that day or even the next morning.

Drink water, too

Alcohol is a diuretic – it makes us urinate more frequently – and as a result, it can dehydrate us, depleting our bodies of essential electrolytes, Sacheck-Ward says.

“When we have less fluid circulating around our bloodstream, that will increase our heart rate to basically deliver the oxygen to our working muscle cells,” she says. “It’s going to exacerbate everything.”

For every alcoholic beverage you consume, she recommended drinking a glass of water or perhaps an electrolyte drink to prevent dehydration. (This goes for drinking before, during and after exercise.) Stephens often tells her athletes to dissolve an electrolyte tablet or packet in water and drink it before bed if they’ve had alcohol that night and plan to work out the next day.

Avoid sugary cocktails

While a cocktail high in sugar might give you a burst of energy in the short term, it will also cause your blood sugar to spike, Sacheck-Ward says. After a spike comes a crash, which will make you feel even more tired than if you drank straight alcohol. Beer is a better choice – though a nonalcoholic beer is ideal.

Don’t forget to eat

Alcoholic beverages are not a good source of fuel for exercise. “Alcohol does not provide calories that can effectively be utilised for energy production,” Sacheck-Ward says. So when you imbibe, “you’re displacing ‘healthy’ calories” that can fuel your workout and improve your endurance.

If you drink before working out and don’t eat enough food first, you will probably tire out quickly, she says, and you may not be able to restore as much muscle tissue after a workout. Alcohol can also prevent the body from effectively utilising nutrients that support muscle performance and endurance.

Make sure to eat a balanced meal that includes carbohydrates and protein along with (or after) any alcoholic beverages you consume, she says, to ensure you have enough energy to sustain you throughout your workout. Also, while little evidence supports the popular belief that eating bread “soaks up” alcohol, having food in your stomach may slow alcohol’s absorption into the bloodstream.

Eating is equally important post-workout, too, Sacheck-Ward says. The 30 minutes after a workout are crucial to the body’s recovery – during that window, the body needs to replace the fluid and fuel it lost, and the muscles are primed to receive it.

After exercising but before you have a celebratory drink, give your body what it needs most: food and water. “Think about recovery first, and then enjoy,” she says.

The New York Times

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.