According to Statista.Com, 57 percent of Canada’s population admits to consuming alcohol at least once each week. And according to this same study, 19.1 percent of Canadian consumers the age of 12 and over, were reported as heavy alcoholic drinkers in 2018.

Although these stats do not surprise me, they do concern me.

Should You Have Another Drink?

We all know that drinking too much alcohol is bad for us. In addition to the obvious reasons such as hangovers, chronic fatigue, and the fact that it does very little for our appearance, alcohol can indirectly and in some cases, directly, kill us. From a medical standpoint, studies have shown that long term use of alcohol can increase our risk for developing a long list of health conditions such as breast cancer, oral cancers, heart disease, strokes and most commonly, cirrhosis of the liver.

And yes, it is true that drinking small amounts of red wine has been linked to various health benefits. However, the key word here is SMALL amounts. As in 2-3 ounces of red wine each week! Not an entire bottle to yourself after a long, stressful day at work!

The Hurting Hangover

As I stated above, most people develop hangovers after a night of excessive alcohol consumption. And if you’re one of those people that rarely if ever gets a hangover because you drink so frequently, then congratulations, you’re a professional drinker! (also known as an Alcoholic).

For the rest of us, hangovers absolutely suck! They make us feel tired, nauseous, cranky and irritable. They also make us unproductive. The main problem with hangovers is that they usually last at least for an entire day. That’s 24 hours of agony that you’re putting your body through each and every time you decide to go out and binge drink the day before. And those 24 hours of agony usually equate to missed workouts, “sick days” and lots of vomit.

Addicted To Alcohol

Some people become addicted to the effects of alcohol, a condition known as alcohol dependence or alcoholism. Unfortunately, alcohol dependence is one of the main causes of alcohol abuse and disability in our country and is a strong risk factor for various diseases.

Numerous factors can predispose people to problematic drinking, such as family history, social environment, mental health and genetics.

As a rule of thumb, if alcohol is adversely affecting your quality of life, you may have a problem with alcohol dependence or alcoholism. In this case, my suggestion is to eliminate alcohol from your diet completely. How you go about doing this though is something that I am not qualified to help you with and therefore my recommendation would be to seek outside help from a professional such as a Counselor or Therapist.

The Effects of Alcohol on Exercise

If I were to guess right now, I would estimate that roughly 60% of our clientele consume alcohol on a weekly basis. Some more then others, however for the most part, most people we work with, do like to have the occasional glass of wine or rum and coke. And that’s okay. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with having a drink or two to be social throughout the week.

Where I begin to take issue with regular alcohol consumption though, is the negative effects that it can have on our clients’ health, especially during their own workouts.

I have been training clients on the floor for almost two decades now. And during this time, I’ve had plenty of people miss workouts or cancel last minute sessions, simply because they were too hungover to train. Don’t believe me? Come to one of my early Saturday morning classes and see for yourself! Unfortunately when some of these people do show up for their workouts after a night out of drinking, their strength seems down, their cardiovascular system seems inoperable, and their motivation and intensity seems non-existent. Not to mention, they smell like a damn brewery!!!!

Have you ever heard that saying – “There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Workout”?

Well it’s bullshit! There is such a thing as a bad workout and it’s the workout when you come in hungover from the day before!

Now some people may view these workouts as a good way to sweat out the toxins from their big night out, however I personally view these workouts as useless and a waste of time. In my opinion, if you’re not giving 100% to each and every workout you do in the gym, then why even bother showing up?

My Own Story

I personally have not had a drop of alcohol in almost 5 years now. I’m not a recovering addict, nor do I come from an abusive alcoholic family, and I’m not anti-alcohol either. I simply don’t like the way that alcohol makes me feel.

I work 7 days a week. I wake up at 5am everyday. And I workout with weights roughly 5-6x/week. My brain needs to be functioning properly for at least 18 hours a day as I have a business to run. My body needs to be performing at optimal levels for roughly the same amount of time as I have clients to train as well as myself to train afterwards. There is simply no room in my schedule or my life to allow alcohol in to slow me down. I’m not suggesting that I will never have an alcoholic beverage again in my lifetime, I’m just stating that I don’t have the time or energy to waste dealing with nasty hangovers and crappy workouts.

Last Call

At the end of the day, the decision to drink or not to drink alcohol on a regular basis is ultimately up to you decide. I’m not going to sit here and lecture or parent you about why to do or not to do something. However, I will just say this – In my twenty-something years of helping clients lose fat, build muscle and improve their overall health, the people that practice maintaining good self control and limit their alcohol consumption, are the ones that always achieve optimal results.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance