Poliquin - Healthy. Lean. Strong.

You may have heard that drinking beer after training can help you recover. This is a distortion of what a recent study found: That a low alcohol beer with added sodium offers a potential compromise between a dehydrating beverage with high social acceptance and one which avoids the exacerbated fluid losses observed when consuming full strength beer.

 

Basically, researchers found that when trainees drank beer with added sodium but lower alcohol content they weren’t as dehydrated as if they drank normal beer. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea or will actually promote recovery.

 

Drinking alcohol after training or competition is a horrible idea. Excessive alcohol will erase all possible performance gains and delay recovery. The effect is especially bad for anyone trying to lose fat, put on muscle, or recover quickly for another competition.
 
For example, one study found that in elite rugby players who were given alcohol with dinner had higher cortisol and estrogen and decreased power output during a workout the next morning.
 
Not only will a “hangover” decrease peak performance and recovery, but it will compromise learning and skill development during practice as well. The rugby players had worse reaction time, cognition, and decision making in response to alcohol.
 
Just three standard drinks of alcohol decreased maximal strength ability by 45 percent in men 12 hours after ingesting alcohol.
 
A smaller dose of 1.5 standard drinks didn’t affect maximal strength ability. Still, small doses can decrease neural drive to the muscles, which could compromise repeated strength performance.
 
Researchers think that the biggest danger of drinking alcohol post-exercise is for a poor hormonal environment for muscle building and fat loss because alcohol increases the aromatization of testosterone into estrogen.

 

 
References
Vingren, J., et al. Post-Resistance Exercise Ethanol Ingestion and Acute Testosterone Bioavailability. Medicine and science in Sports and exercise. 2013. Published Ahead of Print.
 
Hansen, M., Thulstrup, A., et al. Does Last Week’s Alcohol Intake Affect Semen Quality or Reproductive Hormones: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Healthy Young Danish Men. Reproductive Toxicology. 2012. 34, 457-462.
 
Murphy, A., Snapa, A., et al. Alcohol and Rugby League Recovery. The Effect of Post-Match Alcohol Ingestion on Recovery from Competitive Rugby League Matches. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012. Published Ahead of Print.

 

Strength training is one of the best ways to improve bone strength to reduce fracture risk and prevent osteoporosis as you age.

 

Resistance training and weight bearing exercise are common prescriptions to improve bone mineral density, but evidence shows that optimal bone health comes from a very specific type of resistance training: heavy lifts that load the spine such as squats and deadlifts.

 

Strong bones don’t come from aerobic exercise on the elliptical, training with resistance bands, or a muscular endurance program.
 
A new case study of two competitive female senior powerlifters clarifies one type of training that does work to improve bone mineral density in women. One woman was a 48-year-old powerlifter whose primary lifts were the squat, bench press, and deadlift. She typically performed 70 percent of her training lifts near the maximum weight possible.

 

The second woman was 54 years old and also primarily trained the traditional powerlifts of squat, deadlift, and bench press, with approximately 75 percent of her lifts near maximal. Both participants had been lifting for over 30 years.
 
Bone scans showed that both subjects had bone mineral density that was significantly higher than norms for gender and age. Not only were the women’s bone density scores well above average, but they were also far above the average for women ages 20 to 29 who are considered to be at the peak of bone mineral density. 

 

Researchers call the findings “vital” for both women and men, noting that duration and training intensity are the key to building bone. Training loads were consistently above the women’s bodyweight, and they trained consistently for over 30 years.
 
Of course, most resistance training programs for women use loads far lower than the 1 repetition maximum, and consistency is commonly a problem. A solution is to start resistance training in elementary or high school for both genders, and teach the traditional lifts, with the addition of Olympic lifts when appropriate.

 

Also, educating older men and women that heavy lifting (with proper coaching and technique) with the spine-loading lifts to improve bone strength is essential. Naturally, base levels of strength and muscle are necessary as well, along with structural balance, but the aim needs to be on training that works, not training that is easy.

 

Researchers write that “duration and intensity prescriptions need to be considerably enlarged for skeletal changes like those seen in this investigation to be observed.”

 

 
Reference:
Walters, P., Jezequel, J., Grove, M.  Case Study: Bone Mineral Density of Two Elite Senior Female Powerlifters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012.26(3), 867-72