4 Ways Alcohol Hurts Your Fitness Goals

Exercise and Alcohol: How It Hurts Your Workouts

Dehydration is detrimental to a workout… Credit: jadeashley

4. Depleted Water & Nutrients. Alcohol irritates the stomach lining, which can reduce your capacity to absorb nutrients (the reason you have an upset stomach after a few too many), says Brian R. Christie—not to mention that alcohol makes you pee. For every gram of ethanol you suck down, you pump out 10 milliliters of urine (that’s about 9.5 ounces for two beers). As little as 2 percent dehydration hurts endurance performance. And by the way, you can’t rehydrate with a dehydrating drink (e.g., beer).

Interested in reading more about exercise and alcohol? Check out the full article here. Now tell us, how many drinks do you have on average a week? Do you tend to drink more when you’re working out more? Let’s discuss! —Jenn