Something I love is that my clients are very honest with me. I am not the judgmental type and knowing which lifestyle habits my clients partake in actually helps me form their workout for that day.
For instance, I trained a college student while she was on spring break. She was honest with me and told me she had drank heavily the nights before our workouts that week. I altered my workout from some high intensity protocols I had planned and moved to a more steady state but mildly cardiovascular taxing exercises. My strategy was to get her sweating to get out some toxins but I didn’t push her so hard she cramped or get nauseous.
I decided to write a blog about common substances people use and how they affect your body and your workouts.
Cigarettes: There is no doubt this is probably the worst one because it decreases your overall oxygen transportation while also increasing your hearts demand for oxygen. Lung capacity will not be as good as a non-smoker so you will get winded quicker, resulting in less intense workouts. Free radicals are in the smoke and free radicals damage healthy tissue. Damaged tissue from free radicals has been known to lead to cancer. This one vice I would recommend giving up or at least cutting far down as soon as possible.
Alcohol: Obviously if you are using alcohol at the time you are working out you increase risk of injury due to spatial and balance abnormalities. Also, the breaking down of alcohol post consumption competes with your body producing energy for exercise. This is certainly not recommended.
Many people however, are working out the following day after drinking. This puts our body at an increased risk for dehydration. Alcohol makes us produce more urine output and has metabolic byproducts we must break down, both can interfere with performance.
Interestingly, according to Dr. Emmanuel Stamatakis, if you are a drinker, moderate exercise can help prevent the increased risk of developing cancer and other increases in mortality that is associated with alcohol use. [1] It is also possible that light drinking (not every week) may help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. [1] What about drinking after a workout? Sorry, it looks like alcohol might hamper muscle recovery. [2]
Marijuana: With widespread legalization of cannabis for recreational use, I think it is appropriate to evaluate cannabis along side with tobacco and alcohol. Additionally, it is no secret some of the world’s most elite athletes claim it helps them, either therapeutically, by reducing anxiety, or improving their performance. These are highly subjective measurements and surely varies person to person.
There is some evidence that cannabis can help bronchospasm, something that affects asthmatics and those who suffer from bouts of panic attacks “2.0 percent marijuana and isoproterenol caused an immediate reversal of exercise-induced asthma and hyperinflation.” [3] Long term cannabis use might present a downside however. Ingesting any smoke is hard on your body, period. “A recent review reported that marijuana smoking was associated with airway inflammation, acute bronchospasm, airflow obstruction, diffusion impairment, and emphysema.” [4] Keep in mind there are alternate ways of ingesting cannabis such as vaporizing, edibles, etc.
Additionally, there are some studies that claim marijuana activates our endocannabinoid system in interesting ways. The endocannabinoid system influences energy metabolism, sleep, mood, memory, even appetite. Plant cannabinoids may have an affect on this system.
According to Murray Mittleman, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, ” current users of marijuana appeared to have better carbohydrate metabolism than nonusers”. Also, “their fasting insulin levels were lower, and they appeared to be less resistant to the insulin produced by their body to maintain a normal blood-sugar level”.
I think it is fair to say there is a lot we don’t know about cannabis and with the legalization, it would be prudent to conduct more studies to get the facts we just don’t currently have.
The overall walk away message from this post is to find a trainer you are comfortable talking with. A trainer that understands and respects your unique circumstances will only benefit you in innumerable ways. By customizing a protocol that is appropriate for you, you can progress safely towards a goal of health. Remember there is no good and bad, there is only improvement.
Every pivot towards good health is a step in the right direction, no matter how big or how small. Please call to schedule your complimentary initial consultation and sample 1 on 1 training session.
Call or text: 407-205-7488
Resources:
- http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/07/health/exercise-alcohol-and-death-risk/index.html
- http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0088384
- http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1164/arrd.1975.112.3.377
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720277/