Should you workout when you have a hangover?
Short Answer: Yes!
As we all know, alcoholic beverages are quite dense in calories. , A 5 ounce glass of Apothic Red Wine has 122 calories, a 1.5 oz glass of Glenfiddich 12 year-old Scotch has 105 calories, and a pint of Alexander Keith’s Pale Ale beer contains a whopping 280 calories!
Couple these calories with some high fat/ high calorie food that is often paired with alcohol, and you may be sitting at a fairly high calorie surplus. Some estimates have people gaining as much as a half- pound of body-fat after a night of heavy drinking and eating.
So, why should you workout the day after a night of drinking? Here are my top four reasons, followed by my specific programming suggestions
1) Burn Calories – While you’re not likely to burn off the entire surplus of calories that you consumed the night before, you can certainly put a dent in it, and minimize the damage, so to speak.
2) Cure the “Booze Blues” – you can help combat the depressive effects of alcohol by using exercise to stimulate your happy neurotransmitters – endorphins can give both your body, and also your mind, a good pick-me-up!
3) Curb Greasy Food Cravings...at least a little bit. You might find that your need for a Big Mac and Fries, or a Denny’s skillet goes down after a workout. Working out when hung-over seems to curb people’s greasy food cravings to a degree. You might just choose to downgrade your Big Mac to a Subway Sandwich.
4) Pump up your “Lymph” System – exercising is a great way to increase blood flow and circulation. This increase in circulation help to stimulate the lymphatic system, which will allow your body to more efficiently expel some of the toxins that you consumed the night before.
The hangover workout:
Because consuming alcohol has left you dehydrated, potentially nauseated, and perhaps even with a splitting headache, my advice is to workout with moderate intensity. Not too low, not too high. No need to have to pull out the puke bucket !
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Try to consume 1L of water and a piece of fruit 45-60 minutes before training. Also, consider bringing a 1L water bottle containing approximately 250 ml of Gatorade and 750ml water. Slowly sip at this through out your workout.
The workout:
A) 10 minute cardiovascular warm-up
- This can be done on a bike/ treadmill/ elliptical etc.
B) 35-40 minutes of weight training
- A good way to burn calories without getting the intensity up too high is to utilize slow tempo weight training. My suggestion is for each repetition, take 3 seconds to control the weight in the eccentric (relaxation) phase of the lift, and take 2 seconds to actually lift the weight
Group 1: (x 3 rounds with 75-90 seconds rest between rounds)
a) Dumbell Goblet Squat x 8-10 reps
b) Flat bench dumbbell chest press x 8-10 reps
Group 2: (x 3 rounds with 75-90 seconds rest between rounds)
a) Seated Row x 8-10 reps
b) Bulgarian Split-Squat x 8-10 reps/leg
Group 3 (x 3 rounds, with 75-90 seconds rest between rounds
a) Flat bench dumbbell pull-over x 8-10 reps
b) Machine Hamstring Curl x 8-10 reps
c) Cable rope chop x 8-10 reps/side
C) Cool-down
- 5 minutes or cardio and 5-10 minutes of stretching
- Try to avoid the post-workout Big Mac and opt for a homemade sandwich
- More water!
If you have any questions about this specific workout or anything else exercise/food related, fire me a message at:
