Looking for information on alcohol affects.

**jake8267** · Posted On: 10/01/2010 11:35am

I'm looking into the longer term affects of heavy binge type drinking on fighters performance. Does anyone know of any legitimate sources that I can take a look at? Obviously I'm not looking for the normal, damage to the liver etc... More of what happens when a fighter is out partying 2-3 times a week for a couple months and then lays off for 30 days prior to a fight. Is that 30 day period enough to remove all of the affects or does the alcohol still impact his performance?

**Suprore** · Posted On: 10/01/2010 11:41am

Someone with a better knowledge of this stuff will probably come in here and make me look like an idiot in a minute, but as far as i know the way alcohol will impact a fighter's performance 30 days later, aside from 'the normal, damage to the liver etc' is nutritional.

Most alcoholic beverages are a lot of calories, and not exactly good for you. Depending on how much you're out partying and how little you're in the gym training, you may be very out of shape when those last 30 days prior to the fight come.

**jake8267** · Posted On: 10/01/2010 2:23pm

In this particular case gym time isn't exactly lacking - he spends about 8 hours a day 5-6 days a week training. I'm trying to find some proof that his partying is hurting his cage performance and probably caused his first loss in his last fight (he gassed in the third - something that has never happened - and couldn't get up after being taken down). As I'm just the older brother he won't listen unless I give him some proof. To me it's pretty obvious that when your performance goes down you look for changes in lifestyle and his increased partying is the only negative change, the only other major change was increased training time.

**JAFMAS** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 12:52pm

Originally Posted by jake8267

I'm looking into the longer term affects of heavy binge type drinking on fighters performance. Does anyone know of any legitimate sources that I can take a look at? Obviously I'm not looking for the normal, damage to the liver etc... More of what happens when a fighter is out partying 2-3 times a week for a couple months and then lays off for 30 days prior to a fight. Is that 30 day period enough to remove all of the affects or does the alcohol still impact his performance?

Although a newbie to the martial arts, I worked in addictions treatment for 21 years.

It's a fact that "heavy" alcohol use affects all aspects of performance, and although the fighter might stop binge drinking 30 days prior to a fight, it's the long term damage that can potentially affect the individual.

True, when we think of alcohol use, there's a tendency to think of it in terms of liver damage and other internal organs, however, damage can occur withing the musculo-skeletal system as well. Alcohol not only can reduce bone density, but can also lead to loss of muscle mass and loss of endurance over the long run.

A good resource for some info on alcohol's long term effects is the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Not being in the addictions field anymore, I haven't visited their website in about 5 years, but they used to include alot of data and recent research on the effects of alcohol abuse.

Here is the link: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/

Hope that link helps. Maybe look under the link for research and health.

**Kintanon** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 1:24pm

Heavy alcohol use also affects your sleep patterns, which affects your ability to recover from hard training. It also adds additional stress to your heart, liver, and kidneys which are already working pretty hard if you're an athlete.
If you are doing heavy drinking while training you are definitely not getting the most out of your training and you're going to be more vulnerable to overtraining and injury.

**goodlun** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 1:40pm

Hi [COLOR=#cccccc]JAFMAS[/COLO"]JAFMAS - Member Profile - Bullshido,
Wouldn't the drinking also have an affect on how effective his training during that time period? IE not enough nutrients getting to the right places, damage like you said to the muscles while they are rebuilding, maybe even less effective from muscle memory drills?

**JAFMAS** · Posted On: 10/04/2010 2:17pm

Originally Posted by goodlun

Hi [COLOR=#cccccc]JAFMAS[/COLO"]JAFMAS - Member Profile - Bullshido,
Wouldn't the drinking also have an affect on how effective his training during that time period? IE not enough nutrients getting to the right places, damage like you said to the muscles while they are rebuilding, maybe even less effective from muscle memory drills?

In a nutshell, I've never seen heavy drinking have any positive effects on a person. Heavy alcohol use has a pretty big impact on the immune and nervous systems overall.

Again, I think you know the answer to your question in the original post. The hardest part is often convincing the person who drinks heavy that their alcohol use is causing them problems.

**elipson** · Posted On: 10/05/2010 2:47am

Alcohol also contributes to hormone imbalances, effecting his testosterone level in a negative way, which amongst other things will affect his ability to recuperate after working out.

**jake8267** · Posted On: 10/05/2010 8:14am

Thanks guys, especially JAFMAS there's some good info on that site. I pretty much knew the problems he's causing himself, the trick is proving it to him.

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 10/05/2010 4:02pm

Sad thing is you likely wont change his mind. We as human beings have no bigger blind spot than our own glaring flaws. I hope you convince him to tone it down but be ready for a long battle.