How could alcohol impact my fitness progress

Summer days are officially here, bringing with them festivals, rooftop gatherings, and picnics, and we are all for it! However, alcohol often accompanies these activities, and many of you are concerned about its impact on your training and fitness goals. Today, we’re diving into the question: "Will drinking alcohol ruin my fitness progress?" Read on to discover how alcohol consumption affects your workouts, muscle recovery, and overall fitness journey


We’ve done a lot of training, a lot of fitness and a lot of drinking over the last few years - so we think we’re quite well placed to discuss some of the things that you should consider when it comes to the impact of alcohol on your fitness progress.

Sleep & recovery

We’ve all heard that your training is as good as your recovery is. The bad news is that alcohol doesn’t help with neither getting a good night's sleep nor muscle recovery. We’ve all had those nights where we’ve had one too many drinks, get home dying for some sleep and end up waking up every hour - definitely not ideal before or after a heavy training day! Alcohol also dehydrates our bodies and impairs protein synthesis - which is the main process through which our bodies repair and grow muscle tissue. So all in all - if you do decide to have a drink, you can expect decreased performance. 

Hidden calories

Whether you’re goal is weight loss, gain or maintenance, it’s important to be aware of the hidden calories that are in your drinks - so you’re able to make an informed decision -, this is not to say you can’t enjoy the occasional drink - it’s just useful to have the knowledge of how many extra calories come with it!  

Average glass of wine = around 150 cals

Average pint = around 200 cals

Your average cocktail = 150-250 cals

It’s important to note that a glass of wine won’t ruin your fitness journey. As a matter of fact, even a bottle of wine can’t ruin it! But it’s also important to note that it will slow things down - not only because of the extra cals, but due to the impact it has on sleep and recovery and your overall wellbeing after having a few too many bevvies. 

A few ways to still enjoy a drink without adding too many extra cals would be to opt for sugar-free mixers (e.g. rum + diet coke), Aperols, ciders and low alcohol beers, etc.

Fitness/life balance

We’ve all heard of the elusive work/life balance - and we’re all trying to keep it in mind in our day-to-day. What’s not spoken enough about though is your fitness/life balance - that is, being able to do life the way you like while still achieving your fitness goals. And we are huge advocates of it. You know we love to train hard, and party even harder. And we’ll never tell any of you that you need to cut out alcohol completely, stop eating the foods you enjoy, or always get 8h of sleep. Why? Because we know it’s unrealistic, and only realistic fitness journeys are sustainable in the long run.  

Our bodies are all unique, and they all respond to alcohol differently. We all know those lucky people who get no hangovers, right? It might be an interesting experiment to try and cut out alcohol for x number of days - and see what happens! Co-founder Sam did this for 100 days and it did wonders for her! 

‘’When I cut out alcohol I was getting better sleep - and recovering much better, which then meant my fitness performance was better as well. I definitely saw some really good fitness results in that time.

Since then, I’ve been drinking in moderation. I do believe in life you can find balance, and it’s 80% things you should do and 20% things you just want to do. That’s my rule of keeping sane!’

So on that note, no, alcohol won’t ruin your fitness progress! But it’s also important to be realistic about it. If you’re getting frustrated that you’re not making much progress in the gym, but having a few to many gins at the weekend - then cutting down your alcohol consumption might be the place to start.  At the end of the day though, fitness is a long-term game, and being able to enjoy the journey - in the long run - is equally, if not more important than the end results.