Hello you lovely lot!
So this is a slightly different post to normal but I thought after all we are all human and who doesn’t love a good night out every so often! And as its the first weekend since the end of dry Jan (I realise this post is a little too late to help now) I thought I would put together a collection of my top tops for feeling fresh the next day!
First things first a few things to think about before you head out…..
Exercise or not?
So before a night out you may be thinking or know you are likely to have one too many cocktails and kebab/cheesy chips at the end of the night so should smash a big workout in before heading out.
I’ve been there and done it and yes I burnt calories but I also woke up aching all over and literally unable to move the next day. There was no time for my body to recover and with alcohol preventing muscle building (read more below) I actually got no real benefit from the session.
If you are like me and don’t like skipping a workout day plan some cardio or HIIT style training with light weights for this day – raise your heart rate but not putting your muscles under any real stress.
What Alcohol Does To Our Body
- Firstly state the obvious but alcohol is empty calories (contain no nutritional value) and does halts/slows down fat burning due to your body working overtime to breakdown and metabolise the alcohol.
- As we know alcohol dehydrates us lowering our metabolism and further as you may or may not know dehydrated cells are far more catabolic (muscle breakdown) than anabolic (muscle building) – so more muscle breakdown than rebuilding occurring.
- Its not all bad news it also makes you (think you can) dance like Beyonce and some great/funny memories (and maybe some that would be better forgotten)!
Way to Combat This
Now from the above it may seem like the best idea not to drink and if you are serious about getting into shape fast or want to be super lean then yes avoiding alcohol would be the answer, but remember everything in moderation and you have still got to enjoy life and have fun too!
I have bullet pointed below my list of top tips to help you prepare pre and post night out both to help the hangover and make sure you will get the most from your workouts 🙂
- Leave the big lifts for the weekdays
Leave them for days you can fuel correctly, get a good sleep and therefore get maximum gains – feel stronger and perform better!
- 1L Water before bed
Stay rehydrating your body so you have the best chance of a good night sleep and wake up feeling a hell of a lot better – one that I know will help but still do struggle to remember but try leaving a glass next to your bed to help remind you.
- Protein Before Bed
We all love a little drunken trip to the kebab shop but try cooking a protein treat (examples here on my blog and at Vivo Life) or in a rush, grab one of my favourites Quest Nutrition bars (order at Muscle Food and you also get some chicken thrown in for free with code SM190331 at checkout)
- Lots of fluids early and throughout the day
Drink as soon as you get up – water is never the most appealing to me on a hangover so I tend to whizz up a berry and greek yogurt smoothie with coconut water (seriously hydrating more so than water) the night before and leave in the fridge ready for the morning – or if you don’t have time grab one from the shop when you get your drink (my fav are the Innocent range as totally natural nothing added).
Smoothies are refreshing taste great and adding some superfood ingredients are a great way to replace lost nutrients and kick start your metabolism!
- Glutamimmune
1 scoop of glutamimmune also helps kick start your metabolism and turn your body back into anabolic over catabolic state – I also take this post workout to help promote lean muscle growth
- Have A Big Breakfast
Maybe you did binge out last night but not eating today is the worst thing you can do – fill yourself up with a good healthy breakfast such as eggs, lean bacon and sourdough bread , protein pancakes or porridge are some of my favourite choices
- Lots of fluids
Keep drinking – take a bottle everywhere with you especially today and drink little and often. Try and have some coconut water – most hydrating drink!
- Get some air
Get outside and go for a walk/light jog – I don’t normally/never have before been on a post workout run but today after following most of the tips above was feeling great and definitely getting my running bug back! Getting outside and active helps get your heart rate up and as we know exercise makes us feel good but I wouldn’t recommend hitting the gym for a heavy weights sessions as you reasons above you are unlike to gain anything from it and far more susceptible to injury!
I hope this will be useful to you and help you enjoy a night out and still able to make the most out of the next day – remember everything is about balance and yes alcohol is empty calories, slows metabolism and recovery etc etc but living your life obsessed with macros, training and the ‘perfect’ body image is not healthy and trust me will not make you happy.
But before I veer off track (and I really do need to make some dins) just remember an off day is not the end of the world – its good for your mind and your mental state to let your hair down once in a while enjoy time with friends without feeling guilty or obsessing over calories/macros 24/7 – life is for living!
If you have any other tips or ideas that help you on a hangover please do ping me a message sinead@scmfitness.co.uk – or if you think this would help a friend out I would love you to share this post!
Hope you have a great week guys and I promise to have a few more posts up this week – (I will get better) so as always any ideas of things you’d like to see get in touch!
Lots of love,
Sinead x
