Ever woken up after a binge-drinking session and feel like absolute death? Yeah, so have I. Ever get nervous that you may lose your gains due to that hangover? Whether you have or not, I for certain have, and throughout my life and many incredible workout days paired with incredible blackout nights, I’ve learned a decent way to recover from a hangover and prevent it from affecting your gains too much. First off let me just refer to my previous article about balancing lifting and drinking, which explains about how to healthily balance the two aspects throughout your week or life. This article is very relatable but will delve deeper into a more specific aspect of balancing lifting and drinking, that aspect being the hangover. For anyone who did not read the other article, let me re-inform you that alcohol is 7kcal a gram. Whether you drink the hard liquor like Jim Lahey or you stick to your beers like Charlie Kelly, both forms of alcohol are high in calorie content. Don’t listen to your silly friends who say, “Oh beer has too many carbs,” and refuse to drink it because they think its packed with additional carbohydrates. Its ridiculous; don’t listen to them because that simply is not true. YES, it has carbs, but not nearly as many as people simply think. An average light beer has under 10 carbohydrates in them, however heavier beers like budweiser have around 10.5 grams of carbohydrates, which is only 42 calories! Budweiser even has 1.4 grams of protein in it. About 100 calories are ALL from the alcohol calories, and the same goes for liquor; JUST because it doesn’t have many carbohydrates doesn’t mean it doesn’t have calories. Liquor is filled with calories as its 7kcal a gram with no carbs. Yes, is has a little less caloric content than beer, but its pretty much the same, and at least beer has some protein in it! So, don’t let those common misbeliefs trump your alcohol decision choice, however I suggest beer over liquor despite the carbs because lets, face it, liquor just does you dirty and is a pure toxin, whereas some beer has polyphenols (antioxidants) and protein in them that can even make the occasional beer good for you.
Now that I’ve discussed the differences between alcohols and my personal suggestion. Now, I am going to discuss and list some tips that I have for you all that I think will be helpful to cure your hangover and help you salvage your gains the best you can.
- Try to drink some water while you’re out drinking in order to stay hydrated. NO, I’m not going to sit here and tell you to have 1 water for every beer you drink like some nerd. I’m being as real as it comes. Just drink some water when you feel like it, or at least before you go to bed.
- When waking up, drink a lot of water in order to rehydrate yourself. Eat some food- even though there may be alcohol in your system being broken down first before the caloric content of whatever food you eat. Thats because alcohol is our liver’s priority to detoxify and break down first as it is a toxin. So if there is still alcohol in your system you may store some food as fat but trust me, food the next morning will make you feel a lot better.
- Advil and whatever else kills that headache. Maybe some smoke a doobie too if you’re that type of person. I’m not encouraging drug usage to people who don’t use them, I am just giving some advice out for the people who might. I’m just being real here. No filter.
- Sweat it out – Go sweat out those toxins! Go for a run or walk or play a pickup game of hoops. You will feel like a new human being once you sweat out those toxins. I prefer basketball or simple bodybuilding workouts. People actually say lifting is the best hangover cure!
- Stay motivated: No Matter how you feel, STAY MOTIVATED and remember why you’re in your sport, persevere, endure, and stay grinding in the gym. Don’t let that hangover get you. Remember, hangover cures and aid is not just physical, it’s mental.
- Tommy Roel
- Maxin’ Out n Blackin’ Out
