I would like to start by establishing the fact that I consider (and you should too) that you guys who train here at Roberts are athletes. You may not be pro or even amateur athletes but are athletes nonetheless. You are asked to perform athletic moves and are pushed hard and damn if you don’t try, succeed or fail, you give everything you have and that to me qualifies you as an athlete.
With that said let me establish another point, and this point is not going to win me any marks in the popularity scale. Most of you athletes are sabotaging your efforts by drinking alcohol, probably every night. I hear it constantly during my training sessions. Just socially with your spouse during dinner, or maybe just to “unwind’ because you had a hard day. Unless you are drinking just 4oz of wine (red) a night you are drinking too much. Four oz. of red wine is considered by some actually salubrious and heart healthy. But PLLEEASEE, no one stops at 4oz a night.
Alcohol continues to be the most commonly consumed drug (socially accepted) among the athletic population. Alcohol use carries significant potential adverse effects for both the health and welfare of the individual. The effects of alcohol do not just last for the day after. Imbibing alcohol on any given night will affect performance for up to 72 hours. Drinking on consecutive nights will lengthen the adverse effects for another 2-3 days. Alcohol has acute effects on motor skills, strength and power, and aerobic performance. Is this what you want fueling your efforts in here when Edna or Eric or Cindy ask you to perform a task. I hope not! Your training should be more important to you than sloshing down alcohol night after night. It is to me and it is to all my trainers.
Oh by the way, if not performing your best in the studio isn’t enough to make you think twice about that 2nd or 3rd glass, how about these facts:
Alcohol can dramatically decrease serum testosterone levels. Decreases in testosterone(in males) are associated with decreases in lean muscle mass, muscle recovery, muscle strength, testicular shrinkage, breast enlargement and decreased sperm development. In females, alcohol causes an increase in the production of estradial,(a form of estrogen) which increases the risk of breast cancer.
Athletes who drink have an elevated risk of injury as compared to athletes who don’t drink. Also alcohol depresses your immune functioning and slows the healing process for any injuries. I can continue with the negatives of alcohol but hopefully you get it.
I ask all you athletes out there, have more respect for your selves and your bodies, have respect for the hard work you are doing in here…we do!
Robert