Damage Control For Weekend Warriors

Its pretty much general knowledge, at this stage, that going out, drinking heavily and partying is going to negatively affect your health and fitness goals. We don’t question this, we accept it, but the truth is the majority of people just don’t care.

Going out to pubs, clubs, parties, whatever it might be, are all normal parts of life for the majority of us, especially the younger generation, and it can be good to get out often with friends and socialize. To say that to reach any sort of fitness goals means you have to stop drinking and never go out again would be ridiculous and nobody would do it anyway! Here’s some tips to keep you on track.

1. BE CAREFUL WITH CARBS

I never tell any client to completely cut carbs even when dieting (as there is no need to) BUT when it comes to the weekend and the client knows they are going to a big event that night with lots of drink and crap food, I do tell them to leave out the carbs that day. So make your lunch and dinner full of protein and fats to keep you full throughout the day, because you will get all your carbs later for that day from drink (and probably a kebab too, lets be honest.)

2. CHOOSE YOUR DRINK WISELY

Its important to be aware that all drinks don’t have the same amount of calories. Drinks like beer, cider and wine are all very high calorie, compared to a spirit and a mixer (about half the calories per drink). So switching to a good aul G and T, when you are usually drinking pints of cider all night can really help limit the damage you do. Just make sure you don’t end up under a table by 9pm from drinking spirits from the start of the night.

3. GET HYDRATED AND STAY HYDRATED

We all know the worst part of a night out is waking up the next day with a banging headache and a mouth as dry as the Sahara. A lot of this is down to being severely dehydrated from drinking alcohol . We can make the day after a bit easier on ourselves by making sure we are properly hydrated, which would mean drinking AT LEAST 1 litre of water per 25kg of bodyweight, and drinking a pint of water every time you order a drink from the bar on the night out. This should help alleviate some of the pain of the hangover the next day and help us resist that urge to binge on dominoes all day long.

So staying in every weekend is the only way to really make sure you aren’t hurting any of your progress from the gym, but this certainly isn’t for everyone. If staying in on the weekend just isn’t your thing, well then these tips are for you.