I like a drink. Hell, I'm Australian, I'll chug ten beers for no reason at all (there's a celebration somewhere, right?). However, starting to train a bit more seriously means I have two hobbies that don't mix - BJJ and alcohol aren't good buddies, it would seem.

Short Term effects of alcohol consumption.
When drinking, you shouldn't train. That's fairly simple - while intoxicated your mind and body are severely impaired. You'll fail to learn anything at all, and you are likely to end up doing something foolish. When I say the short term effects, I mean the day after, not whilst still intoxicated.
Last night one of the guys at the gym was gassed out, tired, overly sweaty, and just not having a good day. His reason? A binge-drinking bender over the weekend. He was simply unable to perform at his normal level due to the alcohol he had consumed.
Alcohol is also carbohydrate-heavy (and if you're drinking something princessy, sugar-heavy), meaning that it's not the greatest for your diet. If you're thinking about using it as a diuretic to cut water out of your system (I've heard of it happening!), think again - a slight increase in sodium intake will lead to the same result.

Long Term effects of alcohol consumption.
In the long term, well after you've actually had a drink, excessive alcohol consumption will have made significant changes to almost every aspect of your body. The most noticeable differences for someone training BJJ or MMA, however, are in your brain. Heavy drinkers suffer from slower reaction times and sluggishness, something we definitely don't want out on the mats.
Alcohol will also affect your ability to recover after training, especially after injury, and will significantly hamper your body's ability to take in energy and proteins.

My Experience with alcohol and training.

My drink of choice, a Glenlivet 12.

Before I stepped on the mats, I liked to run, Before I got to college, I didn't drink very much. When the two collided it didn't work out. For a while I averaged 6-8 beers a night, and the changes in my body were staggering. I developed a 'spare tyre' of fat around my midsection, had an appalling sleep cycle, my skin was gross and oily, and I couldn't run to save my life.

This all happened in just three months - I went from being insanely fit to a mildly pudgy guy with no cardio whatsoever. My diet was good, my exercise was good; the only factor that changed was the significant increase in alcohol consumption.

Since deciding I wasn't OK with this, I've cut back my alcohol consumption drastically. I no longer drink most beverages, opting only for an occasional, slowly-sipped Glenlivet 12 on the rocks. The changes I saw have been reversed, and I can roll for hours on end without gassing out. It's also helped my wallet, woo!


So, can you drink alcohol and still train properly? Not really. Sure, you can drink occasionally, but any significant intake will undoubtedly harm you training.
Alcohol ruins your cardio and messes with your brain. We're training to be smart, quick, enduring fighters, right? Avoiding alcohol gives us a great headstart.

Stirred or shaken - to hell with all your hard work (that's sarcasm, guys).
- George