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

Good nutrition = good health. It's simple, common-sense stuff. Eating well maximises the results you'll see when training, for both cardio and building strength.

So, what are some easy ways to eat better, without buying a book written by a shit-peddling quasi-nutritionist? I'm no nutritionist either, but I've outlined some handy ways to make your diet work.

1. Eliminating or Reducing Sugar

Source: lailasblog.com

Fat is not the enemy, as marketers would have us believe - it's sugar. In our modern society, we over-consume sugar to a ridiculous amount, particularly when we partake in soft drinks.
I noticed a massive difference in the amount of belly fat I had stored (and the ease at which I burned it off) when simply eliminating soft drinks from my diet. Not that eliminating sugar is easy - too often I experienced cravings for it, requiring good self-discipline and motivation in order to not succumb to my vicious sweet tooth.

2. Avoid Obviously Harmful Habits
Drinking, smoking and drug use are harmful to your brain and your body. Eliminating these habits will lead to better results. That being said, the average person among us appreciates a good social life; simply cutting back a small amount of your weekly alcohol intake is a great step to better health.
I'm a non-smoker, and vehemently against the habit. Smoking nullifies most people's cardio, meaning it's not your friend when it comes time to roll. Treat your body well, it's the only one you'll ever have (barring amazing breakthroughs in medical science, of course).

3. Homecooked Meals > Processed Crap
Cook your own food. It might be generally more expensive than a McDouble or a frozen lasagne, but you'll know exactly what goes in there. Cooking is therapeutic, and a good skill to have (especially for someone who's single and looking to impress!). There ain't no frozen pizzas in the wilderness, my friends. Learn to cook good, wholesome food - plus, it'll taste better!

4. Eat More Fruit and Veg

Most people don't eat enough fruit and veg - two and five is still a great guide to how much you should be taking in. Fruit and veg is relatively cheap compared to processed confectionery, and can still pack that sweet punch you're craving. Swapping chocolate bars for celery or carrot sticks also allows you to snack more often, so it's pretty much a win-win.
You can get most of your daily intake of necessary vitamins and minerals from vegetables, as well as macronutrients like protein. Forget eating slabs of meat for protein - vegetables like beans and spinach are packed with the stuff. That being said, I like meat, and don't plan on subbing it out entirely any time soon.

5. Monitoring what You Eat
This last one is tough - keeping track of your food takes dedication and a little more nutritional insight than a lot of people possess. Be the better person, show a bit of discipline, monitor your food. You'll see trends in how you eat and snack, and just thinking about what is actually going into your body does wonders for your diet, allowing you to go beyond factors like taste and satiety when choosing meals. Choosing comfort over effort will always hurt your training. Comfort is for weak people who don't truly want to achieve their goals. Ugh.

Fads can Piss Off. People experience results on these things generally because it changes simple elements of their diet, such as introducing more fruit and veg and cutting back on candy. The paleo diet is an example of this - don't be ridiculous for a diet, just eat well-rounded, balanced meals.

That's my simplest points! I might upload a meal plan in future, or a little more dietary insight. Perhaps even a bit more on how BJJ is changing my body, day by day.


Anyway, onto news:

I've had a week's break thanks to uni holidays, but I'll be back into it tonight. This means I'll have a lot more to post about for you guys!

This blog has received a lot more publicity than I'd anticipated, nearly tripling its pageviews in the last three days. This is enormously exciting for me, and I'm hoping to see it grow even further - I've received a couple of email suggestions about content, and would like to hear even more!

Y'all are great.
- George