The relation between alcohol consumption and physical fitness

The study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition investigates the influence of moderate consumption of beer or alcohol on the physical fitness response to a highly demanding training program. The 10-week program (2 days/week) high-intensity interval training (HIIT) involved repeated bouts (< 45 s) of intense exercise (85–95% maximal heart rate) with periods of rest or lower-intensity active recovery. Beverages consumption of alcohol beer 5.4%, sparkling water with vodka 5.4%, sparkling water 0.0%, or alcohol-free beer 0.0% was in the amount of 330 ml by men at lunch and 330 ml at dinner; by women 330 ml at dinner.
The study has demonstrated that a 10-week HIIT program improved muscular strength as well as cardiorespiratory fitness and that improvements were not influenced by the intake of beer or ethanol.
However, the authors acknowledge that the study presents some limitations:
-the sample size was relatively small,
-the participants included in our study are young, moderately active, healthy adults,
-physical activity levels were self-reported,
-participants were not purely randomized.

Source: https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-020-00356-7