Beer on the Run?

Prosit! Cheers to all of you beer lovers; Spanish researchers have found that a pint of beer after running, cycling or exercise in general can actually be good for you! A beer after the big race has been passed off as a “carbo loader and fluid replacer” as to make the beer sound better. Everyone seems to enjoy a nice chilled beer after a grueling race or tough game. Beer is even found at almost all sporting events, whether you’re just watching, or participating, beer is inevitably consumed. So no wonder they make the Oyster Challenge like they do, beer and exercise may actually work well together - but in moderation, of course.

When I began writing this article, I started finding site after site recommending beer after exercise. A few years back, Spanish scientist Manuel Garzon and his class at the Granada University in Spain conducted an experiment to learn whether beer could be as hydrating as water after exercising. Garzon conducted the experiment by having 25 students run on a treadmill in 104 F temperatures until they were close to exhaustion. Half the students were given two half pints of Spanish lager, while the rest were given water. He redid this experiment for a month, concluding at the end that the students who drank beer after the exercise showed slightly better hydration then those who only had water to drink. But almost every site discussing beer and exercise will say that these results are not quite true.

Professor Garzon never actually got this study officially published, and the professor’s study never reached a full conclusion whether beer was better than water after exercise. But they did find that the beer did not hinder one’s rehydration after exercise, though it did not necessarily help it either. So either way it doesn’t really matter. 

A beer after the race will definitely stay many people’s favorite way to celebrate and relax! And there’s no reason it shouldn’t! 

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Chrisi Keating

Santa Clara University
Communications Major