Alcohol After Workouts?

Workout, then wine—it’s the ideal evening for so many women these days. In fact, research shows that exercise actually makes you more likely to drink. And in the right amount, that combo can be good for you. But key words: right amount. Here’s your guide.

- Sara Angle

For many women, exercise and alcohol go hand in hand, a growing body of evidence suggests. Not only do people drink more on days when they hit the gym, according to research published in the journal Health Psychology, but women who imbibe moderately (meaning four to seven drinks a week) are twice as likely to work out than their peers who abstain, a study at the University of Miami found.

Turns out barre class and the bar are similar as far as your brain is concerned. “Exercising and drinking alcohol are processed the same way by the brain’s reward center,” explains J. Leigh Leasure, Ph.D., the director of the neuroscience lab at the University of Houston. Both trigger the release of feel-good neuro chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. So to some extent, drinking after a workout is a logical progression: As your exercise high wears off, your brain looks for ways to prolong the buzz, such as having a cocktail, Leasure says. Boot campers and bargoers may have overlapping personality traits too. Both are likely to be risk takers, predisposed to seeking out activities that deliver that endorphin rush.