When I drink alcohol I feel buzzed and energized.
Is it possible that I could use this energy when I exercise?

Man in Van.

I will tell you right off the bat Man, (hah, Batman!) that you should never drink alcohol before or during (or on that note, even after!) exercise as it leaves your blood and brain cells with extremely lower levels of water. This happens because alcohol is a diuretic and causes the kidneys to take water from your blood and put it with your urine, which would be excreted at some point between the first and tenth time you go to the bathroom every time you consume more than moderate amounts of alcohol. With these low levels of water, an assumption would be that the brain cells, which indirectly activate your muscles during exercise, would not be able to activate them as efficiently, which would lead to decrease performance. One thing for sure is that the decreased blood volume would not allow adequate delivery of essential nutrients and water for energy production within the muscle, or adequate departure of wastes and carbon dioxide that are given off as a result of energy production. Recovery from exercise would be prolonged in two ways. First, the metabolism of amino acids in the liver would be altered, and these are the amino acids which you use to rebuild your muscle after exercise. Secondly, delivery of amino acids would be decreased due to decreased blood-water volume. As for the buzz, I think that this surge of energy you feel when you drink is in part due to the distorted brain perception of your strength as a result of alcohol consumption. This is the same distorted perception that makes you think you actually look cool while you are dancing on the stage at a club. Another part of it is due to the caloric content of alcohol. The following is a breakdown of common alcoholic beverages and their caloric content:

1. Beer (12 oz.) = 150 cal.

2. Light Beer (12 oz.) = 100 cal.

3. Wine (4 oz.) = 100 cal.

4. Spirits (1 oz.) = 80 cal.

The energy you experience is your body absorbing the beverage and digesting its seven calories per gram of alcohol, which is more that your body gets from a gram of carbohydrate or protein(4 cals per gram). The flip-side is that there is no nutritional value in alcohol, and the calories you consume with it could be obtained with a potato, which would have more vitamins and minerals. So, in conclusion, do not drink alcohol for exercise, water is the best medicine, and if any, the most important time to drink alcohol and not water is ARTS COUNTY FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Courtesy of Dr. Scoreboard.