Why You Don’t Need To Worry About Grabbing A Post-Run Beer

If this stock photo is any indication, drinking while working out is a confusing, if not completely dangerous, idea. We're still waiting for the day when someone develops an exercise routine in which being more prone to tripping and singing Tori Amos songs at karaoke are actually assets, but, until then, let's focus on how we can keep both the gym and the bar in our lives while still staying safe. Luckily, a recent study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition has found that grabbing a beer after your workout is actually pretty low-risk. Related: 7 Healthy Reasons To Be Drinking Beer The researchers behind the study worked with men freshly dehydrated from about an hour-long run, offering all of them as much water as they'd like to drink after their workout, and offering 22 ounces of beer to a select group of them as well. After about two hours, the researchers found from the men's urine samples that those who drank beer were just as rehydrated as those who only had water. Related: 5 Signs Of Dehydration — Besides The Color Of Your Pee

Of course, this finding does not suggest that beer will work as a great alternative to water. Rather, it simply suggests that a beer or two will do little harm when you've reached a certain point of dehydration; your body would just like you to drink something after a tough workout. And, it hopes that you'll do the responsible thing and switch over to water before too long. Click through to Shape for more on staying hydrated before, during, and after you exercise. (Shape) Related: 12 Gluten-Free Beers That Really Do Taste Great