Alcohol - How much does it really hurt your gains?

[BEGINwithEND]

look. im 21. let say i go out every other weekend and get a little tipsy. is that going to really hurt my gains or is a once every two weeks thing okay?

 

[Pitbull14218]

good question, last night was the first time i didnt drink while watching a UFC, no matter how many times my friends told me to do a shot or drink... i said no! But im just sick of being small and i figure i will do what it takes to get bigger even if its not drinking and partying like most people my age do.

 

[FlexW99]

This is a good question. On the surface; we say no to alcohol. Anything detrimental to gains is prohibited.

However, my experience was this:

I, like Pitbull, had the mentality of 'I don't need alcohol and I don't need to follow the crowd'. Conversely, I had some of the best times of my life while being intoxicated to a point. Not drunk per se, but very buzzzzed. BTW, there's nothing cool about drunk and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Just know this; moderation is key. If you're going to drink every weekend, keep it to every weekend, dont do it 2-3 times a week. Working out too much is also bad. All work and no play is boring. If you want to reach your goals quicker, don't do it, if there's lee-way, enjoy the weekend and get back to workouts on Monday. Just work a little harder in the gym that day.

Lastly, I don't have anything to back this up, but I'm pretty sure alcohol interferes with fat burning biologically in some way/shape or form.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[suncloud]

one or two drinks every 2 weeks isn't going to hurt you IMO. 2 drinks 3x per week is a whole nother ballgame, from hydration issues to anything that can harm the liver (most of the OTC cycles do that, so we gotta be prepared). the occasional drink on every 2nd weekend? not so much of a big deal. if you start drinking more often however....

 

[EasyEJL]

Alcohol - How much does it really hurt your gains?

3

thats how much.

Its basically a silly question, like "how much will I gain if I use x + y supplements". There is no telling how differently it affects 2 different people. Suncloud is right that moderation limits negative effects, but if you the next morning miss 1 workout every 2 weeks in a year that adds up. There is also some information pointing to estrogenic effects from alcohol, and also particularly from hops in beer.

All that said, the question really boils down to "are you prepping for a contest?" and if not, then drinking in moderation will likely affect your gains less than a lot of other things you do like eating junk food or fast food or goddamn cold stone creamery. Really most of what a lot of guys concern themselves with as far as details aren't all that critical except in contest prep, and even then mostly in the last 12 weeks.

 

[shawn213]

look. im 21. let say i go out every other weekend and get a little tipsy. is that going to really hurt my gains or is a once every two weeks thing okay?

Well it basically decreases the rate of protien synthesis by having a negative affect on nitrogen ballance resulting catabolism in muscle protiens.

 

[magdielgte]

i dont know about every1 else... to me DRINKING means im SHRINKING!!
i cannot drink and work out, i loose that edge.. i have to work all week just to make up for the weekend.. and your simply taking two steps forward and one step back. lay off on the drinking bro. Its not hot, and its a libido killer!! (different folks different strokes)

 

[Psychabinol]

i never understand why the world loves alcohol so much, its such a flawed drug. Alcohol, is pretty much the worse drug, illegal or not, that has negative consequences on different aspects of the body.

Will drinking a few times a month be bad, no, of course not, some studies have even shown modest quanties of alcohol can have certain benefits.

If you get drunk a few times a month, thats bad, a few times a month, equals 20-50 times a year, equals you get the picture. You could look up a study, saying that italians have better cholesterol and overall health because they drink a glass of red wine everyday.

Off topic, get some Thermogum, that stuff way better than alcohol any day, for a party. Is it safe? Hell, it could be less safe than alcohol. Like nothing is safe in major quantities.

 

[magdielgte]

lol take some resveratrol