Alcohol and Exercise

[JCeltic]

I've taken up hitting the gym seriously only for just shy of a year now.

I've successfully lost a good amount of body fat, and have shifted my gears towards building muscle, and i've made some gains in that aspect of my gym routine.

My question is this,

I do have a drinking problem. I drink nearly everyday ( in excess more often than not ) , and only by my girlfriend breaking down recently in tears in front of me. . i have decided to go to AA classes.
So how much is alcohol going to interfere with goals in the gym when it comes to building muscle?? This is really not an area i am educated in, and am just looking for some clarity as to how this is going to / and has been effecting me.

Thank You.

 

[Hank Vangut]

1. Alcohol is empty calories.
2. Alcohol dehydrates you
3. Alcohol slows down your metabolism
4. Alcohol inhibits protein synthesis
5. Alcohol blocks the absorption of nutrients to the muscles
6. Alcohol lowers testosterone
7. Alcohol increases estrogen
8. Alcohol consumption is catabolic

 

[kjkriston]

wow, that really sheds some light on the issue. Good post.

 

[JCeltic]

1. Alcohol is empty calories.
2. Alcohol dehydrates you
3. Alcohol slows down your metabolism
4. Alcohol inhibits protein synthesis
5. Alcohol blocks the absorption of nutrients to the muscles
6. Alcohol lowers testosterone
7. Alcohol increases estrogen
8. Alcohol consumption is catabolic

Wow.

Very helpful Hank, Thank You.

#6 and #7 were especially suprising to me.

Again, Thanks.

 

[SilentBob187]

1. Alcohol is empty calories.
2. Alcohol dehydrates you
3. Alcohol slows down your metabolism
4. Alcohol inhibits protein synthesis
5. Alcohol blocks the absorption of nutrients to the muscles
6. Alcohol lowers testosterone
7. Alcohol increases estrogen
8. Alcohol consumption is catabolic

This is why I haven't had a drop in months.

 

[wastedwhiteboy2]

yes alcohol is horrible. summer time I slow down on the drinking.

 

[Farmboy]

I've taken up hitting the gym seriously only for just shy of a year now.

I've successfully lost a good amount of body fat, and have shifted my gears towards building muscle, and i've made some gains in that aspect of my gym routine.

My question is this,

I do have a drinking problem. I drink nearly everyday ( in excess more often than not ) , and only by my girlfriend breaking down recently in tears in front of me. . i have decided to go to AA classes.
So how much is alcohol going to interfere with goals in the gym when it comes to building muscle?? This is really not an area i am educated in, and am just looking for some clarity as to how this is going to / and has been effecting me.

Thank You.

I had that problem a couple years ago, but then I came across someone who was built just exactly like I wanted to be. (Jerry) I devoured his posts, taking in everything I could. In doing this, I put together a meal plan that gave me mental clarity that I never had before and the desire to get to where he was overrode any desire I had to drink. Stick around, find someone on here that is where you want to be and let them be your inspiration. Get serious!!! get excited!!! Your GF will see the changes in you and you wont need to play those AA games in hopes of keeping her.

 

[Steveoph]

If you are interested in some of the more detailed mechanisms how it interrupts/ruins you bodybuilding, and also a bit of history I suggest reading http://www.rippednaturally.com/bodybuilding_effects_of_alcohol.html .

To add to hank's list
9) Disrupts sleep
10)Increases fatigue
11) Decreases strength and aerobic performance

 

[JCeltic]

Farmboy & steve, thank you both for your responses. . and thanks for the link steve

 

[SilentBob187]

Oh man, I forgot to add, welcome to the board JC. This was your first post.

Good luck and just know that this is a solid group of people here.

 

[Rugger]

Every day and you will have a super, really awesome, amazingly difficult time building muscle. I drink once a week heavily and it inhibits me a bit.

 

[JCeltic]

Oh man, I forgot to add, welcome to the board JC. This was your first post.

Good luck and just know that this is a solid group of people here.

I appreciate the welcome Bob,

I've made only one post and can tell people here and well intentioned and informative.

Glad to be a member on the board now.

 

[maynehood171]

This is why I haven't had a drop in months.

Yeah I went from drinking about everyday to about 1-3 times a month due to how alcohol effects the body and I just don't like trying to train the next day or even 2 days after feeling like shyt!...and mind you I'm a college senior haha

 

[kjkriston]

so in all reality 1 glass of wine a night is pretty harmful. What alternative for relaxation do you guys use. I tried Phenibut but the hangover is crippling @ 5 in the morning.

 

[Rugger]

so in all reality 1 glass of wine a night is pretty harmful. What alternative for relaxation do you guys use. I tried Phenibut but the hangover is crippling @ 5 in the morning.

nyquil

 

[Hank Vangut]

so in all reality 1 glass of wine a night is pretty harmful.

no.
excessive consumption is harmful.
there are actully some health benefits associated with light consumption of red wine or beer.
although alochol does everyting i listed previously, in moderate consumption it's really the empty calories that are most non-conducive to a true body building program.

What alternative for relaxation do you guys use.

marijuana: no hang-over. no calories. no impact on hormone levels. no impact on nutrient uptake by muscles.

 

[maynehood171]

no.
excessive consumption is harmful.
there are actully some health benefits associated with light consumption of red wine or beer.
in moderate consumption it's really the empty calories that are most non-conducive to a true body building program.



marijuana: no hang-over. no calories. no impact on hormone levels. no impact on nutrient uptake by muscles.

:toofunny: Good Call! haha

 

[Manimalia]

i would have to say that this has been cleared up already by others. i will say one thing, though, from personal experience. i have at times had just ONE drink after a workout and the next day, i woke up sore. i DO NOT work out to get sore. i actually think that soreness is unhealthy, unless you have just a bit in the ol' legs, as they can/should take a beating.

but i digress. alcohol, the main problem with it, having mentioned this brings protein synthesis to a halt. that's the main thing. without that, you are just sitting there with sore ass muscles that ain't better because of a workout; they're then worse.

 

[Manimalia]

by the way, welcome! sorry about that! hey, i'm a new guy here, too. but i don't feel too new, as people here have been really inviting and helpful. this forum isn't quite like others, as a lot of others have members that are.....i don't know....clannish?

 

[SilentBob187]

as a lot of others have members that are.....i don't know....clannish?

I'm BNB mutha trucka! Do you want karate?!

Yeah no bad apples here, except for these weird banana guys. They're obsessed with Gwen Stefani... :run: I keed Banana Death Squad, I keed.

 

[kjkriston]

no.
excessive consumption is harmful.
there are actully some health benefits associated with light consumption of red wine or beer.
although alochol does everyting i listed previously, in moderate consumption it's really the empty calories that are most non-conducive to a true body building program.



marijuana: no hang-over. no calories. no impact on hormone levels. no impact on nutrient uptake by muscles.

I am tested so no go with the Mary Jane.

 

[Hank Vangut]

I am tested so no go with the Mary Jane.

:frustrate

 

[tim1985]

no.
excessive consumption is harmful.
there are actully some health benefits associated with light consumption of red wine or beer.
although alochol does everyting i listed previously, in moderate consumption it's really the empty calories that are most non-conducive to a true body building program.

im currently cutting and im planning on going out tonight and drinking, i rarely drink so would this hurt my progress much since i don't do it very often?

 

[Trauma1]

nyquil

x2 LOL!!

I've worked nightshift for years, and nyquil still delivers!!

 

[Trauma1]

I'm BNB mutha trucka! Do you want karate?!

Yeah no bad apples here, except for these weird banana guys. They're obsessed with Gwen Stefani... :run: I keed Banana Death Squad, I keed.

Don't make the BDS put a hit out on you bro.

 

[kjkriston]

I know about nyquil. I heard about Kratom powder. Any experiences? I cant find Kava Kava anywhere local is it worth ordering online?

 

[NateWA]

1. Alcohol is empty calories.
2. Alcohol dehydrates you
3. Alcohol slows down your metabolism
4. Alcohol inhibits protein synthesis
5. Alcohol blocks the absorption of nutrients to the muscles
6. Alcohol lowers testosterone
7. Alcohol increases estrogen
8. Alcohol consumption is catabolic

So HANK, If I Drink a lot of water and run a prohormone, and take a fat burner, Do you think I can sucessfully combat the negatives of alcohol??

 

[rugger48]

Every day and you will have a super, really awesome, amazingly difficult time building muscle. I drink once a week heavily and it inhibits me a bit.

I wonder what you could be doing that 1 time a week.:thumbsup:

 

[ecu19]

So HANK, If I Drink a lot of water and run a prohormone, and take a fat burner, Do you think I can sucessfully combat the negatives of alcohol??

So, you would rather drink heavily (money+health risks), AND run a prohormone, fatburner, and drink lots of water (money+health risks) instead of just drinking little or none at all while on cycle?? :think::think:

I'm not Hank, but I would NOT run those two together. If you can't give up drinking little to none at all on cycle (which odds are it's methylated, and would hurt liver values ALONG with alcohol), then i'd say don't do it.

Your body will thank you.

 

[KingMeso]

marijuana: no hang-over. no calories. no impact on hormone levels. no impact on nutrient uptake by muscles.

No calories? Hank, do you have some anti-munching Devil's Lettuce? If so, I need some of that. j/k.

I will say one thing though. Munchin' out on healthy food is kind of funny. Other people eating pizza, fast food, etc. and you are bashing grilled chicken and protein shakes. Just the job done, but always makes me laugh. The other laugh at it too, but then again, they are pretty fat.

 

[jman3967]

assuming you got sh!thoused the night before what are the best ways to recover the next morning

 

[lkjh]

assuming you got sh!thoused the night before what are the best ways to recover the next morning

what's worked for me has been forcing myself up like an hour or so before i have to be up and slamming a gatorade or one of those vitamin waters and going back to bed, then when i do get up making sure i eat a bunch and drink a bunch of water. if it happens on day i'm supposed to lift i'll push it back to the evening. still hurts you at the gym though

 

[futurepilot]

Beer Study

Yesterday, University scientists released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption. The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens) and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women. To test the theory, 100 men were fed 8 pints of beer each within a 1 hour period. It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects:

1) Gained weight.
2) Talked excessively without making sense.
3) Became overly emotional.
4) Couldn't drive.
5) Failed to think rationally.
6) Argued over nothing.
7) Had to sit down while urinating.
8) Refused to apologize when obviously wrong.

No further testing was considered necessary.

 

[manifesto]

Yesterday, University scientists released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption. The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens) and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women. To test the theory, 100 men were fed 8 pints of beer each within a 1 hour period. It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects:

1) Gained weight.
2) Talked excessively without making sense.
3) Became overly emotional.
4) Couldn't drive.
5) Failed to think rationally.
6) Argued over nothing.
7) Had to sit down while urinating.
8) Refused to apologize when obviously wrong.

No further testing was considered necessary.

LOL:clap2:

 

[GettinSwoll]

Im not proud to say it but i am in college so give me a break, but i do smoke marijuana daily and still have a 3.7 gpa have 9% body fat and a nice figure with gains that just keep on coming. Are there any negative effects on training associated with marijuana? (besides the bullshit of lack of will and all the other bs things everyone says that haven't effected me over all of the time ive smoked)

 

[jman3967]

if you get blazed it sends your test through the roof for a short period of time and then to way below normal. if you just take a couple hits it raises it and keeps it up without the sharp drop. i like it lets me up my calories by like 2000 a day haha

vitamin water seems to be the one thing that works for most people but since alcohol inhibits the metablolization of glycogen (basically carbs) would eating bread cause more significant fat gain?

 

[maurice02]

stay the hell away from prohormones or anything that is metabolized by the liver if you drink otherwise you are gonna be up a creek bro

 

[JoeYoung]

I found taking a multi, or a B complex before drinking, and taking one with a ton of water in the morning helps alot.

 

[andrew732]

alchol does no good for someone trying to get fit or cut up

 

[BLANCO7]

1. Alcohol is empty calories.
2. Alcohol dehydrates you
3. Alcohol slows down your metabolism
4. Alcohol inhibits protein synthesis
5. Alcohol blocks the absorption of nutrients to the muscles
6. Alcohol lowers testosterone
7. Alcohol increases estrogen
8. Alcohol consumption is catabolic

good cliff's notes. there's lots of in-depth information on-line showing how alcohol affects the body, particularly gains.

the key is moderation. sounds cliche but many have yet to grasp that concept and apply it effectively.

 

[sreed11]

So HANK, If I Drink a lot of water and run a prohormone, and take a fat burner, Do you think I can sucessfully combat the negatives of alcohol??

To everybody freaking out about this post.... i'm almost positive he's joking. just calm down

 

[jman3967]

if i take 14 xanax a couple perceset and drink 30 beers but take milk thistle do you think i will counteract the effects of the drugs an alcohol to my liver???

 

[Medic]

if i take 14 xanax a couple perceset and drink 30 beers but take milk thistle do you think i will counteract the effects of the drugs an alcohol to my liver???

probably, and you'll feel AMAZING for 5 minutes before you die :toofunny:

 

[badfish51581]

Although, low doses of alcohol do seem to raise testosterone - at least acutely. Moderation is the key.

Joe


Testosterone increases in men after a low dose of alcohol.
Sarkola T, Eriksson CJ.
Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.

BACKGROUND: Heavy acute alcohol drinking decreases blood testosterone in men due to an effect on the testicular level. An acute increase in blood testosterone levels after a low alcohol dose has, however, recently been reported in women. The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of a low alcohol dose on testosterone in men and further elucidate the mechanism behind the effect by using 4-methylpyrazole, an inhibitor of alcohol metabolism. METHODS: A double-blind placebo-controlled interventional crossover trial in random order (n = 13). RESULTS: After intake of alcohol (0.5 g/kg, 10% w/v), an acute increase in plasma testosterone (from 13.5 +/- 1.2 nmol/liter to 16.0 +/- 1.6 nmol/liter, mean +/- SEM; p < 0.05), a decrease in androstenedione (from 5.1 +/- 0.4 nmol/liter to 4.0 +/- 0.3 nmol/liter; p < 0.05), and an increase in the testosterone:androstenedione ratio (from 2.8 +/- 0.3 to 4.2 +/- 0.4; p < 0.01) were observed. The effects were not observed during pretreatment with 4-methylpyrazole (10-15 mg/kg orally), which inhibited the ethanol elimination rate by 37 +/- 3%. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake affects the androgen balance in men through an effect mediated by the alcohol-induced change in the redox state in the liver.

PMID: 12711931 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

[BLANCO7]

if i take 14 xanax a couple perceset and drink 30 beers but take milk thistle do you think i will counteract the effects of the drugs an alcohol to my liver???

 

[The K Train]

i know that alcohol decreades alotta of things and affects gains, but sometimes i see some huge ripped mo fos and i wonder how they do it when i see them chuggin down! lol i have my drinks when i go partying, but i do ok with maintaining.

 

[bigblackwood]

On beer a night, everynight, isnt too bad is it?

and about the mary jane issue, i think its hilarious. I dont have much time during the day to eat alot with 2 jobs so i use that as a way to eat more later in the day. The only problem is getting good calories vs empty ones.

 

[BLANCO7]

i've read ONE drink will help relax your blood vessels and depending on what you drink, (e.g. wine) it may have more health benefits. any more than that is said to have a negative effect.

i can't drink. i don't have any self-control and i love getting hammered. i'm real with myself. the last time i drank i had 8 cups of whiskey on the rocks. i haven't drank since then. the most i'll do is have a small glass of wine. that's where it stops tho

 

[sreed11]

i've read ONE drink will help relax your blood vessels and depending on what you drink, (e.g. wine) it may have more health benefits. any more than that is said to have a negative effect.

i can't drink. i don't have any self-control and i love getting hammered. i'm real with myself. the last time i drank i had 8 cups of whiskey on the rocks. i haven't drank since then. the most i'll do is have a small glass of wine. that's where it stops tho

Yeah my motto goes as follows "party hard or hardly party? i think we all know the answer to that question" And well i party hard from there. But right now i'm in a state where i need to focus more on having fun, once i get through some **** maybe i'll go a little lighter on the beer.

 

[BLANCO7]

my "partying hard" lasted from 17-19. my craziest year had to 18 and by 19 i had already begun contemplating on cutting back on my partying habits with the intention of eventually bringing them to a full halt. the people i used to hang with had a "live for today" mentality and i eventually adopted it for a while until i realized i was parties wiling out saying to myself,"what am i doing?". i did some crazy stuff though so you can know that i'm not just talking about drinking. drinking was not even a big deal lol. some people i went to hs with are doing the things i was doing when i was 18 cause they're 21 now. i've been 21 since i was 18 so i look at them now like "been there, done that." know what i mean? i don't look down on anyone though and i don't judge either but i know what's my thing and what's not my thing.

live it up while you can because everyone grows as a different rate but one thing's for sure: as you grow older, you start having less and less valid excuses for things. phrases like "i didn't know" are countered with "how did you not know!?". lol