Everyone knows that drinking alcohol is not a good idea, regardless if you’re training or not. I mean, alcohol seemingly brings no benefits and everyone keeps talking about its negative effects on your health. Nonetheless, how exactly will drinking affect your muscle growth? Will it affect it in any way? Or better said, can you drink alcohol and grow muscle? Well, yes, you can drink alcohol and you can still grow muscle. Nonetheless, I still strongly recommend against doing so. I know that it may sound like a cliche, but I still recommend avoiding drinking as much as possible.
Avoid drinking too much, and avoid drinking alcohol altogether. This makes sense no matter what your goals are. Whether we’re talking about muscle growth, fat burning, strength enhancement, health purposes, and so on. You can live your entire life without drinking any alcohol at all. I know what you’re probably thinking – but it is boring without alcohol so I’m still going to drink occasionally. Well, occasional drinking won’t completely derail your progress. As long as you keep on track, drinking every once in a while won’t be as bad (although you still better abstain from drinking).
So, if you know that you will drink despite training, you better make an informed decision. You can read below how alcohol will impact your goals. We’re going to talk about its effects on whether you want to grow muscle, burn fat, get fit, and so on. The next time you raise your glass, you know what to expect.
Positive alcohol effects
Everyone keeps rambling about alcohol consumption and its negative effects. However, not everyone knows that there are also some positive effects of drinking alcohol. Yes, as surprising as it may be, it does have some positive health benefits. According to research, there are some positive health benefits associated with moderate alcohol use. For example, mild consumption has been shown by research to increase our good cholesterol (HDL) 3 as well as reduce insulin resistance and stress levels. Having this said, everyone knows that alcohol has a lot of negative effects, yet, not everyone knows that it has some positives. The problem is that studies still prove that the negatives outweigh the positives.
That’s why I would still not recommend drinking and training, as it will hurt your bodybuilding goals. Especially because there’s definitely no need to drink to achieve your goals.
Effects of Alcohol on Strength Training
Fitness
According to research, alcohol use can cause major failures in muscle development and health goals. Of course, it will lead to huge issues in case you’re a chronic drinker. Yet, occasional drinking will lead to occasional issues in muscle development. What I’m trying to say is that studies prove that alcohol reduces muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and this stunts muscle growth. And that’s only when talking about MPS synthesis. Studies also claim that it can change hormone levels and reduce our metabolism. This will affect your ability to both reduce body fat and gain muscle mass. In fact, even if you drink alcohol in moderation, it can still be a problem. USDA diet guidelines for Americans only recommend a maximum of one drink a day for women and no more than two a day for men.
Nonetheless, less is better in terms of drinking alcohol. Enjoying a drink as a “cheat meal” or as a “reward” for completing a strenuous workout is not a good practice. Not only could it lead to more consumption than recommended, but it will negatively affect your ability to recover post-workout. If you want to improve your fitness, better stay away from alcohol, even if considering mild – moderate use. Especially true if talking about alcohol use pre or post-workout.
Building muscle
There is also a study that analyzes how alcohol use will affect muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Among the study participants were eight physically active men who were performing weightlifting and interval training as part of the testing process. After completing their workout, they were drinking protein, and alcohol and again four hours later while having a carbohydrate diet. Researchers were taking muscle biopsies at rest two and eight hours after physical training.
According to the results, alcohol levels elevated above baseline post exercise with both protein and carbohydrate consumption. Therefore, the muscle biopsies indicate that there are reduced rates of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) at rest following physical training.
Fat loss
According to other studies, alcohol will also reduce metabolism, and therefore, your body’s ability to burn fat. The body “perceives” alcohol as a toxic waste. It will focus on eliminating that toxic waste, instead of burning fat. Our metabolism will change from burning stored calories (fat) to eliminating waste.
It is not uncommon to have an urge to go to the restroom after drinking even a slight amount of alcohol. That’s because your body will try to get rid of the unwanted toxic waste. It will slow down the natural metabolism process by burning adipose tissue or fat stores. Besides that, research suggests that alcohol will replace fat as a fuel, adding even more calories to your daily needs, and further blocking your ability to burn fat. In short, alcohol will add more calories, and your metabolism will be on pause for fat-burning, attempting to break down the alcohol first.
Your hormones
There are studies suggesting that alcohol consumption could change testosterone levels – your body’s main hormone that helps you grow muscle, burn fat, and helps with numerous other important processes when it comes to physique and performance enhancement. Long-term alcohol abuse will have a significant impact on your testosterone levels, lowering them so much that it will significantly impact your overall health. Low testosterone levels won’t only negatively affect your fat-burning and muscle-growing abilities, but your overall health.
Studies suggest that nine drinks for a man weighing 180 pounds will reduce testosterone levels after exercise. Additionally, research suggests that high alcohol consumption will favor the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. High estrogen levels and/or low testosterone levels in men will come with a lot of negative symptoms, among which we can mention negative effects on muscle growth, increased risk of osteoporosis, reduced sexual function, negative effects on mental health, and others.
Eating habits
Alcohol can disturb your eating habits, ruining your diet. When drinking alcohol, we tend to eat badly, increasing the temptation of eating junk food, and increasing the chances of overeating. There’s research that proves that alcohol consumption has a strong connection to overeating and consuming too many calories. So, if you struggle to have a healthy and correct diet, alcohol makes it even worse, so avoid it.
After all, we all know that alcohol consumption and less healthy eating choices are usually going together side by side. So, we get extra calories from the booze itself, and we get extra calories from the extra foods that we tend to overeat. Alongside the poor eating choices (junk food) that most people tend to have while drinking. Pay attention to the calories that you drink and eat. For example, per 100 ml, beer has around 44 calories, wine 81 calories, vodka 216 calories, and so on.
Sleep quality
There’s a common myth that alcohol tends to help you sleep, while it is usually the other way around. Indeed, alcohol can help you fall asleep, however, it ultimately compromises the sleep quality and quantity as it causes sleep disruptions later in the night. So, while alcohol helps you feel more relaxed, it will be detrimental to your sleep quality. Sleep quality (and quantity) is crucial when it comes to muscle growth and any other physique and/or performance enhancement goal. Sleep is key for muscle growth and tissue healing. Without enough quality sleep, you will not function at the best level in the gym (blocking your gains) and won’t be able to recover (muscle growth occurs during the recovery period).
According to research, alcohol will disrupt your restorative or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. You need REM sleep because, without enough of it, you will experience fatigue, poor concentration, drowsiness, and other negative effects.
Nutrition
As earlier mentioned, alcohol is “seen” by the body as toxic waste. Not only that, but it also provides extra calories. A calorie is a unit of energy. It refers to the energy that humans get from the food and drink you consume – the energy you use to stay physically active and the energy your organs use to work, and keep you alive. Therefore, alcohol provides some energy too (calories). The problem here is that those calories from alcoholic beverages lack nutritional value for the body. These are “empty” calories.
Not only that, but most alcoholic drinks are mixed with sugary beverages, which will add even more calories (and sugars, that you try to avoid for bodybuilding purposes). Besides, alcohol consumption will impair nutrient absorption by decreasing digestive enzymes. That’s why even if you eat correctly, your body will still not properly absorb the nutrients from those foods. This also explains why a lot of people suffer from digestive issues (including diarrhea) when drinking alcohol, especially in large amounts.
Alcohol and Muscle Building Conclusion
In the end, drinking will most certainly NOT aid your bodybuilding game. Nevertheless, you can still be healthy and gain muscle as you drink alcohol. There’s no need to completely eliminate alcohol (although you can still do it if you want and can do it), but reducing its amount is definitely welcome. Not only for your muscle growth and overall bodybuilding goals but for your health too. Try to make healthier decisions, and when it comes to alcohol, a healthier decision is to reduce it as much as possible.
Gaining lean muscle mass while burning fat involves a lot of hard work in the gym, alongside a very good nutrient intake, and lots of rest and sleep. Considering that alcohol lacks any nutrients, and ruins your sleep, gym performance, and diet, you better have only occasional and moderate drinking. It is the only acceptable option as long as you want results in the gym.
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