Can someone enlighten me on alcohol and muscle building?

roro1990

I've been working out for the last 2 months and i'm curious to know how much damage drinking at the weekend is doing to my gains. There's so much contrasting info on the web, so I thought its better to ask on a forum. Basically, is it possible to drink to the point of being drunk every weekend and still gain muscle? I workout Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Usually I will drink to the point of being drunk on Friday and Saturday night. I just want to know is this habit basically rendering all workouts as useless? Does anyone here know of any guys that drink like this and still gain muscle? Any advice is appreciated.

long range shooter

roro1990 wrote: »

I've been working out for the last 2 months and i'm curious to know how much damage drinking at the weekend is doing to my gains. There's so much contrasting info on the web, so I thought its better to ask on a forum. Basically, is it possible to drink to the point of being drunk every weekend and still gain muscle? I workout Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Usually I will drink to the point of being drunk on Friday and Saturday night. I just want to know is this habit basically rendering all workouts as useless? Does anyone here know of any guys that drink like this and still gain muscle? Any advice is appreciated.

http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/healthy-lifestyle/can-alcohol-affect-sports-performance-and-fitness-levels

roro1990

long range shooter wrote: »

http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/healthy-lifestyle/can-alcohol-affect-sports-performance-and-fitness-levels

Hmm, but then articles like this contrast that view http://bonytobeastly.com/why-you-should-drink-alcohol-vs-muscle-growth-and-fat-loss/

dsher80

One major issue with the consumption of alcohol has to do with its effects on the release of growth hormone. Growth hormone is the substance in the body that plays a very large role when it comes to building muscle, stimulating other cell growth and development, and promoting optimal bone growth. When this hormone is low, you aren’t going to get the same amount of muscle development as you would when it’s at an optimal level. The next factor to consider is alcohol’s effect on testosterone. As you likely know, testosterone is another huge hormone associated with muscle growth and is the reason why men carry a great deal more muscle mass than women (since men have more testosterone flowing through their bodies).

When you consume alcohol, however, a substance is produced in the liver that is toxic to the release of testosterone. This substance decreases the concentration of testosterone in the body, resulting in lower muscle mass and definition.Another area that alcohol affects when it comes to muscle building is your ability to recover. Since alcohol is a toxin to the body, energy is going to have to be expended in order to remove it from the system and to recover from any negative effects it has had on the tissues.
Since this takes time and energy reserves, you won't have as much energy in store to recover from your workouts, therefore you will not be as fresh when you return for your next gym session.

Alcohol and muscles don't usually get along,

long range shooter

roro1990 wrote: »

Hmm, but then articles like this contrast that view http://bonytobeastly.com/why-you-should-drink-alcohol-vs-muscle-growth-and-fat-loss/

Difference from moderate alcohol consumption vs piss up every weekend;)

Alf Veedersane

Does any of it matter?

It doesn't read like you're going to change your drinking habits.

roro1990

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Does any of it matter?

It doesn't read like you're going to change your drinking habits.

I've no idea how you can infer that from one post on the issue. It's the fact that I've seen so many contrasting articles on the matter that confuses me about my habits. I am very much willing to change. In fact, I'm planning on going out tonight and having a max of 2 drinks. Absolutely zero need to be snide.

Alf Veedersane

roro1990 wrote: »

I've no idea how you can infer that from one post on the issue. It's the fact that I've seen so many contrasting articles on the matter that confuses me about my habits. I am very much willing to change. In fact, I'm planning on going out tonight and having a max of 2 drinks. Absolutely zero need to be snide.

I wasn't trying to be snide. You gave a breakdown of when you drink and to what point you go and wondered if it made a difference and then when someone posted a link about how it would affect your workout, it was countered with a blog post which, at best, says you should limit it to 7-14 drinks per week. That sounds like a lot less than you're having.

It wasn't meant to be snide...it just appeared that you wanted to quantify the effect it would have on your workouts rather than how much you should curtail your drinking for the sake of your workouts.

runawaybishop

roro1990 wrote: »

I've been working out for the last 2 months and i'm curious to know how much damage drinking at the weekend is doing to my gains. There's so much contrasting info on the web, so I thought its better to ask on a forum. Basically, is it possible to drink to the point of being drunk every weekend and still gain muscle? I workout Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Usually I will drink to the point of being drunk on Friday and Saturday night. I just want to know is this habit basically rendering all workouts as useless? Does anyone here know of any guys that drink like this and still gain muscle? Any advice is appreciated.

Plenty of drink, plenty of gains here. Only issue i have is i have no appetite when hungover.

rubadub

roro1990 wrote: »

Does anyone here know of any guys that drink like this and still gain muscle?

I drink like a fish and was putting on some muscle at that time, drinking maybe up to 30 pints a week. I do not compete or lift anything near most of the lads in this forum, but it is certainly possible.

Even if no muscle went on their would be a gain in strength, and you would probably end up less fat than if you did not lift.

I an under no illusions and know I most probably would have put on more muscle if I wasn't drinking during that time.

People tend to overemphasis things in the hope you will at least cut down. I am currently on a diet to help a skin condition I have, and the author of the diet said

If I find early on in my course of treatment that a patient is unwilling to accept the fact that he or she must avoid hard liquor in any form hard liquor in any form, I have no qualms in advising against further treatment.

So he has this stupid "don't bother at all" attitude. Well I am still drinking and following the diet to some degree and it is helping a lot, so better than nothing as I thought. Again I have no doubt I would be better with no drink but I am not willing to give it up.