Does alcohol really hinder your gains THAT much?

[BadgerDave]

I've been at UW madison for about 10 days now (my first 10 days here, i transferred) and well not gonna lie i did get hammered at least 6 nights. I know it's terrible for you but it was a good time. Now school started and I'll settle down and drink maybe once a week.

But is it really that bad? I made sure to eat good and I continued to make gains (im doing starr's 5x5). I was shocked lol. Maybe it's b/c i drank tons of water and made sure to eat enough?

On another note....is having say one glass of wine a day gonna have an effect on your gains? I do love my wine lol.

[BlackRadio]

search

[nickdow]

You're being educated at a University yet you don't think to use the search button? This is quite a frequent topic. I don't mean to be a dick but common man! ....


To answer your question, it will hold you back somewhat, it's better not to do, but you should enjoy your life, don't do it too often. That about covers it for the responses.

[Sibrek]

well...it has different effects on different people.

but probably not, unless you physically can't work out from it

[BadgerDave]

I have searched....and did read a ton about it. But it just seems like a lot of people make it out to be an evil substance (even though it is a poison to the body). I was just wondering because I thought it was odd that I kept making gains after nights with 9 shots of admiral's and some beers.

[eddiebo]

Was under the impression alcohol suppressed testosterone. Just did a google search and saw a couple new artilces on the web saying the opposite.

Not certain all of the the chemistry behind alcohol, but when I do drink usually don't stop at 1 or 2. As a result I feel horrible the next day and skip the gym. That for certain will hinder gains.

[BigHulkHogan]

At your age, it wont do much, but just be alert for Hangovers, sometimes that can set you back(cause you get sick and dont eat most of the day)

It wont hault gains at all, it may just diminish them alittle if you drink alot. But it depends on genetics really......everybody reacts differently.

I personally try not to drink anymore, because I just get MASSIVELY DEHYDRATED!! Because my body is used to taking in SO much water everyday.....I start to freak out if I dont get water! Same thing with food too, and sleep.


I used to drink like a fish, but now I only drink when im out boating/fishing, or other special ocasion...thats IT.

And I cant even drink liquor anymore, because I get stupid and dont know when to stop drinking....then I wake up in the morning like "where the **** am I at??"


I finally put a stop to my drinking about 2 weeks ago, me and my buddy drank these things called "irish car bombs", and I woke up in the morning feeling fine....until I started to walk around....I literally lost my balance OUT OF NOWHERE and hit my head on the wall like 3 times, because I kept bouncing off of ONE wall, and fell into ANOTHER wall multiple times.....my vision got scrambled VERY BAD and could barely see and almost passed out...my head was clouded and I could BARELY hear at all....then I started panicking and sweating like crazy. It was a BAAAD morning, but I took it like a champ and got up for work later that day.(good thing I work nightshift huh? LOL)


Yea **** that ****......if I must drink, I only drink beer, because It doesnt dehydrate me as badly and I dont get too stupid from it.......

I used to drink to force myself to be sociable, but i've learned how to be sociable SOBER now!!haha, so I really dont like drinking unless it's special ocassion and around the RIGHT people.....because everytime I drink people always fight and it ruins the party.....so I only drink around friends

[Mike925]

thats why they call him badger dave!

[BadgerDave]

I'm confused...why???

And about hangovers....I try to drink before days off or cardio days (which are a lot since I'm lifting 3x a week on starr's program). Cardio days work good because sweating it out really cures hangovers....tho the 1000+ calories i drink the night before prolly makes it a waste...oh well

[forcasa]

the effects of a bad hangover will last more than one day.

[DomzyCuttin]

I vvas in europe this summer and drank a total of atleast 45 times (heavy drinking) and didnt loose that much mass, gained a little bit of fat, nothing substantial, but my strength has suffered, though I attribute this partially to lack of creatine. I vvouldnt vvorry about your gains if your drinking once a vveek, live it up.

Edit - Btvv I only kept a decent diet for about half of each day, and I did no training at all. I can imagine this had more of an affect than just drinking. I laugh at my buddies vvho vvill not drink at all because they're afraid that their protein synthesis vvill go dovvn for 3 days.

[The Brotherhood]

lol at the "it won't" responses.

Significant doses of ethanol cause large decreases in testosterone, free testosterone, and increase estrodriol levels.

They also inhibit lipolysis and induce a state of insulin sensitivity.

Yes, unless it is a drink or two once a week, getting drunk will inhibit your gains quite significantly.

Not to mention it's gonadal effects. significant loss of sex drive etc.

[ck85abc]

It really depends on what your goals are. If you're sitting at 25% body fat and want to get down to 15% with a 4 pack, it really would not be that big of deal.

If you want to be 220 lbs and ripped with 6% bodyfat, the alchohol would be a no no.

[Dalamara]

Well, if I drink heavily chances are that night I'll be dehydrated for 2-3 hours atleast. It's really hard to stay hydrated WHILE you're drinking, and usually I'm out so I won't get rehydrated till I get back home. There's a few hours where I am just DYING of thirst... usually toward the end of the night.

That also effects my diet that night. If I start drinking at 9-10 I won't get in my last meal, my nightly supplements, etc. Also causes me to stay up really late, which causes me to wake up really late the next day, which takes away vital meals. Also I'm extemely lazy the day after drinking, and will usually put a lot less effort into my diet.

All-in-all for me getting piss drunk isn't worth it.

Of course all of the above only applys when you get totally hammered. When I go out now I'll usually have 3-6 drinks, and a lot of water in between if it's available.

[Dalamara]

Oh, and I definetly DEFINETLY notice a drop in testosterone the day after drinking.

I'll just feel kinda depressed, lethargic, un-motivated, foggy-headed the day after getting hammered. Those are all signs of low-testosterone.

[EsB818]

Oh, and I definetly DEFINETLY notice a drop in testosterone the day after drinking.

I'll just feel kinda depressed, lethargic, un-motivated, foggy-headed the day after getting hammered. Those are all signs of low-testosterone.

I agree. The American culture in general promotes drinking wayyy too much. When I don't drink my friends act as if I am the weird one, not fun to be around, etc. This is like 90% of the people I meet at school, work, etc. I never drank in high school but the last 7 years in undergrad and now graduate school I have definately made up for it drinking heavily just about every weekend and sometimes during the week. I am now trying to cut back significantly, but it is tough when almost every social event revolves around beer and the bar scene.

Like most things, I think its ok to drink in moderation. On special occasions or birthdays its ok to get a little buzzed, but nothing is really worth getting blacked out drunk and not knowing what happened and feeling like complete **** the next day. Trust me, I did that for my bday 2 weeks ago and ****ed up my hand pretty bad and havn't been to the gym since that.

[Dalamara]

I agree. The American culture in general promotes drinking wayyy too much. When I don't drink my friends act as if I am the weird one, not fun to be around, etc. This is like 90% of the people I meet at school, work, etc. I never drank in high school but the last 7 years in undergrad and now graduate school I have definately made up for it drinking heavily just about every weekend and sometimes during the week. I am now trying to cut back significantly, but it is tough when almost every social event revolves around beer and the bar scene.

Just cut back. I find that with 3-5 beers and plenty of water before bed I'll have next to no side effects the next day.

[Ecap]

I suppose I'm unusually sensitive, but a night of moderate-heavy (aka more then 2 beers) alcohol consumption will destroy my workout mentality for approximately 36 hours. When I'm hungover I tend to spring for convenience rather then sticking to my diet, so it compromises my body fat in that way. I also always feel very lethargic and weak post-drunk, as though my muscles are atrophying, but that could simply be a negative placebo affect I experience from drinking...
Personally, I think certain people can manage it fine. However, my personal diet schedule and gym routine requires clarity of mind for me to stick too, so in my opinion, I'd suggest avoiding habitual alcohol consumption as much as possible.

[Dalamara]

I suppose I'm unusually sensitive, but a night of moderate-heavy (aka more then 2 beers) alcohol consumption will destroy my workout mentality for approximately 36 hours. When I'm hungover I tend to spring for convenience rather then sticking to my diet, so it compromises my body fat in that way. I also always feel very lethargic and weak post-drunk, as though my muscles are atrophying, but that could simply be a negative placebo affect I experience from drinking...
Personally, I think certain people can manage it fine. However, my personal diet schedule and gym routine requires clarity of mind for me to stick too, so in my opinion, I'd suggest avoiding habitual alcohol consumption as much as possible.

I really think that the "hang over" symptoms can be attributed to two things(not scientific at all, just my theory, I haven't read a whole lot about alcohol and its effects):

1) Buildup of toxins in your body.(This can be avoided by drinking a LOT of water before you go to bed, 2-3 liters)
-- I do this everytime I drink. I'll pee like 6-10 times before I actually fall asleep, but since I started doing this I've totally avoided the sick/dizzy/headaches/omgwhere'sthetoilet feelings the day after. It doesn't eliminate the next symptoms however... which is what really leads me to believe alcohol has a major effect on test production(or atleast on my own test production).

2) A temporary lowering of testosterone.

If you go to the steroid boards and do a little reading you'll notice that the symptoms for suppression(when AAS stop natural test production) are pretty similar to the symptoms of a hangover. Lethargy, loss of motivation, low libido, foggy mind. So I'd say alcohol definetly lowers test production temporarily, and even though it's just for a day or so, if you drink a lot those days can add up to weeks and months over a long period of time.

Personally I spend way too much on food and supplements and way too much time in the gym to be held back by anything I can control... like alcohol.