Alcohol's Effects on Bodybuilding

[PetethePianist]

I heard randomly way back that alcohol has negative effects on bodybuilding, but it wasn't anything credible. I used to maybe have 3-4 drinks once or twice a week with friends, but since I stopped completely in September, I've noticed huge positive changes in my composition.

Can anyone shed some light on the details behind how alcohol effects you in this sense?

[-Aaron-]

Here is some of the few things that alcohol effects:

* Decrease strength

* Impair reaction time

* Impair balance and eye/hand coordination

* Impair fine motor and gross motor coordination

* Increase fatigue: Liver function is significantly impacted following the ingestion of alcohol. Up to 48 hours after the last drink the liver may still be metabolizing alcohol at the expense of glycogen (metabolized carbohydrate).

Given that glycogen is vital for most of the body's cellular functions, body fatigue, cognitive decline and loss of strength will result when it cannot be used efficiently. Reaction time, balance, coordination are also impacted by this process in addition to the direct aforementioned neurochemical effects alcohol has on the brain.

* Interfere with body temperature regulation

* Cause dehydration: Alcohol has an impact on kidney function, which interferes with the regulation of electrolytes and fluids in the body (7). Cellular waste removal and nutrient supply are the main functions of fluid and electrolytes, which are controlled through kidney function.

The kidneys filter large amounts of water from many parts of the body, including the brain, to break down alcohol. This causes dehydration and can cripple an athletes performance.

* Deplete aerobic capacity and negatively impact endurance for up to 48 hours after the last drink

* Impact cellular repair: Protein metabolism is negatively impacted when alcohol is in the system. This has obvious implications for muscle repair.

* Impacts the cardiovascular system: Alcohol consumption raises blood pressure and this can result in the heart having work harder to pump blood through the body (8). An abnormally fast heart beat (tachycardia) can also result from alcohol consumption. Further, alcohol increases the synthesis of cholesterol and this can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

* Disrupt sleep: Alcohol significantly interferes with restful sleep (4). It can make falling to sleep easier to begin with due to its sedative effects but the quality of sleep (particularly rapid eye movement) will be disturbed.

* Cause vitamin and mineral depletion: Vitamins and minerals so necessary for our health have their absorption interfered with, while the body's own supply are slowly depleted, when alcohol is consumed. Even one or two drinks per day (supposedly the "recommended" amount) can have this effect. B vitamins, which have important enzymatic and metabolic functions are depleted extra rapidly (8).

This deleteriously effects the heart, liver, thyroid and kidneys. Vitamin A is also depleted and this interferes with the body's ability to fight disease. Vitamin C depletion makes one susceptible to anemia. Also, when alcohol is ingested the body excretes calcium at twice the normal rate, thus impacting on bone growth and wound healing.

* Cause cognitive impairment: cognitive impairment (disruption of thought processes and brain damage) occur through a number of mechanisms (6,7). Alcohol related sleep disruption contributes to the insufficient restoration of ones neural processes. The effects of GABA-A stimulation, as explained, have been shown to contribute to neural death.

Lack of glycogen to the brain, as a result of alcohol metabolism, causes slow, disoriented, thinking. These are just some factors. There are many more. The implications of cognitive impairment are severe for athletes: loss of motivation, focus and desire in addition to lessened perspicacity and even neuromuscular response.

The effects outlined here are just some of the more obvious ones. There are many others, and it would probably take a book to outline and explain them in sufficient detail.

Credit: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson11.htm

[PetethePianist]

wow, thanks for such a complete response... I had only really been clued in about its effects on protein synthesis, so this was very helpful.

also thanks for the credit link, I'm on my way to read that blog now

[Cronos1247]

The hardest part of dieting for me is the no alchohol thing, during the week atleast.

[The Solution]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...l+Bodybuilding

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...l+Bodybuilding

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...l+Bodybuilding

here is a few i got for you from the search thread

[echelon101]

I went out for a celebratory drink once, stayed sober and macro'd my drink the next day....I nearly shat my pants at the kcals

6 shots of spirit = 324kcals
Half pint lemonade = 135kcals
2 Pints Strongbow = 448kcals
Quarter pint coca cola = 57kcals

Total = 964 kcals 66g carbs

[big bets]

The hardest part of dieting for me is the no alchohol thing, during the week atleast.

..............X2

[RocketPunch]

http://www.building-muscle101.com/al...t-lifting.html

Alcohol?
? Attacks your stores of B vitamins;
? Exhausts your antioxidants making them unable to fight off other toxins or illnesses;
? Reduces your strength;
? Interferes with muscle growth;
? Reduces your endurance;
? Strains your immune system;
? Causes your kidneys and liver to overwork;
? Impacts your brain and central nervous system;
? Decreases your aerobic capacity;
? Increases fatigue;
? Causes dehydration;
? Decreases your recovery capabilities;
? Diminishes your ability to metabolize fat, making you a fat storer instead of a fat burner

Yeah, the no alcohol thing sucks balls.. I try to drink just one night a week and even that's hard.

[5G]

if you are in dire need of drinking, i'd suggest waiting till your next break from lifting (something along the lines of a week off). this way you can satisfy that urge and have the rest of the week to recover. just an idea

[Sciamach]

actually, I've read a study that in the 5 hour window after working out, consuming alcohol INCREASES testosterone. bull ****? who knows. Am I willing to try it? Not so much. But I'll feel less guilty about my occasional glass of wine with dinner


Get drunk after exercise for increased free Testosterone? (Abstract #1833, Vingren eat al.)

Gosh, it hurts me to present these data. Apparently, for five hours after a 45-minute whole body strength training routine, free Testosterone concentrations are higher when ethanol is consumed immediately after training than when no ethanol is consumed. That?s right, after training there usually is a decline in free T over the next five hours. When consuming alcohol, this doesn?t occur. Even more interestingly, the drunken boys even had higher Testosterone concentrations after exercise than when they were sober and not exercising at all.

Before you go adding some vodka to your Surge, remember that the authors actually made these subjects intoxicated (mean blood alcohol > 0.1g/dl) and that these results aren?t the case for total T. Finally, as you might imagine, there are other repercussions to getting soused after each workout.



Source: t-nation

[PetethePianist]

haha @ the higher testosterone research... luckily I haven't really had an urge to drink, (nor did I ever drink heavily), so I figure I can at least wait until I'm actually 21 before I reintroduce it into my system :P

[jdominic6]

http://alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu/on...medconseq.html
http://www.amsa.org/resource/natlinit/alcohol.cfm
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/126/8/666

[Sim882]

I went out for a celebratory drink once, stayed sober and macro'd my drink the next day....I nearly shat my pants at the kcals

6 shots of spirit = 324kcals
Half pint lemonade = 135kcals
2 Pints Strongbow = 448kcals
Quarter pint coca cola = 57kcals

Total = 964 kcals 66g carbs

It sounds bad, but 3 hours of dancing on a Sat night would quite possibly burn that off when compared to sleeping, + the hangover can ensure you sleep in until 12pm next day, so u've skipped a further 300 cals.

Not saying drinking is good, but just pointing this out.

Drinking is a real killer though for me b/c I eat more, and relish greasy foods while drunk

[PetethePianist]

haha, that was the one thing i could never help about drinking... it always ended in a food run. damn those 1/2 lb pepperoni pizza hot pockets.

[Superhuman7]

Drinking is a real killer though for me b/c I eat more, and relish greasy foods while drunk

That was my problem when I drank; I'd end up going on $40 Jack in the Box runs at 3am. My stomach is like a bottomless pit when I'm faded. Try calculating the calories for $40 worth of ANYTHING on the J-Box menu... not good... I always felt like I was going to die the next day. Everything looked so good at the time I ordered, though.

[Jerbee02]

I had only really been clued in about its effects on protein synthesis,

That reason alone should be enough to stay away from it. If you have to drink, do shots. Better yet, don't drink at all - it's actually just as much fun to watch the people you're with deteriorate as the night goes on if you're sober instead of right there with them drink for drink... plus, has anyone really gotten a good workout in the day after drinking?

[FreshRollyG]

Key is moderation. Would be detrimental in the long term most definitely. There would be nothing wrong with drinking once a month - I'd suggest keeping up the fluids (water) after drinking up and avoid eating after consumption unless you want to attain unwanted baggage.

Just make sure you're not training a few days after drinking, unless you don't mind not training at your usual peak performance. I've heard that around 4-5 days after drinking though you're testosterone levels peak higher than usual, by an extra 10% or so, however they are lower than usual after drinking.

I don't drink too often really - not in my nature, enjoy it at the right moments/special occasions.

Power to you if you don't drink

[PetethePianist]

That reason alone should be enough to stay away from it. If you have to drink, do shots. Better yet, don't drink at all - it's actually just as much fun to watch the people you're with deteriorate as the night goes on if you're sober instead of right there with them drink for drink... plus, has anyone really gotten a good workout in the day after drinking?

Thats what I've been doing, I have a blast carrying around a camera and hinting my friends at what exactly they did the night before... its also saved me from countless otherwise regretful hookups :P