Hey,

I'm currently trying to improve myself, lose weight, gain strength and be healthier in general. The program I am on is the Strong lifts 5x5, been doing it about 2 and a bit months and starting to see some good results its a great program and I highly recommend it.


I've read on here that when your strength training/bodybuilding etc you should avoid alcohol and was just wondering why?


I am a fairly heavy drinker and i really enjoy it. My week usually consists of a big bender at least one night of the weekend and during the week there is maybe 2-3 nights I have a 6 pack at one of my mates places. I drink full strength beer low carb. I am also a socially smoker so usually have a few when I'm drinking.


My diet is fairly healthy, lots of meat, salad and vegies, moderately low carb and I use protein powder and creatine as supplements, sometimes a bit of fish oil also.


Any help is appreciated,


Cheers

i had read on a few nutrition websites that alcohol promotes eostrogen development (*spelling) so in terms of building more muscle alcohol would be a no no as we need testosterone, but im not expert so im sure someone could answer it better. but yeh heavy drinking wouldnt be good health wise in general anyway.

Ben...

Alcohol is toxic to the body, so by ingesting this toxin you are not allowing your body to run to it's full potential. This can be for several days following a drinking session, depending on factors such as how much you drank, your current toxin levels, how good your liver is at eliminating toxins etc. Being a toxin, it is liver damaging, and the liver is responsible for so many processes in the body which are performance related. This relates to the other post about testosterone levels, as the liver has a hand in hormone production. The liver is responsible for processing fats in the system, so if it's not functioning at it's optimum, then it's not processing at it's optimum.

Also should mention that every gram of alcohol has 7 calories, empty calories that can't be used by the body. If you were to give up drinking altogether, you would be amazed in just a few weeks how much better you would feel in general, not to mention an improvement in your training. Your overall mood would also be enhanced as alcohol is actually a depressant.

I understand that giving up alcohol is just out of the question for some people, life is all about balance after all. So maybe look at cutting back on the amount to you consume, and how frequently. Change the style of drinks you have, clear coloured spirits have less toxins in them than the darker coloured ones. Rum and bourben are 2 of the worst offenders, while vodka and gin are 2 of the better ones. Change your mixes also, steer clear of Coke and go for soda water with a squeeze of lemon or lime. Also low carb beer can be quite bad as it's packed full of preservatives and possibly artificial flavours (unsure about the flavours, I would have to look that up to be certain), not to mention high levels of yeast (bacteria). Red wine is always a good alternative too, actually contains somethings that are good for you, such as resveratrol. Although sadly to get the levels of resveratrol needed to make much of a difference physically, you would have to consume far too much red wine.

Look at some ways to ensure that your liver is getting a helping hand, make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals, and take plenty of anti-oxidants. Also look at some liver cleanses, milk thistle, Musashi Red, etc.

like b said, alcohol is poison for your body, your body spends it's energy and resources trying to get ride of it. fucks with your protein synthesis etc.

It's not the calories that's the problem, it's the actual alcohol that the problem.

Yep, very correct. No worries having a drink or two occasionally, maybe one big night every couple of weeks but if you're serious avoid alcohol.