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Recently I read that drinking alcohol greatly reduces your muscle gain. I have to confess that I have a couple of drinks throughout the week. I have never put two and two together before, but hey, I wonder if laying off the sauce for a bit would make a difference. Had anyone else noticed this or have alcohol effect their muscle gain? Hmmmmmmmm....

read this: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm

I have real life experience in this. Do not drink and do not smoke, both greatly reduce your ability to gain. I tried this in my junior year, wanted to drink, fight, party and still be buff. The four don't mix and I immediiately witnessed a very undesired change in myself. Not only did I lose mass, it took a while for me to start gaining again. What's more, is my attitude was greatly affected. I'm not sure why but I became very angry all the time and when not angry I was depressed. Still, this wasn't casual drinking. it serious AA shit. If all you are doing is casual drinking, i shouldn't think it would affect you in the slightest. I mean you are athletic, you aren't dead. Have some fun.

I've never drank and never done drugs and I seem to be doing pretty good.

booze produces fat, and fat is not muscle, unless your gay cyber and call it rugby build

the booze reduces your testosterone production and its pretty nutritionaly void. If you are getting totally drunk then it will have an impact on your system for 2 days after the event. A couple of glases here and there wont make an enormous differnce its just another factor.

excess calories produce fat not booze

Muscles and alcohol go together like vegans and a roast beef sandwich... you won't get anywhere indulging in your cravings. Vegans and weightlifters, both have to make sacrifices to acheive their goals properly. That is all /gong!*

The odd drink won't do you any harm....

But....

Drinking regularly means you will be taking in LOTS of nutritionally empty calories. A night on the beer is a disaster if you are on a law calorie diet. You can undo a whole week's work... very very easily

It's 250 cals for a pint of beer for example.

So...

An occasional social drink is fine, but body building and booze don't go well together.

I consider myself lucky that just the smell of fermented hops or grapes repels me. I never liked drinking. But an occasional red wine is suppose to have some health benefits. Is switching from beer to the occasional red wine an option?
I guess it's not as manly when you're at a gay bar. Drinking out of a wine glass instead of chugging from a beer bottle.

I have a question then...

If alcohol is considered so bad to building muscles, then how come the frat guys at my university are able to look athletic yet they clearly drink on a frequent basis? It seems somehow they are living proof the two can go together, yet the consensus here and on other nutrition sites state otherwise. Well, I'm going to have a smirnoff now and ponder over this further.

It's because they're young and more than likely still inclined to be athletic. Just give them 10 or 15 years of being in the workforce where they work 8 to 10 hours a day at a desk job and watch the beer bellies grow.

relokou saidI have a question then...

If alcohol is considered so bad to building muscles, then how come the frat guys at my university are able to look athletic yet they clearly drink on a frequent basis? It seems somehow they are living proof the two can go together, yet the consensus here and on other nutrition sites state otherwise. Well, I'm going to have a smirnoff now and ponder over this further.

Yeah tell me about it. When I was at university I was carefully watching what I ate and not drinking too much - while other guys seemed to live on pizza and beer and look really ripped.

I think the truth is that some people are just lucky. It doesn't last a life time though - so it's good to learn about nutrition now.

The thing is - most people are not so lucky, even when they are young with high metabolisms and lots of test.