The Effects Of Alcohol On Bodybuilding

The Premise

Bodybuilders fear alcohol above all else. The very notion of a drink can make a bodybuilder turn and run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. But what’s the deal with alcohol and bodybuilding?

The main reason why those looking to build maximum muscle mass while remaining lean and shredded stay away from alcohol is because

If something is catabolic, it means it breaks down muscle tissue – the opposite of anabolic, which refers to building muscle.

It is thought that alcohol can potentially blunt the production of the hormone and testosterone. If you’re familiar with hormones and bodybuilding, you’ll know that testosterone is a key player in all things to do with muscle. It’s the main muscle building hormone, and you need a relatively high amount of it for optimal gains. Men have much higher levels of testosterone than women, hence why male bodybuilders can build muscle a lot quicker than their female counterparts. Testosterone also has a positive impact on your metabolism and speeds up fat loss.

Bodybuilders are very concerned with calorie consumption, as calories are the number one factor in determining whether you lose weight (preferably through fat loss) or gain weight (muscle mass.) To build muscle, you need to eat more calories than your burn – this is known as a calorie surplus, and to burn fat you need to consume fewer than you burn – a calorie deficit.

All food has calories – one gram of protein has four calories, as does one gram of carbohydrate. One gram of fat has nine calories. Most people don’t think of alcohol when counting calories, but it has seven calories per gram. Obviously the calorie content will vary depending on the type of alcoholic drink you choose, but all will have some calories.

It’s easy to over consume alcohol calories too. Liquid calories are digested very quickly, and don’t fill you up. Therefore, it’s far easier to consume 100 calories from alcohol than it is to eat 100 calories of lean meat or vegetables.

Have you ever found yourself sitting in a diner, wolfing down a greasy burger and fries at 3am, following some alcohol-fuelled partying, or ended the night sitting on your couch eating leftover pizza and ice cream?

We all have at some point, but you certainly wouldn’t do it if you were stone cold sober.

One the face of it, it definitely seems like alcohol is a complete no-no in the bodybuilding world. However, it’s not quite an open and shut case. As with many nutrition and health related topics, there are two sides to every story. Common beliefs suggest that you shouldn’t eat late at night, should eat a low fat diet and only eat wholegrain carbs, but we know that while there may be some evidence to support these. they aren’t entirely true. The same goes for alcohol and bodybuilding.
 

The Facts About Alcohol And Bodybuilding

Calories

The most important fact to consider is regarding calories. Calories have to be controlled for you to reach your bodybuilding goal, whether that’s bulking to add mass, or cutting for a competition or photo shoot.

While you do need to eat primarily healthy foods high in nutrients to perform at your best in the gym, and obtain optimal body composition, what you eat comes second to the calories and macronutrients you consume.

You could eat a diet composed entirely of candy and soda, but be in a calorie deficit and lose fat, just as you could eat only meat, wholegrains, fruits and vegetables and be in a calorie surplus and you’d gain weight. Neither approach is optimal, but the results would show through. So if you’re eating in a calorie surplus to build muscle and want to drink alcohol, you can do it and still get your desired results. Or, if you’re cutting, provided alcohol fits into your calorie allowance, you’ll still burn fat.

Thermogenesis

Thermogenesis refers to how your body burns calories when you eat. In order for you to digest food, you have to burn calories to fuel the digestion process. Proteins, carbohydrates and fats all have a different effect on thermogenesis. This is known as the thermic effect of food, or TEF for short.

Protein is the most complicated macronutrient to break down, and has the highest TEF, so burns the most calories, hence why high protein diets are helpful for weight loss. Carbs and fats have low to moderate TEFs, so should be included in your diet in low to moderate amounts. Surprisingly, alcohol has the second highest TEF, just below protein, meaning it actually has a relatively high impact on your metabolic rate.

Health

Moderate alcohol consumption has been attributed to lower rates of Alzheimer's disease, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, the common cold, different types of cancers and depression than complete abstinence from drink. Clearly you don’t want to binge drink, as the effects of this are far, far worse, but a drink every now and again may have a positive impact on your health.

Some alcoholic drinks, particularly red wine also contain antioxidants, which can reduce inflammation and improve recovery from training.

Hormones

While there is some data supporting a drop in testosterone after consuming alcohol, it is limited. The most commonly cited studies only showed a 20 percent drop in testosterone levels for 16 hours after participants had consumed 120g of alcohol – the equivalent of 10 beers!

The Plan

As a bodybuilder, you can certainly enjoy alcohol, you just have to be sensible about it.

- Stick to lower calorie beverages, such as red wine, light beer or spirits with diet mixers.

- The amount you consume matters too. Drink alcohol for the enjoyment of it and to be sociable, not as a means to getting drunk. Binge drinking will have serious negative implications on your bodybuilding goals.

- Don’t consume alcohol directly before training. You won’t be able to focus and your workouts will suffer.

- The same goes for post workout. Have your post training meal or shake, containing protein, carbohydrates, vegetables or fruits and a little good quality fat, then wait a good couple of hours before drinking.

- Reduce your calorie consumption for the rest of the day. If you know you’ve got a night out planned, then cut down the rest of your daily calories – particularly carbs, so that you don’t go over your planned caloric intake.

- Eat a solid meal before going out. This will fill you up, especially if you base it around protein.

Don’t get fooled into thinking that as a bodybuilder, you can never drink again. Utilize a moderation strategy and you can still enjoy a few drinks here and there.