Alcohol and the Gym

Alcohol has become a widely accepted part of American culture, similar to apple pie. Its consumption is enjoyed by many people ranging from high-school to wine-aficionados in their elderly years. Most people are aware of the dangers of high consumption of alcohol and the bad decisions that come with it. However, there are some unknown dangers that can put any bodybuilder or athlete's gains at risk and severely diminish those gains. Before you pop open that cold oen, you might want to read the following and reconsider.

Similar to soda pop, any alcoholic beverage is empty calories. By this, I mean beverages that contain little or no nutrients and may contain high values of sugar or sodium, not exactly the perfect protein shake. The intake of these empty calories does nothing to help your diet. In addition, alcohol will also slow down your metabolism by disrupting the Krebs cycle. Since this cycle is disrupted, lipolysis is halted and fats cannot be broken down. Basically, your body works so hard to metabolize and digest the alcoholic beverage, that fat burning stops all together (not permanent, however).

The consumption of alcohol also hurts muscle growth. Besides knocking out your intensity due to hangovers, studies have shown that it can lower protein synthesis - the process by which nitrogen from amino acids is linearly arranged into structural proteins through the involvement of RNA and various enzymes. In a nutshell, Protein synthesis is muscle growth. The more efficient you can make this process the more efficiently you can build muscle. Primarily, protein synthesis is slowed down because the consumption of alcohol lowers your testosterone and increases your estrogen levels. Yes, you read that correctly. In One study, testosterone levels have been show to drop 25% at the most intoxicated state. You know what low testosterone and high estrogen means, happy bra shopping.

Another hug detrimental attribute of alcohol is its function to make your muscle cells dehydrated. The more hydrated you are, (including over hydrated with the help of creatine) the more of an anabolic environment you have for your muscles. In addition, your cells aren't holding much water, so it becomes much more difficult to build muscle, due to nutrient delivery. Also, alcohol prevents the absorption of many key nutrients that are key to an anabolic environment.

Let's face it, no one is going to cut out alcohol after reading this article, but I hope that you will limit your intake of it. Here are some tips to help deter the negative effects of alcohol consumption. Leave at least half a gallon of water by your bed to drink after you consume alcohol, before you go to bed. This will help deter a hangover and help keep your muscles hydrated. In addition, down a protein shake or a meal high in protein before you go to bed to help curb catabolism. Upon waking, try to supplement with ZMA or glutamine to raise testosterone levels and stop catabolism. Finally, eat a big breakfast filled with nutrient and protein rich foods. Never Stop Building.

Sources:

Cho, John. "Alcohol and Bodybuilding: Do they Mix?" http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/bigred.htm

Robson, David. "Alcohols Effects on Body Fat." http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson194.htm