alcohol destroying muscle tissue

[chrisg]

A boxer friend of mine told me the other day, I was talking about cutting back on the social drinking, and he said that for every beer you have it eats away at one one fifth of your muscle tissue. He said it's a real small amount, but still... Has anyone heard anything about this before?

[gibberj2]

one fifth of your muslce tissue??? does that mean that if i drink 5 shots of Jack Daniel's I'll be a skeleton?

[Arnold jr]

A boxer friend of mine told me the other day, I was talking about cutting back on the social drinking, and he said that for every beer you have it eats away at one one fifth of your muscle tissue. He said it's a real small amount, but still... Has anyone heard anything about this before?

Alcohol+bodybuilding=stupid

Your friend is a bit misinformed with that statement, but even so, alcohol is bad enough for you that I would approach it as if his statement were true.

[gibberj2]

you gotta live your life man. if you wanna have ONE beer after your dinner (meal 5 for us) why not?

[Arnold jr]

you gotta live your life man. if you wanna have ONE beer after your dinner (meal 5 for us) why not?

It's all relative to your goals bro. If you're a rec BB then I agree 1 beer or so every now and then won't kill you. If your bb goals are a bit more then just pure rec, then I'd stay away from alcohol, because in this case it's a step in the wrong direction...and the steps backwards are always a lot bigger then the steps forward.

[WhiteHulk4]

Alcohol doesn't "eat away" at muscle tissue at all!  If taken in large quantities, it can down-regulate testosterone and inhibit protein metabolism as well as shut down your body's ability to burn fat.  Yes all this is bad...

But man its fun getting wasted every now and then!  You can easily make up for it with a couple days of clean eating and hard workouts...

[Ledd]

But man its fun getting wasted every now and then!  You can easily make up for it with a couple days of clean eating and hard workouts...

The problem with that is people's perspective of "now and then" can fluxuate dramatically.  Some people think weekend drinking is now and then, where as I think now and then is a month to two months.  I can feel the difference for the entire week after I go out drinking, less energy, lower lifts and just not in the game at all, I couldn't imagine drinking every weekend or couple weeks.  However I should admit that when I go out I drink to get drunk.

[loco]

I've never been drunk and never plan to be, but I do have an occational drink.  Actually, one or two beers or glasses of red wine a day are good for you.  Beer does not have that much sugar, and red wine has many health benefits.  It can help prevent heart decease, diabetes and obesity.  If you are on a strict diet and you count the calories in your drink, the red wine will actually help you lose weight.  Now, if you cross the line and have more than one or two drinks a day, not only do you wipe out the benefits, but you also do harm to your system and add unwanted calories that will make you fat.

[Rimbaud]

It's all about moderation. A couple of drinks here & there won't kill you. However, if you're drinking heavily all the time don't plan on making too many gains in the gym.

[WhiteHulk4]

Everybody's different.  I can get away with drinking quite heavily almost every weekend and I still perform well in the gym.  Granted, I'm not competing and don't ever plan to.  But a hangover never stays with me for more than a day.

[davie]

Even though Geo has it in his head that b/c im scottish im automatically a drunk, its is not the case. I go out once a week after a rugby game on saturdays and have a few beers witht the boys. Sometimes we have a big night out (last wknd), but other times it a beer then home.
Moderation and listening to ur body is key.

davie

[Ledd]

Everybody's different.  I can get away with drinking quite heavily almost every weekend and I still perform well in the gym.  Granted, I'm not competing and don't ever plan to.  But a hangover never stays with me for more than a day.

Thats pretty impressive, from a drinkers perspective, you're a lucky bastard. 

[Brooks]

Is it right that you shouldn't drink at all if on gear because of your liver?

[lilbg]

I have a workout partner who just stared lifting with me a few months back.. he used to be a steady drinker.. a 6 pack a day and has now bumped it down to drinking about every 2 days or so.. usually jack strait or with C2 coke and sometimes wine.  Ive been trying to keep him away from the beer.  would knocking his drinking down to once a week help him with his progress?  Sometimes he seems to lack energy. 

[Rimbaud]

Is it right that you shouldn't drink at all if on gear because of your liver?

Yes & no. If you're using injectables it's not going to matter much but it will probably hurt some of your gains. Orals on the other hand tax the liver so throwing some alcohol into the mix isn't a good idea.