Can Alcohol Kill Your Muscle-Growth Gains?

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There are several reasons why many people should reduce or eliminate their alcohol consumption, but one consideration may be particularly meaningful for those who are looking to maximize their muscle growth relative to the effort that they are putting in at the gym and elsewhere.

Alcohol consumption can kill your muscle-growth gains.

This is especially true if significant amounts of alcohol are involved. In fact, one instance of drinking to intoxication can nullify the effects of up to 14 days of training your muscles.

As a result, you should drink moderately or less. How much is a moderate amount of drinking? It is usually described as 0.5 g/kg, meaning that if you weigh 160 pounds, that would come to around 2-1/2 drinks. Conversely, a moderate amount of alcohol for those weighing 100 pounds would be about 1-1/2 drinks and for people who are 250 pounds around four drinks or about four 12-ounce beers.

Also make sure that you are hydrating when you do drink alcohol as dehydration, which can easily occur under these circumstances, is another factor that can compromise the growth and repair of muscles.

How Does Alcohol Impact Muscle Growth?

Why does alcohol hinder muscle gains? There are several ways in which alcoholic drinks can have a negative impact on muscle growth, strength, and recovery, particularly for individuals focused on weightlifting, body composition, or fitness goals.

One of the primary issues is how alcohol affects muscle protein synthesis—the process by which muscles are broken down and rebuilt stronger during recovery. Alcohol disrupts this process by impairing the body’s ability to send signals to rebuild muscle cells and create new proteins. For example, consuming three times the moderate amount of alcohol in one sitting, such as several beers or glasses of wine, can decrease muscle protein synthesis by more than a third. Excessive drinking beyond this point further exacerbates the issue, making it harder for the body to build muscle effectively.

Additionally, alcohol causes insulin resistance, which negatively affects muscle growth. Insulin plays a key role in stimulating muscle mass development, and when its function is impaired, muscles lose one of their most important tools for repair and growth.

Another indirect consequence of excessive alcohol consumption is its impact on body fat levels. Increased body fat from regular drinking hinders fat loss and reduces the efficiency of muscle-building processes. This can be especially detrimental for those focused on weight loss, body composition, or sports nutrition goals.

Hormone levels are also significantly affected by alcohol. Excessive drinking reduces testosterone levels, which are critical for both muscle recovery and growth. Lower testosterone levels lead to slower recovery times and diminished strength gains. On the other hand, alcohol increases cortisol, a stress hormone that further stunts the growth of muscle tissue and impairs recovery.

For those pursuing physical fitness, powerlifting, or bodybuilding, alcohol consumption, particularly binge drinking, can derail progress. Instead of reaching for a glass of wine or other alcoholic drinks after a workout, consider focusing on post-workout recovery strategies like protein shakes, proper hydration, and the use of targeted supplements to support optimal muscle recovery and growth.

While moderate drinking may not entirely halt progress, excessive alcohol consumption can significantly disrupt the processes essential for achieving fitness goals and maintaining overall body composition.

Are there Benefits of Protein and Carbohydrate Consumption?

Those who consume high levels of protein do tend to experience greater muscle growth as compared to the general population, and protein intake does lessen several of the harmful effects of alcohol. That said, to maximize your muscle growth, you should have both high protein consumption and low alcohol usage as the protein would then help you move ahead, not simply make up for alcohol’s damaging effects.

There are no known benefits associated with carbohydrates potentially stunting the negative effects that alcohol can have on muscle growth. It does slow down how fast alcohol gets to an overworked liver, which is a significant benefit of carbs, but that is not relevant to your muscles.

Your State of Recovery and When It Happens

Once you are finished with a workout, your body starts to recover from it. The time that follows is when much of the work that goes into rebuilding your muscles takes place, so it is especially important to consider, particularly as that relates to what you are consuming then.

How long this recovery time lasts depends on a number of factors, but a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is up to 24 hours. That said, alcohol use tends to have a more significant impact when it occurs closer to the workout, such as within four hours of it.

Alternatives to Alcohol Consumption

Of course, simply consuming lower amounts of alcohol, keeping it at a moderate level or below, goes a long ways towards reducing the risk of it negatively affecting your muscle growth.

So, if you go this route, consider having smaller glasses or fewer drinks. Also note that drinking more slowly can reduce how much you consume in any given sitting. You may also want to limit your drinking to a specific budget.

It can help to reduce the impact of triggers. A common way to do this is to cut down on how often you go to places where you have regularly consumed alcohol in the past. Also consider not keeping any alcohol at home.

Be wary of peer pressure. This can often happen without either person realizing it, such as when a good friend excitedly offers you a drink. Limit how often you accept those invitations.

Doing these things will help you experience a healthier life as well as more fully realize the muscle gains that you have been working so hard towards.

Impact on Women

It should be noted that men are affected by this issue much more than women. Of course, alcohol has negative effects on many aspects of an individual’s health, regardless of their gender, but this is one alcohol-related area in which women appear to have much less to be concerned about than men do.

How Can Live Free Recovery Help?

If you are looking to curtail your drinking, whether for muscle-gain reasons or for other health-related ones, reach out to Live Free Recovery. Our holistic approach to reduced alcohol intake helps our patients build a healthier lifestyle and perspective as all aspects of their life are taken into account. If you would like us to, we would be glad to put together a personalized treatment program for you.