Alcohol & Muscle Growth

Alcohol has a negative affect on your ability to build muscle. Building muscle is important if you want to burn fat, lose weight and maintain a strong body.

I like to drink sometimes, so I'm not going to tell you to stop drinking. However...

I think it's important for you to know that drinking alcohol can affect the rate at which you gain muscle.

Here are 5 ways that alcohol can slow (or stop) muscle growth.

1) It affects protein synthesis.

Protein synthesis is the process where amino acids are joined together to form complete proteins.

Excessive alcohol consumption can slow protein synthesis by up to 20%.

Your muscles are made of protein (and water), so it's very clear that if you block the formation of new muscle protein, you also affect your muscles' ability to repair and grow.

2) Alcohol lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen.

Testosterone is the most important muscle-building hormone in your body.

One of the factors that determines how much muscle a person can gain is their level of free-flowing testosterone.

If you lower testosterone, you slow your muscle and strength gains.

Click here for more information on this.

3) Alcohol causes dehydration.

Your kidneys have to filter very large amounts of water in order to break down the alcohol. This can lead to severe dehydration.

Hydrating your muscles creates a much more anabolic (muscle building) environment. Even slight dehydration is a recipe for disaster.

4) Alcohol depletes your body of vitamins and minerals.

Alcohol consumption causes vitamins A, C, the B's, calcium, zinc and phosphorus to be drained at fast rates.

Vitamins and minerals help facilitate every process in your body, including muscle building and fat burning.

5) Alcohol increases fat storage.

With 7 empty calories per gram, alcohol can be quite fattening.

Alcohol also disrupts the Krebs Cycle. The Krebs Cycle plays an important role in fat burning.

If you want to build more muscle so you can lose more body fat, you need to monitor your alcohol intake and make sure you consume it in moderation.

Having a few drinks won't cause a big problem.

If you find yourself binging when you do drink, there’s a very good chance that you’re going to hurt your ability to build muscle and burn fat.

When you do drink, follow a simple rules...

• drink plenty of water,
• take in extra vitamins and minerals, and
• have a protein rich meal.

Related:

Alcohol And Weight Loss

Calories In Alcohol

Water and Weight Loss

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