How alcohol affects your bodybuilding goals?
If you are in VERY good terms with alcohol then, having an amazing body for a prolonged period of time may be a distant dream. Wondering why?
It’s because body building goals and alcohol habits can never sail in the same boat. Yes, they always contradict. You may never have imagined that some ‘quick shots’ were neutralizing your hours of workouts and gym sessions. Let’s dig deeper to scientifically proven sides of Alcohol consumption v/s body building process!
Alcohol hinders the process of protein synthesis
You might be thinking, so what? I just want to build muscles and I consume enough protein. But here we go! Proteins help in building muscles. That is why protein shakes and food sources of protein are part of your diet. What if proteins you consume are not synthesized?
Alcohol hinders the release of your growth hormones.
Unbelievable! But true. Alcohol is proven to alter the hormone release. If you are into muscle building, your body needs to release GH without hindrances. But alcohol can make the process a mess.
Yes, muscle growth will retard and you will never get a chance to attain your bodybuilding goals!
Alcohol contains calories! Yes calories that are different from what you think
Alcohol contains a lot of empty calories. This means the calories that don’t have any nutritional value.
For each shot you consume, you are taking those many empty calories inside your body. And the effect?
Human body always prioritises the calories to be burnt. When there is alcohol intake, the body keeps the digestion of alcohol in the first place and starts synthesizing them. This will delay the synthesis of other useful carbohydrate synthesis and fat decomposition resulting in a bad metabolism.
As you would have guessed, this will ultimately make the body store the calories from foods you consume and make you bulkier. Yes, if you love alcohol, body building is a distant dream.
Alcohol is going to make you feel tired, really tired!
You may have felt a boost in your mood after that intense workout session or that 30 minutes of running you do each morning. Yes, that is what you call stamina and it is very important for a bodybuilder. But have you ever thought how this works?
Your muscles will encounter small damages while doing heavy workouts. The body recovers itself by releasing the proteins to the muscles nourishing them. What if the body is unable to synthesize and distribute proteins in the right way? Yes, alcohol will hinder the regular process of natural muscle maintenance and so the muscles will go weaker.
This will result in weaker musicals and loss in stamina in long term. Who will not love to have a healthy body that has a good stamina?
Alcohol is going to suck the water from your body. Literally now, THAT SUCKS !
The body always tends to get dehydrated after you consume alcohol. In such a situation, the body will tend to pull water from your muscles to compensate for the sudden rise in water demand. This means your muscles are no longer full.
Our cells hold a lot of water and that is one of the reasons behind the flexibility of our body. Once you start consuming alcohol, it will suck out the water from the cells making them rigid and non-flexible. This will reflect in the overall flexibility and strength of the muscles. And the end result? The dehydrated body that looks too dry with weak muscles is nightmare for a bodybuilder!
Alcohol is not good with hormones-Yes the testosterone!
Alcohol has significant influence in your hormonal actions, especially testosterone. This is the hormone that keeps you stable and it has a vital role in the overall body development.
Alcohol is proven to reduce the testosterone to a considerable quantity which will make you emotionally unstable and will make you feel weak. As like any other disadvantages of alcohol, this is also a major threat in your body building goals.
The panacea for this is simple. If you are gulping down those glasses of beer or whiskey, reduce it and gradually QUIT. Leaving the habit will make you feel healthy, improve your physique and will strengthen you from the inside.
Stay healthy, Stay happy!