Many of us have heard contradictory theories about the influence that alcohol has on sports performance and more specifically on muscle mass gain. On the one hand, some point out that alcohol may not be so bad for sports performance, beer being even a very popular drink in the post-training of some athletes. On the other hand, there are other theories that indicate that the influence that alcohol can play when it comes to performing at the best in our workouts can be totally negative.
For this reason, many athletes wonder to what extent drinking alcohol affects their strength and hypertrophy training. In a recent study by Bianco et al. (2014) tried to analyze what alcohol does to athletes. Find out why there are some athletes who tend to drink alcohol and what consequences this can have for their performance.
Why do some athletes drink alcohol?
Alcohol is a complicated part of athlete culture. Playing sports, in itself, is a social activity, just like alcohol consumption. As a result, the two sometimes go hand in hand. In fact, in another article by Doug Dupont, a number of studies were analyzed that found that there is possibly a correlation between strength training students and alcohol use.
The correlation between alcohol consumption and athletes does not simply end at the social level. In fact, Doug Dupont claims to have heard several stories, some may be true and some may not be so, of Olympic weightlifters and other strength-training athletes who consume alcohol as a means of increasing their blood flow after a workout. . In other words, some people use alcohol as a means of recovery .
But first, let’s not get carried away. It is true that there is a certain history of alcohol consumption among athletes, but let’s not forget this old proverb: correlation does not always mean causation. Being social people may make us better athletes, and it may make us more likely to consume alcohol, but that doesn’t mean alcohol should replace our protein shakes after training.
What effects does alcohol have on protein synthesis?
In the study published by Bianco et al. (2014), the researchers looked for all those studies that could be found related to muscle development and alcohol in order to be able to compare them all and obtain a conclusion. Thus, they found a total of 106 studies that fit along those lines, but the problem is that those studies addressed a wide variety of topics. They also found that in some respects the information was scarce, probably due to the ethical problems of conducting research based on alcohol consumption.
In this regard, several discoveries were made. The first important one they did concerned the volume of proteins . Protein volume is the sum total of the creation of new protein minus the deterioration or destruction of old protein in our muscles. If you have more of the former (protein synthesis) than the latter (protein destruction), your muscles will get bigger.
It seems that alcohol affects this process: while our body is producing this protein synthesis, alcohol has an inhibitory effect. Although it is true that protein destruction does not seem to increase, by affecting the synthesis process, the volume of proteins is decreased. Worst of all, this reduction in protein synthesis appears to occur most significantly in type 2 muscle fibers, which are the muscle fibers with the most growth potential. Some scientific studies show that this reduction in the synthesis process can reach 30%.
What is the hormonal response to alcohol?
From a hormonal point of view, alcohol consumption has more detrimental effects on growth hormones and luteinizing hormones. Both types of hormones are related to muscle development. Growth hormone is also linked to fat loss. On the other hand, alcohol increases the stress hormone cortisol, although the exact mechanism by which it does so is not known.
Finally, a small dose of alcohol can increase testosterone levels slightly. However, this is not the same if we consume a greater amount of alcohol. Thus, if a 75 kg man consumes five glasses of normal beer, he will see his testosterone levels drop, and if he continues to drink more alcohol, the problem is even worse. But this is only the direct effect, to which we have to add that this alcohol consumption entails – as we have said – a reduction in luteinizing hormones, which can cause men’s testosterone levels to decrease even more in the long term.
Conclution
Alcohol prevents muscle hypertrophy and messes up your hormones , which is why it is a pretty big obstacle if you want to gain muscle, so refrain from consuming it whenever you can. If you feel like having a drink at a certain social gathering, do it, but the less the better.
References
- Bianco, A., Thomas, E., Pomara, F., Tabacchi, G., Karsten, B., Paoli, A. and Palma, A. (2014) “Alcohol consumption and hormonal alterations related to muscle hypertrophy: a review ” Nutrition & Metabolism, 11:26.
- Dupont, D. Alcohol Impairs Hypertrophy and Messes With Your Hormones. For Breakingmuscle.com [Revised January 2016]
