Alcohol and bodybuilding?

Nitrojan

Nitrojan

Nitrojan

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12 Jan 2008
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Started my transformation from Skinny-Fat to Muscular just over a week ago now, and I am still going strong however I am wondering one thing. I have not really been much of a drinker my whole life (personal stuff made me choose this route) however some old friends of mine have asked me if I will be going out on Fri/Sat night for a few drinks with them.

It would be nice to catch up but what are the potential effects of drinking at the weekend compared to my potential gains each week? What is the best drink/least destructive drink for a bodybuilder if they wanted to go and have a few beverages (Vodka and diet coke?). Just wondering as I need to make my decision to go out or not. Just, being young and all, I want to go out and enjoy myself but I do bloody hate the way I look so much that I am willing to sacrifice a year of drinking with friends to change myself in the long run :)

Curious :)
 
Mate it is absolutely terrible if you are getting wasted. A few beers occasionally is fine, have a nice sleep and eat as normal the next day. However I've been partying hard every weekend for the last fair few weeks now and it has DESTROYED me. I'm ill at the moment with a bad cold or something aswell but I haven't trained for 2 weeks (but still drank last week) and I look like a complete mess.
I had 3 years where I stopped drinking totally, maybe had 3-4 pints in that time, but like you say I realised hold on I'm missing the years when I can do some of this crazy stuff without being the oldest swinger in town :p. Unfortunately it has made me go the smallest AND fattest for a long long time haha.
So yea massive story aside do what makes you happy. If that's looking awesome, don't drink, if that's having fun getting ****ed with your mates do that but you won't look anywhere near as good. If I find the perfect balance I'll be sure to let you know :)
 
Nitrojan said:
Started my transformation from Skinny-Fat to Muscular just over a week ago now, and I am still going strong however I am wondering one thing. I have not really been much of a drinker my whole life (personal stuff made me choose this route) however some old friends of mine have asked me if I will be going out on Fri/Sat night for a few drinks with them.

It would be nice to catch up but what are the potential effects of drinking at the weekend compared to my potential gains each week? What is the best drink/least destructive drink for a bodybuilder if they wanted to go and have a few beverages (Vodka and diet coke?). Just wondering as I need to make my decision to go out or not. Just, being young and all, I want to go out and enjoy myself but I do bloody hate the way I look so much that I am willing to sacrifice a year of drinking with friends to change myself in the long run :)

Curious :)
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drinking alcohol makes your body retain extra water, in order to dilute and process the alcohol.

people who therefore drink hold onto a lot more than people that dont and the more you drink the more your body holds onto.

diet coke is actually just as bad as normal coke, it has all sorts of chemicals in it which harm your body. if i was going to drink the best mixer's would be water/fruit juice.

vodka and OJ or vodka and cranberry or vodka and pineapple, etc. alcohol has a lot of calories in it, it also makes your blood sugar levels drop, so you get the munchies either whilst drinking or after your session, making you pig out on fast food or junk food.

the best option would be not to drink at all, but if you are going to drink, why not try only drinking 1 drink to every two or 3 your mates have? and drink water on the other rounds.
 
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Psycho Sonny said:
the best option would be not to drink at all, but if you are going to drink, why not try only drinking 1 drink to every two or 3 your mates have? and drink water on the other rounds.
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Nice advice, but you know what drinking water on a friday night would make you look like? :p (not having a dig at you by the way lol, just saying in general :D)
 
Nitrojan said:
Nice advice, but you know what drinking water on a friday night would make you look like? :p (not having a dig at you by the way lol, just saying in general :D)
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i do it, so does my cousin, do you drive? you could use the old excuse of "im driving tonight" therefore i cannot have more than 1 or 2. others drink red bull but its not something i can recommend. im 25 and ive spent the last 8 years clubbing. chances are, your mates will peer pressure you into drinking, but after the first hour they will be drunk and not really care, if they do go on at you, just tell them where to shove it, your doing it for the sake of your own health, not for their enjoyment. i see plenty of people drinking water in clubs, maybe you should be more aware next time, not everybody drinks who goes out clubbing. or you could lie and say your taking smarties thats why your on the water, whatever makes you "look" better to your "mates".
 
Morba said:
Vodka + oj is a horrible combination.
Don't worry about the scares of diet coke. Vodka + duel coke would be best option for you, however 1 night of drink won't be too bad for you anyway.
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different people have different tastes, what suits you might taste like heaven to others.

i cant stand lager, the only one i like is cobra on tap with lime syrup (not cordial) in it.

i personally like vodka and OJ, i dont like it with cranberry or pineapple though and i hate diet coke.
 
Im not particularly proud of it in bb terms, but I go out once every 2 weeks (Often drinking obscene amounts and getting wasted) or so and have got to where I am now (see bodybuilding thread). I only ever drink when I want to get drunk (binge drinker much?) and it does hammer gains. However I'm young and want to do this while I still can/friends are.
 
The Craig said:
Im not particularly proud of it in bb terms, but I go out once every 2 weeks (Often drinking obscene amounts and getting wasted) or so and have got to where I am now (see bodybuilding thread). I only ever drink when I want to get drunk (binge drinker much?) and it does hammer gains. However I'm young and want to do this while I still can/friends are.
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once every 2 weeks isnt that bad, the alcohols effects on your body would wear off within 3/4 days. so your losing 4 days worth of progress every 14 days. if it was once a week then your losing over 50% of the gains you could get. this is all guess work, but once in a while is okay, once a week is really bad (getting wasted).
 
Psycho Sonny said:
different people have different tastes, what suits you might taste like heaven to others.

i cant stand lager, the only one i like is cobra on tap with lime syrup (not cordial) in it.

i personally like vodka and OJ, i dont like it with cranberry or pineapple though and i hate diet coke.
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I wasn't talking about taste. The amount of oj that will be consumed is more than needed. So it will be lots of natural sugary carbs instead of diet cokes nothingness.

If he wants to drink and be cautious diet coke is the better choice.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
once every 2 weeks isnt that bad, the alcohols effects on your body would wear off within 3/4 days. so your losing 4 days worth of progress every 14 days. if it was once a week then your losing over 50% of the gains you could get. this is all guess work, but once in a while is okay, once a week is really bad (getting wasted).
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Well, recently Im not gonna lie its cut down :o, theres been periods of drinking once a week (during uni), periods of getting pretty drunk 4 days on the trot (t in the park festival). Overall I've now decided I want to cut it down and will only go out if I know it'll be a good night with lots of my friends out, whereas last year I'd feel compelled to go out all the time.
 
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i get hammered at least twice a week and still manage to put on good increase in mass and fitness whilst i was lifting weights and put on a stone in 12 months (no access to a gym full time at the moment so not getting anywhere :( ), while it probably limits you to a certain degree i'm sure drinking once a week isn't a problem.

that said i always trained the next day extra hard after drinking, so cancelled each other out in a way :D

if you go out on nights out you see plenty of stacked blokes getting hammered every weekend, if your a proffesional or want 100% rather than 80% of your potential then probaly right but to say in this game its one or other is imo unfounded.
 
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Psycho Sonny said:
diet coke is actually just as bad as normal coke,
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Debatable, especially for bodybuilding. Sugar not only has calories in it but it'll cause a spike which will cause a higher level of fat gain from the calories you're currently consuming.

Aspartame has no calories thus no spike. I drink diet and sugar-free drinks and they don't give me any issue with gaining or losing mass. Whether the chems are secretly giving me cancer is a different issue :p

To the op: one or the other if you're serious about getting the most out of your time. It's not so much the calories in alcohol which are bad, but for me if I get moderately sloshed my strength and stamina in the gym will be poop for the next 2 or 3 days at least, and obviously most of the next day will be spent in bed.
 
etom said:
if you go out on nights out you see plenty of stacked blokes getting hammered every weekend, if your a proffesional or want 100% rather than 80% of your potential then probaly right but to say in this game its one or other is imo unfounded.
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Fat under their shirt and/ or on gear mate if they out on the regular. You just can't keep lean and big if you are binging hard every week, its not possible :p
 
Just go out mate - you have to let loose every now and then. Aslong as you don't do it all the time or take the **** then you're fine. Just get tipsy not smashed that way best of both worlds.
 
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