# Beer



## jimm (Jun 15, 2011)

How bad is a beer or 2 a night? in terms of how much it will hinder gains ect.. bearing in mind every thing else is in check diet wise!


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## HP08 (Jun 15, 2011)

Ehh I don't think it would have much of an effect at all if you tried drinking every *other *night... I would stay away from regular drinking if you are already consuming a healthy diet cause it just doesn't seem worth it IMO


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## Anabolic5150 (Jun 15, 2011)

It's empty calories and your body has to process the sugars and alcohol. I'd rather eat my calories.


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## Hench (Jun 15, 2011)

I can't be arsed linking the study, but on Martin Berkhams site he states that 3 bottles everyday for 3 weeks only lowered test levels by 6-7%. 

Also if your on cycle it makes even less of a difference, a couple of beers isn't going to do much harm.


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## tommygunz (Jun 15, 2011)

Probably no effect on gains, but show the liver some love, what you stand to lose on cycle is way greater than what you stand to gain from two beers, especially on orals


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## sassy69 (Jun 15, 2011)

Aside from beating on your liver while cycling, your "progress" is going to depend on how much you expect out of your diet. If you're not after specific and targeted goals, probably won't matter that much. If you're tryign to get to some result, its probably going to take longer w/ less progress.


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## irish_2003 (Jun 15, 2011)

some of the world's greatest strongmen and powerlifters of all time were big beer drinkers


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## jimm (Jun 16, 2011)

sassy69 said:


> Aside from beating on your liver while cycling, your "progress" is going to depend on how much you expect out of your diet. If you're not after specific and targeted goals, probably won't matter that much. If you're tryign to get to some result, its probably going to take longer w/ less progress.


 

I am on cycle right now tren e and test e, my goal is to continue to sculpt and build my body over the rest of my life i have goals in terms of i want to be able to bench 140kgs at my current weight (175LB) ect... my diet is good i get in the calories and lots of protein i know the importance of the diet.. just found myself having a beer or 2 or 3 every other night mainly due to boredom sinse loosing my job but im back in employment so i think it will be less of a promlem now.


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## jimm (Jun 16, 2011)

irish_2003 said:


> some of the world's greatest strongmen and powerlifters of all time were big beer drinkers


 

i love my beer just as much as the next man!


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## Alexa1 (Jun 16, 2011)

*beer*

I don't think that two beers will make a big difference. I find that if I have couple of beers after exercising, actually relaxes me and makes me sleep better as I usually exercise late in the afternoon.


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## Clenbut (Jun 24, 2011)

beer is responsible for my weight gain, and i become so fat that i leave my habit of having 3 beers everyday, and i prefer to go with a healthy diet.


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## mich29 (Jun 24, 2011)

having a few beers here and there isn't bad


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## southpaw (Jun 24, 2011)

I consider a beer a whole grain serving and bloody mary a vegetable serving.  Serioius though, if you are training hard, a couple of beers should easily work into your carb allotment with no ill effects... enjoy your beers man!  I wouldn't drink them every night, but thats just me.


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## WG 3.0 (Jun 24, 2011)

mich29 said:


> having a few beers here and there isn't bad


 
Same goes for wine. But more than "here and there" for me though.


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## msumuscle (Jun 24, 2011)

If I ever drink, I make sure its on an off day where my body isn't trying to recover from training.


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## irish_2003 (Jun 24, 2011)

southpaw said:


> I consider a beer a whole grain serving and bloody mary a vegetable serving.  Serioius though, if you are training hard, a couple of beers should easily work into your carb allotment with no ill effects... enjoy your beers man!  I wouldn't drink them every night, but thats just me.



in addition drinking as much water as most of us do will dillute the after effects in one's system


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## one2lift (Jun 25, 2011)

couple a beers a day


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## Tomn (Jul 7, 2011)

i drink when im out relaxing and off days. i guess having a beer won't hinder your gains


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## feinburgrl (Jul 7, 2011)

Alcohol is empty calories. It doesn't have any nutrients, but does have a caloric value of 7 calories per gram. In just one shot (1.5oz) of 80 proof vodka there's nearly 100 calories. For those of you trying to lose fat, forget it if you are drinking. Not only will the high calorie content of alcohol have a negative effect on your total calorie intake, but it also slows down your metabolism by disrupting the Kreb's cycle.

Since the Kreb's cycle isn't working correctly, fats cannot be broken down. In short, your body is trying so hard to digest and metabolize the alcohol, that fat burning stops all together.

Alcohol consumption also hurts muscle growth. Not only due to hangovers lowering your workout intensity, but it actually lowers protein synthesis by 20%. Twenty percent! There are several reasons why it does this. For one, it dehydrates your muscle cells. As many know, hydrated and even over hydrated muscles (like when you take creatine) allows for a much higher anabolic environment.

Because your cells aren't holding as much water, it becomes much harder to build muscle. The second reason why alcohol can severely hurt muscle growth is because it blocks the absorption of many important nutrients that are key to muscle contraction, relaxation and growth including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and potassium.

OK, so above I lied, there's actually a third way that alcohol slows down protein synthesis, I just wanted to dedicate a big part of this article to it. For those of you that don't already know this, ALCOHOL LOWERS TESTOSTERONE AND INCREASES ESTROGEN! Yes, you read that right. In one particular study, men's testosterone levels were measured before and after consumption of alcohol.

At the most intoxicated state, testosterone levels had dropped to an average of 25% lower. It was also interesting to note, that when blood alcohol levels were the highest, testosterone was at its lowest. Alcohol has also been shown to cause a quicker aromatization of androgens into estrogens, which would explain why heavy drinkers often get gynecomastria (bitch tits) over a period of time.

For those of you taking andro (and I'm sure you already know my views on andro) I would absolutely avoid alcohol since you already are in risk for gynecomastia with the high androgen levels in your blood. By drinking, you are further putting yourself in risk for aromatization. We should also note, that in a study done with rats, alcohol reduced Insulin like Growth Hormone-1 (IGF-1) by up to 42%. That's a huge drop in IGF-1.

One thing I found unusual due to the drop in testosterone while drinking is that most guys get really horny. Beyond getting beer goggles, why is it that drinking makes you horny? What I found out is that because alcohol lowers testosterone levels so significantly, the body is struggling to bring them back up by releasing LH, in very large quantities.

What's also interesting to note is that LH is just as responsible for arousal as testosterone. Unfortunately alcohol reduces testosterone levels at the Leydig cell, not the pituitary, so the LH is ineffective in raising testosterone levels.


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## ffstink (Jul 15, 2011)

Try sticking to only the weekends


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## jimm (Jul 16, 2011)

im giving up drinking its no good never worth it the next day!


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## Nottheonlyjustin (Jul 16, 2011)

I do sometimes enjoy beer in moderation, but moderation is the key word.  I've heard if over done, that alcohol can increase estrogen levels.  I would save my calories for proper nutrient filled foods, and keep it down to 1-2 beers to have with the bud a couple times a week if you have to have it.


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## jimm (Jul 17, 2011)

people keep emphasising the fact there is no nutritional value of the calories in beer.. i was not reffering to it as a meens to get my calorie intake up..


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## Merkaba (Jul 17, 2011)

Just hold off and move it to a cheat day or weekend thing.  Hopefully you'll be more done with it based on what you'ure saying as far as boredom, working, etc.  i myself reach for stronger stuff so i can get my buzz on quick without the bloat.  Ick....


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## njc (Jul 17, 2011)

I cant do it because beer always makes me hungry; and not for spinach and tunafish either.


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## skinnyd (Jul 21, 2011)

I drink once or twice a week  so a beer a 2 a night should be ok


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## Killermonkey (Jul 21, 2011)

I throw back a few beers every weekend but every day has to have some kind of affect on your liver


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## Gentleman (Jul 21, 2011)

Beer is a great escape for me.


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## ANIMALHAUS (Jul 21, 2011)

feinburgrl. 

Great post!!! Whether I'm on 900mgs of test, or cruising at 250mgs I am ALWAYS horny as all hell the night after some heavy boozing. I'm actually horny alot, but especially the morning after.

Thanks for sharing.


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## ANIMALHAUS (Jul 21, 2011)

OP, I don't touch a beer all week while I train, but I will go pretty hard on Fridays and Saturdays.  I still make sure I consume the right a,ount of calories and protein though, and while I'll never know if it makes any difference in gains, I still continue to grow every week... and that doesn't bother me one bit!


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## JeepKuntry (Jul 22, 2011)

I love my beer!  That being said, I'm trying to cut it back drastically.  I was drinking about 18/week and now I'm trying to make a 12 pack last a couple of weeks.  Maybe 1 beer per night with a few on the weekend.  I try to drink on days that I know I'm burning extra calories from exercising.


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## dhyayi (Jul 22, 2011)

Drink too much beer means, train hard to burn the extra calories....


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