Hey everyone. I know alcohol is bad for you and everything but here is my question; Today I lifted, and of course had my Surge afterward, basically just like any other workout. My buddy called and there is a birthday party for this girl tonight and he wants me to come along with him to the bar. If I go and have a couple of drinks or more will this totally cancel out my workout or will it just give me the empty calories and not effect my muscles. Thanks guys and gals.
Drinking is detrimental to training, period.
This doesn’t mean you can’t drink, but just treat it as you would a meal at McDonalds, a big brownie sundae, or a butter and gummi-bear salad.
RIT Jared
I thought you were a rugby player Jared? Alas, the days of the hard-drinking rugger are slipping away.
Yes, going drinking will impede your bodybuilding progress a bit, but you could get hit by a bus tomorrow and die. Have a drink with your buddy. Eat a cheeseburger. Smoke a joint. Take a girl home. Live.
If it’s just once in a while, go for it as long as you don’t overdo it. It’s the drinking every night till you pass out. That’s what ruins everything. It probably doesn’t apply to me because that’s what I did in college and managed to maintain 6 packs abs. They called me genetic freak. The trick was to balance out from eating healthy most of time although it doesn’t really get me big but pretty good shape. I doubt it i can do it these days. one night is enough to ruin the whole week for me. Ah I miss old days when you could just bounce back after night of hard partying!
True…in college I would even come back from partying at 3 in the morning and blast out some heavy sets. These days if I drink more than a couple I’m generally fucked for the next day!
To clarify and expand on my previous post, it also depends how important your physique goals are to you. If it is your No1 priority or you are an elite athlete, probably never drinking is the best bet. But, if like me, training is one facet of your life, a hugely important facet but not life’s totality, have that drink if you want it. Just don’t have 20, or have one also tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.
I have to agree that it’s not what you do occasionally that matters, but what you do most of the time. Just as you wouldn’t expect to get lean by eating crap all week long and then and then having one healthy meal, you won’t go too far off the rails by eating well all week long and then having one crap meal or a few drinks with your mates.
Having said that, when I was at uni I used to be able to have a few drinks a couple of times a week and remain relatively lean. These days that just doesn’t happen. The fact that my two main hobbies are weight training for fitness and home brewing (the natural enemy of weight training for fitness) probably doesn’t help.
Having a drink, especially if it’s well after your workout, won’t totally cancel out the effort, but it will reduce it a little. If it’s an occasional thing, no big deal. If you do it frequently, it could cause real training problems.
Here’s another thread that discussed this in some depth, which might be helpful, too:
everything in moderation is healthy. yes, everything. 
ah don’t feel bad about having a little fun. just do your workout and go out. so you reduce your workout effect by 10% or so? have some fun man. divert.
I never said I didn’t drink. I said it was detrimental to training. As long as you realize that you can drink as much as you damn well please.
Go for it! Have a drink every now and again and enjoy yourself! Life is too short to not enjoy yourself and you certainly don’t want to end up with regrets about missed opportunities. You might even meet a nice lady, which would give those T levels a nudge in the right direction.
Train hard and eat clean and when you want to have a great night out!