Alcohol

I dont drink alcohol at all! So i wanna see what the drinking habits are like of everyone on T-Nation, bearing in mind were all into training hard for one thing or another.

I found drinking at the weekends screwed up my training, lowered my energy levels, worsened my skin etc. Since stopping i’ve never looked back.

My friends try to get me to drink which p*sses me off. Anyone get the same from people who lack our passion for training?

I’m kind of streaky when it comes to drinking. I haven’t had any in 3 weeks, but there were times where I’d have a drink everyday. Usually it was a Sam Adams or Newcastle, but on occasion I’d have some rum. It is kind of nice to not drink since it saves money for other stuff.

Same here, I started lifting my last year in college and cut drinking back to occasionally on the weekends. after a few weeks i quit all together and havent touched it since. The way I see it, i devote enough time and money to lifting that its not worth screwing that up for a few hour buzz.

[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
I dont drink alcohol at all! So i wanna see what the drinking habits are like of everyone on T-Nation, bearing in mind were all into training hard for one thing or another.

I found drinking at the weekends screwed up my training, lowered my energy levels, worsened my skin etc. Since stopping i’ve never looked back.

My friends try to get me to drink which p*sses me off. Anyone get the same from people who lack our passion for training? [/quote]

I drink more than I should. It hasn’t hurt my muscle gains as far as I can tell. What it does do is make it hard to limit fat gains when bulking. If you’re eating the surplus you need to gain muscle optimally and minimize fat gain, empty calories from alcohol are that much worse.

I really try to minimize drinking a lot when gaining. I think there’s much more room to have a few drinks on weekend nights when maintaining without having much effect on your physique.

I stopped drinking alcohol all together 5 years ago. One of the best decisions I have ever made.

I haven’t tasted a drop of alcohol in my life and I’m a junior in college. My friends joke about me drinking but no one has seriously tried to get me to in years - they know I wont. I can’t say it’s clearly helped me in the lifting game though, but maybe if I did drink I’d be worse off than I am now.

Try ripping back two shots of vodka, run or whiskey about 5 minutes before a heavy set.

I dunno, I think I found that it did have a short term effect that was good for heavy work.

We all know what it does over the long term.

I drink socially because it’s fun. It’s not hard to be in good shape and drink with friends 1-2 times/week.

If you don’t drink, thats great, just don’t go preaching about it. I knew computer nerds in college who never drank and bragged about it, but wasted free time on video games instead.

Bottom line is that booze is fine if its controlled (like anything else).

[quote]got_beer? wrote:
I drink socially because it’s fun. It’s not hard to be in good shape and drink with friends 1-2 times/week.

If you don’t drink, thats great, just don’t go preaching about it. I knew computer nerds in college who never drank and bragged about it, but wasted free time on video games instead.

Bottom line is that booze is fine if its controlled (like anything else).[/quote]

No disagreement with this.

I used to drink in a (more or less) controlled fashion for many years myself. In the context of the person I am now and the goals that I have now, though, I see no more use for or sense in drinking alcohol.

I’m in college.

I drink.

I’ve never found it to be a problem, as I don’t get as drunk as many of my friends, I don’t drink til I throw up.

I go out and drink once a week tops.

It’s not a big deal when you come home, have your pre-bed shake and drink a lot of water.

I never get hang overs, but I still manage to have plenty of fun.

I’ll tell you one thing: I stay the fuck away from beer. I’ll knock back a shot of vodka or sip a glass of whiskey, but no beer.

During the school year I am 100% sober. I’m completely committed to work, training, and sports. There’s no room for alcohol. I do drink on vacation. Over the summer I tend to drink socially on the weekends (never before a training day), and very rarely I will get completely shitfaced.

i usually order a tequila and a beer. that way i only drink 5 or 6 beers.

I drink socially…probably 1-2 beer a week (as I have a fairly low tolerance)

I get hammered pretty consistently here at college.

Never miss class (grades are fine), never miss a workout (progression is fine), still have a couple hours to play guitar…

I figure, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

I prob drink on average like 2-3 times a month. The only time i drink is at good parties or clubs, other wise I just dont think its worth drinking.

And the only reason i drink is to get drunk, im not the type to have a beer because i like to taste.

I’m enjoying an Abita Fall Fest brew right now. It is gooooooood!

[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
I dont drink alcohol at all! So i wanna see what the drinking habits are like of everyone on T-Nation, bearing in mind were all into training hard for one thing or another.

I found drinking at the weekends screwed up my training, lowered my energy levels, worsened my skin etc. Since stopping i’ve never looked back.

My friends try to get me to drink which p*sses me off. Anyone get the same from people who lack our passion for training? [/quote]

I haven’t drank in about 2.5 years and it’s worked out well for me. I understand what you mean about friends though… you’ll find many ‘friends’ aren’t really friends in that regard. Either they don’t care or they don’t understand - I’m not really sure which. It can get quite irritating when you’re not judging people for drinking, but they’re judging you for not drinking.

One thing you’ll find is that not drinking will really change your focus on a lot of thing - at least it did for me. I don’t have much desire to go to parties anymore as the theme is almost always drinking (But I do live in a college town). So a lot of times when other people are out partying, I’m home working or relaxing with a movie. But I don’t regret my choice one bit.

[quote]Captain Ron wrote:
elliotnewman1 wrote:
I dont drink alcohol at all! So i wanna see what the drinking habits are like of everyone on T-Nation, bearing in mind were all into training hard for one thing or another.

I found drinking at the weekends screwed up my training, lowered my energy levels, worsened my skin etc. Since stopping i’ve never looked back.

My friends try to get me to drink which p*sses me off. Anyone get the same from people who lack our passion for training?

I haven’t drank in about 2.5 years and it’s worked out well for me. I understand what you mean about friends though… you’ll find many ‘friends’ aren’t really friends in that regard. Either they don’t care or they don’t understand - I’m not really sure which. It can get quite irritating when you’re not judging people for drinking, but they’re judging you for not drinking.

One thing you’ll find is that not drinking will really change your focus on a lot of thing - at least it did for me. I don’t have much desire to go to parties anymore as the theme is almost always drinking (But I do live in a college town). So a lot of times when other people are out partying, I’m home working or relaxing with a movie. But I don’t regret my choice one bit.[/quote]

Yeah i do have friends who try to get me to drink, but its only when their already wasted and not thinking properly. I dont think its cos their bad people, they just cant understand my goals and their a bit ignorant…

im sure everyone who trains hard, eats clean and rarely or never drinks has a similar problem! Friends sometimes seem like their trying to jepodise your goals…but its often just cos they dont get why we do what we do.

Maybe we who train need to communicate our goals better to our friends and family so they can encourage and help, not hinder.

In reality i know this is easier said than done! In fact, despite training being one of my biggest passions, I rarely discuss it with any of my friends…cos its so far away from the life they lead, they just dont get it!

[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
Captain Ron wrote:
elliotnewman1 wrote:
I dont drink alcohol at all! So i wanna see what the drinking habits are like of everyone on T-Nation, bearing in mind were all into training hard for one thing or another.

I found drinking at the weekends screwed up my training, lowered my energy levels, worsened my skin etc. Since stopping i’ve never looked back.

My friends try to get me to drink which p*sses me off. Anyone get the same from people who lack our passion for training?

I haven’t drank in about 2.5 years and it’s worked out well for me. I understand what you mean about friends though… you’ll find many ‘friends’ aren’t really friends in that regard. Either they don’t care or they don’t understand - I’m not really sure which. It can get quite irritating when you’re not judging people for drinking, but they’re judging you for not drinking.

One thing you’ll find is that not drinking will really change your focus on a lot of thing - at least it did for me. I don’t have much desire to go to parties anymore as the theme is almost always drinking (But I do live in a college town). So a lot of times when other people are out partying, I’m home working or relaxing with a movie. But I don’t regret my choice one bit.

Yeah i do have friends who try to get me to drink, but its only when their already wasted and not thinking properly. I dont think its cos their bad people, they just cant understand my goals and their a bit ignorant…

im sure everyone who trains hard, eats clean and rarely or never drinks has a similar problem! Friends sometimes seem like their trying to jepodise your goals…but its often just cos they dont get why we do what we do.

Maybe we who train need to communicate our goals better to our friends and family so they can encourage and help, not hinder.

In reality i know this is easier said than done! In fact, despite training being one of my biggest passions, I rarely discuss it with any of my friends…cos its so far away from the life they lead, they just dont get it!
[/quote]
I’m not sure if putting more effort into communicating our goals would change a thing. The way I see it, people know all too well what most of us are doing and why we are doing it.

I don’t know a single person who hasn’t at a certain stage of life tried to improve his or her physical appearance and condition - be it via a diet, related products, a training regimen, some other practise or a combination thereof.

The real difference is with regard to consistency and the effort put into establishing a solid base of knowledge which in turn enables one to find an intelligent approach to reaching one’s goals, not in the lack of the goal altogether.

Did you know that toxic is the root of intoxication?

That being said, I get totally smashed as frequently as possible, but not usually more than once per day. Usually.

See, last time I checked, you only live life once. So unless you need 3% bf for a contest, are a paid athlete, are a recovering alcoholic, or have some other legitimate reason to not let 'er rip at least every once in a while, then maybe you should allow yourself to loosen the fuck up and live a little.