Alcohol and muscle building – a poor combination

Many young fitness athletes train 4 - 5 x per week on weekdays. Then at the weekend they go out partying and drink larger amounts of alcohol. Do alcohol and muscle building go together?

Alcohol inhibits muscle building

Intensive muscle training increases the rate of muscle building. The right amount of protein in the right quality optimises this effect even further. Alcohol inhibits this effect!

In 2016, 10 young men and 9 young women were examined for this. These people were familiar with regular strength training. One group received alcohol, the other group received a placebo. In each case, 6 sets of squats with 10 repetitions each and a training weight of 80% of the 1 RM (maximum weight) were performed. A pause of 2 minutes was taken between sets. All subjects had muscle tissue taken by muscle biopsies before and 3 hours and 5 hours after training.

Results regarding alcohol and muscle building

The results show a blocking of mTORC1. Activation of mTORC1 is an important step towards increasing the rate of muscle building after strength training. If mTORC1 is not activated, the rate of muscle building is hardly increased. Surprisingly, mTORC1 was only blocked in men and not in women.

It is important to note that the amount consumed corresponded to approx. 7 glasses of vodka for men and 5 glasses of vodka for women. How smaller amounts affect the rate of muscle building therefore cannot be estimated.

Alcohol lowers testosterone levels

Alcohol lowers testosterone levels. Testosterone is largely responsible for anabolic processes. A low testosterone level can therefore have a negative effect on muscle building.

Alcohol increases the release of cortisol

Cortisol is a stress hormone. This hormone has a catabolic (muscle-breaking down) effect. Through intensive strength training you can increase the rate of muscle building. Cortisol can influence this and minimise these anabolic effects. Alcohol and muscle building should therefore not be combined. Incidentally, cortisol also reduces the function of the immune system. The body therefore becomes more susceptible to infections.

Alcohol and muscle building therefore certainly do not go together! Cheers!

Source: Duplanty A.A. et al. (2016): Effect of Acute Alcohol Ingestion on Resistance Exercise Induced mTORC1 Signaling in Human Muscle. J.Strength Cond.Res.