Whiskey and weightlifting don’t mix, and that doesn’t just mean skip a few drinks before hitting the gym for your next workout … It means weightlifters and bodybuilders who want to lead a healthy lifestyle they should avoid alcohol in general. rule.

First, let’s see why people lift weights. Weightlifters hit the gym regularly to get stronger, fitter, and healthy. Bodybuilders go to the gym to build muscle, burn body fat and be in the best physique their genetics will allow.

Now let’s examine how alcohol hinders both scenarios. First, and most importantly for both weightlifters and bodybuilders, alcohol suppresses the body’s testosterone production. Testosterone is a vital hormone produced by your body and is probably the biggest natural activator when it comes to gaining lean mass and building muscle in both men and women. Natural testosterone levels are much higher in men than women, which is one of the reasons that men develop much larger muscles than women. Would you like to effectively turn off the tap on such a strong muscle-building hormone? Of course not, or you wouldn’t be lifting a lot of weights in the gym a few times a week.

Second, drinking alcohol shuts down the fat burning mechanisms in your body. The sugars in alcoholic beverages are much more readily available for your body to use for energy, so as long as the alcohol is in your system, your body has no need to burn body fat. For most bodybuilders it is quite difficult to burn fat without losing the potential time to burn fat for a few hours at a time.

Third, spirits, spirits, and beer can add significant calories to your daily intake with little to no health benefits. Liquors like gin, rum, tequila, or vodka contain up to 82 calories PER OUNCE, while a regular 12-pint beer has 146 calories. Mixed drinks have even more calories due to the added mixer; for example, pina coladas can contain 450 calories each. When you consider that an hour of steady-state cardio, for example, running on a treadmill, burns just 500 calories, having 4-5 drinks with friends on Saturday night could easily negate the hours you spent on the treadmill. or elliptical throughout the week. !

This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a good time when friends go to bars; Offer to always be the designated driver and note how often they invite you, often at their expense. And keep your drinks healthy – for example, order a soda and cranberry juice for a nice non-alcoholic carbonated drink or go for a ‘virgin screwdriver’, also known as a glass of orange juice. Weightlifters and bodybuilders can still have fun with friends and have a good time, just leave alcohol out of your personal equation!