ascendants anti-alcohol thread.

[ascendant]

alright, in frustration of having to discuss this matter over and over and over again for people lacking the discipline to not drink while doing a cycle, i'm going to just make a list of all the issues associated with drinking while on a cycle or even just drinking and how it negatively affects the body in general. that way i can save the link to this post and save myself from posting about this issue time and time again, which by the way i'm quite disappointed in their being such a need to. well, here we go...

1. Alcohol negatively affects protein synthesis - this is a known scientific fact guys and one that is obviously a big hinderance to our goals considering decreased protein synthesis means decreased muscle recovery and growth. though you may blow it off thinking it's effects can't be that dramatic, think again. alcohol can decrease our bodies ability to synthesize protein by up to 20%.

2. Alcohol adversely affects growth hormone and igf - this applies not only to exogenous, but endogenous gh and igf as well, and the effects are quite significant, particularly on igf. alcohol can lower igf levels by as much as 30-40%.

3. Alcohol causes dehydration - in order to break down the alcohol, the kidneys must filter a large amount of water. considering our muscles are made of 70% water and water plays a huge role in muscle recovery and growth, this is obviously a big problem. for those mistakingly thinking the dehydrating effect isn't that significant, here's something to think about... Alcohol can cause up to a 3% loss in body weight from water loss in a 4 hour period.

4. Alcohol lowers testosterone and increases estrogen levels - this occurs due to alcohols increase in our bodies aromitization process. now, anyone with even a basic knowledge on testosterone and estrogen would know this is a very unfavorable effect on our bodies. long story short, it's effects include reduced muscle growth/recovery, increased fat storage, and other feminization effects.

5. Alcohol depletes our bodies of vitamins and minerals - the most prominent of those being the b vitamins (b-6,b-12, etc), vit a, vit c, phosphorous, calcium, and zinc. Obviously lacking in these nutrients can seriously hinder muscle growth, recovery, and even maintenance.

6. Calories from Alcohol are primarily stored as bodyfat - best said in this quote "carbohydrates found in alcohol are not converted into glucose and are used to make fatty acids that are stored as fat typically in the liver which eventually alters the metabolism of proteins and the liver’s function leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis (irreversible liver damage)" (article 3). . nuff said.

7. Alcohol negatively affects our bodies kreb's cycle - this is our bodies ability to burn fat as an energy source. so if our body doesn't burn fat as an energy source, the alternatives are blood glucose, muscle glycogen, and muscle protein, the third of which of course us bb's try to avoid at all costs.

8. Alcohol negatively affects our REM sleep - this occurs even in minor alcohol consumption (2-3 drinks). it negatively affects the duration of our REM sleep, it's quality, and the overall time we're in REM during our resting period. see article 5 below for more info.

9. Alcohol decreases our bodies immune system - considering gear can lower our immunity systems as it is, alcohol can increase our chances of getting sick or getting infections even more, and quite dramatically, even in small amounts. obviously being sick means less time in the gym, or at least a decreased ability to recover while working out.

10. Alcohol increases cortisol production - cortisol is one of the worst chemicals we can have floating around in our bodies as far as negatively affecting our muscle mass. if you don't know what cortisol is and why you want to avoid increasing it's production, just do a wikipedia search about cortisol and you'll see why. basically, it will break down muscle mass into amino acids as a stress response.

well, there you have it. even those who use the justification of moderate alcohol consumption can see that even at low levels of consumption, it can still have a dramatic impact on your gains. if the above information and the links provided below don't convince you to try to stop the drinking and find other things to do to enjoy your weekends, then honestly i don't know what to tell you.

maybe a good follow-up to this thread should be one giving a list of alternatives to drinking on the weekends and other ways to go out and have fun?

article 1 - alcohols effect on protein synthesis - http://ajpendo.physiology.org/cgi/co...act/277/2/E268

article 2 - effects on gh and igf - http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi...tract/35/2/148

article 3 - several good pieces of info on the negative effects of alcohol - http://www.athletics.mcgill.ca/sport...article_id=613

article 4 - alcohols aromatization effects - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...92570f68613e73

article 5 - http://www.mindandmuscle.net/mindand...hp?artID=99959

[chest6]

Thank you..that other thread is ridiculous and I'm tired of questions like "Is drinking really bad for muscle?"

[Liftnainez]

Good post bro.. people need to read and UNDERSTAND this.. BUMP

[Death]

agreed, if you want to blow out your major organs while you were on a course, your drinking of excess alcohol would definately do it!

[novastepp]

[Bojangles69]

doesnt even say anything about what it does to your liver..

[Anabolios]

hey at least im not on cycle *takes sip of moonshine* haha

[kman]

bump, great read

[steve0]

this should be stickedddd in the diet forum now please.

[Natty99]

God I hate drinking so much!!!!!!

[ascendant]

glad you guys like the info and thanks for the positive feedback. in response to you steve, definitely would be nice if they stickied this (hint hint) to save us the time of having to tell people about this over and over. i see posts about drinking on here at least 3-5 times a week. figure this will save all of us who know better the time of having to explain all this over and over.

in response to you bo, there's a mention of the liver damaging effects in number 6 on the post, but i figured my focus should be on the less commonly known side-effects. most people are aware of the liver damaging properties of alcohol, it's addictive qualities, and the like. my list is not complete as far as all the issues, but it does give a lot of insight into those not so well known by the general public. there's of course plenty of other reasons to avoid alcohol as well, but i figured i'd spare the members here from stuff that i would hope they'd already know. if you'd like to add anything to my list however, be my guest.

[Bojangles69]

yeh i was just curious more or less about the liver in general. maybe ill do some research. i always hear people saying thats bad for your liver but ive never actually understand how its bad or what it does and how bad it really is in comparison to regular things people just put in thier body without really understanding, ie: acetimophen.

[ascendant]

yeh i was just curious more or less about the liver in general. maybe ill do some research. i always hear people saying thats bad for your liver but ive never actually understand how its bad or what it does and how bad it really is in comparison to regular things people just put in thier body without really understanding, ie: acetimophen.

well if you find some good sites on the subject, post a link or two on here. i'm done researching about alcohol for now.

as far as how bad it is, i can tell you to the best of my knowledge, alcohol has aceto beat out by quite a bit. let me just say that my father used to be an alcoholic for a good 10 years or so and it caused him to have liver failure by about age 34. it nearly killed him. he was coughing up, throwing up, and peeing blood, went to the hospital, and the docs did all they could and literally told him "if you make it through the night, you should recover." anyway, the damage is cumulative as it lasts a long time, some of the damage is even permanent.

reason i think alcohol has aceto beat is cause i know a buddy of mine who gets migraines all the time and takes a combo of aceto and asprin for it. he pops them both like they're m&m's, has been doing so for at least 15 years now, and he's never had any issues with his liver. though i'm sure there's other factors to take into account, i think in proportionate consumption, alcohol will have aceto beat.

[chest6]

yeh i was just curious more or less about the liver in general. maybe ill do some research. i always hear people saying thats bad for your liver but ive never actually understand how its bad or what it does and how bad it really is in comparison to regular things people just put in thier body without really understanding, ie: acetimophen.

sumthin bout how ur body can only process 1oz of alcohol an hour..and when you get drunk ppl r drinking a hell of a lot more than 1oz of alcohol an hour..so it taxes the liver a great deal..

[DutchCowboy]

Excellent, excellent read bro! Great thread!

[HORSE~]

Ascendant just got to say bro you are one long winded SOB!!!!!!!!!!

This and your clen thread are both very good threads very long but both great thread's

Good job bro keep it up

[cfiler]

Great post! This definately should be a sticky!

[Carlos_E]

Yes, this should be a sticky. Not sure where though.

[STYLE74]

Great post!

[ascendant]

Ascendant just got to say bro you are one long winded SOB!!!!!!!!!!

This and your clen thread are both very good threads very long but both great thread's

Good job bro keep it up

hey bro, don't forget how fast i can type my abc's, lol. anyway, thanks for the positive feedback.

[ascendant]

Yes, this should be a sticky. Not sure where though.

many people ask about drinking while on cycles, but not sure it would be appropriate as a sticky there. seems the most appropriate area would be the diet section? dunno, but i can say that as a sticky, this would save a lot of people a lot of time posting about this same subject over and over again.

[gritt]

Alcohol simply has no place for healthy living....whether bulking or cutting.......just not worth it.

[THE_DOME]

great post

[C_Bino]

Alcohol simply has no place for healthy living....whether bulking or cutting.......just not worth it.

Short and sweet, well said.

Good thread Ascendant. I would never drink on or off cycle...well maybe a bit of everclear

What it all comes down to is if you are really serious or not imo. If you actually have will power to say no to alcohol, say no to going out and eating pizza with friends, saying no to skipping the gym to get laid. If you let obstacles come in between you and your own personal goals you are setting yourself up for failure and settling for less.

[jollygreenGIANT]

this should be stickedddd in the diet forum now please.

more like the steroid questions forum

[bigbouncinballs]

Short and sweet, well said.

Good thread Ascendant. I would never drink on or off cycle...well maybe a bit of everclear

What it all comes down to is if you are really serious or not imo. If you actually have will power to say no to alcohol, say no to going out and eating pizza with friends, saying no to skipping the gym to get laid. If you let obstacles come in between you and your own personal goals you are setting yourself up for failure and settling for less.

righto, dunno why people are overly concerned with the detrimental effects of alcohol while on cycle. the effects are just the same off. no place in a healthy lifestyle. there are a million things i'd rather do on a friday night than go out, drink a lot, dehydrate myself and fvck up my system for the next day, week, month.

cheers to those who steer clear and reap the benefits!

[biglouie250]

i enjoy the taste of a good beer. no aspirations to be Mr. O here.

[taiboxa]

in all honesty i really cant think of any POSITIVE affects from alcohol other than forgeting the stupid stuff u did before.. but once u hit that state of drunkeness ur just going to do something stupid again .. its a horrible vicsious cycle.. UNLESS U kan drink responsbily.. which doesnt happen here

[Carlos_E]

in all honesty i really cant think of any POSITIVE affects from alcohol

Easier to get a straight guy into bed.

*I'm not gay I was drunk!*

[taiboxa]

Easier to get a straight guy into bed.

*I'm not gay I was drunk!*

OMFG how HORRIBLE of a joke would that be!

get them so drunk .. that they will temporarily go the other way.. BAG EM.. them take pics! and make fun of them!

be like SEE THIS PIC..
this is where he took my shirt off.... ><

[NCNPC29]

Great Post. Besides being a bad idea when on it just doesn't go hand in hand with the bodybuilding life style.

[rake922]

Bump because my friend said I should get drunk tonight

[Superballer]

This should stay around top.

I think I need to print it for when people ask me time and again why I never drink.

[MrMeathead]

This is the best post I have seen on this forum since I have been a member here. It definatley makes me think twice about going out tonight. This should be a sticky.

[RussianVodka]

Great post, but I have no intend to be next mr. O, so I enjoy red wine with my steak

[MrBigEd]

I agree.. ill keep on a sippin on the weekends,, not tryin to have the perfect body.. And im not goin to argue this.. but a cycle on the body is a lot worse than a weekend of drinking..

[AllGearedUp]

Im getting thirsty...

[MrBigEd]

me too.. sippin vodka and some tonic at the moment.. mmmmm good...

[SuperLift]

Wow great post! I usually drink maybe once every week and a half or 2 weeks. After reading this post I will definitely cut it way down! I had no idea that alcohol was that bad if you are trying to gain mass.

[rake922]