Can you drink alcohol and still get jacked?

The answer is yes, you can drink and get jacked, but alcohol can definitely affect your gains.

Obviously, it depends a lot on how much you drink. Someone who drinks 2 drinks a week can’t be compared to someone who drinks 3 drinks a day. I am not going to give you specific numbers because, once again, each person’s body reacts differently. Let’s rather talk about the effects of alcohol in general.

First off, know that alcohol is a poison. I don’t want to make you paranoid, but that is a fact. I’m not saying you shouldn’t drink alcohol at all—you can drink alcohol now and then without “poisoning” yourself. I drink alcohol now and then; in fact, I’m actually a bit hungover as I’m writing this lol. Alcohol becomes a problem when it is consumed in high volumes and/or on a regular basis.

Now, there are a ton of reasons why too much alcohol can make it harder for you to get jacked, but here are a few main ones:

Alcohol contains a lot of calories (a double vodka, excluding mix, contains roughly around 130 kcal).
Alcohol dehydrates you, which damages the muscle recovery process.
Alcohol causes hangovers, making it harder to exercise consistently and decreasing your energy within workouts.
Alcohol can interfere with the absorption of essential nutrients.
Alcohol can damage your sleep quality.
Alcohol can increase cortisol levels, leading to more stress.
Alcohol can decrease testosterone levels.

I’m not trying to demonize alcohol, but these are the facts. Now, should you completely stop using alcohol? No, it’s not necessary. Just make sure you use it in a way that doesn’t prevent you from reaching your goals.

Conclusion: You can totally get jacked and drink alcohol—just don’t drink too much of it, too often.

Hope this helps some of you.

Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts…

All the best!

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