21 Year Old Predicament!!! Input PLEASE!?!?
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<style> </style>Well I’m 21 now as of Sep. 29 and am looking for someone else’s input. In the past years and high school days I was a real big drinker; I mean BIG. Then recently I have become a big fan of bodybuilding and started reading all the articles posted by other people. I noticed that all of them talk about how alcohol affects testosterone production and estrogen levels.
I used to be the kid who would drink bottles of vodka straight like a huge moron! But now I have almost completely halted my drinking to the point that I don’t even go out anymore and my friends don’t know who I’ve become. I’m in Rolla MO now attending one of the top engineering schools in the US, I have good grades, but no fun anymore. Everyone keeps telling me that “Hey your 21 you have to live a little”. Case in POINT I want to go out from time to time but also want to be bigger than everyone else 
My question to readers out there; is there anyone else who has faced similar problems. I would just like to go out once a week and drink a 6-12 pack; does anyone else do this and has no problems with their gains. Also ever since I stopped drinking I haven’t noticed a big difference anyway. Any Response would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank You All!
September 30, 2008 at 5:48 am
You may want to preserve your liver if anything else. I remember life in college and I can’t believe what I did to myself back then.
I think you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who tells you that they have a ripped physique while drinking 6-12 beers in a night every week.
You can have fun without the excessive drinking. Sorry for sounding like such a mom, LOL.
September 30, 2008 at 5:49 am
I am 24 and recently stopped my party stage. I use to get wasted at least 4 times a week and was a heavy drinker like yourself. I am new to the bodybuilding thing but I can say that beer sure did give me a lil mid section. You already seen results from lowering your alcohol intake. So you kinda answered your own question. As far as stopping altogether, I would say that depends on your goals. If you want to do shows I would say don’t drink. Otherwise I would suggest everything in moderation. I have personally quit drinking mostly if not altogether. Like I said, I am new to fitness and I am not an expert so this is just my opinion. I don’t know the specifics of how it can affect your results.
September 30, 2008 at 6:37 am
From the age of 17 to 25 I served in the British forces. If you were to ask the majority of individuals serving in the military they’ll confirm that drinking plays a BIG part in the social scene. Like most young men, in a testosterone driven environment, I drank with the best of them! Ah; the 80s in Berlin…. Party years!
Did it effect my fitness? I would have to say it impacted my gains; however I always passed the fitness tests with flying colours, set one or two Battalion records, and also competed in a number of sports (when prepping for sporting events I was teetotal for months on end). I also had some of my best gains during those years; although I believe I would have improved more if I had either drunk alcohol in more moderation or had been teetotal. However I don’t regret it and I was happy with my lifestyle as well as the results from my training.
Wind on nearly twenty years or so…. Since January, when I seriously got back into training, I would say that I have drank alcohol in moderation most weekends and usually only on a Saturday night. However I eat clean and train with intensity from Sunday to Friday. Has drinking impacted my results? I would say ‘yes’ and my results would have been faster coming and more consistent if I hadn’t drunk alcohol at all; but so far I have dropped around 30 lbs of body fat (started at approx 28/30%) and have gained LBM. My body fat is now 14%. I class myself as a recreational fitness enthusiast and I have no intention of entering any type of competition or earning a living from a fitness lifestyle. If I were to do either of the afore mentioned things then alcohol would be a very low on my ‘to enjoy’ list
The moral of the story is that, whilst people can warn you about the ‘dangers of alcohol’, you have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself and determine whether or not it is worth it to you, your results and the goals you want to achieve. Like everything in life there is a trade off!
I’ll leave you with these two thoughts….
You are the Captain of your own ship and therefore YOU are responsible for the course you steer in this life!
If the effect of alcohol impacts your effectiveness to study/work and/or those you love then you seriously need to reexamine whether or not you should be drinking!
September 30, 2008 at 10:56 am
Question: Is drinking the only way you know how to cut loose and have fun? Why can’t you still go out with your friends and have fun without getting drunk? I had a friend in school, he never drank. He was the designated driver, and didn’t mind since we all paid for his gas. Shoot, nowadays, that would be a nice living.
Bottom line, if you want to get huge and ripped, you can’t life the life of someone that won’t be. To be the best, you have to act like the best