If I Want To Hit PBs in the Gym, Do I Need To Give Up Alcohol Entirely?

I've seen a lot of people kick booze for good when they start looking at how it affects their gym performance and asking questions like, 'Did having that bottle of wine with dinner last night affect my bench press PB?' Maybe it's the clear, tangible feedback you get, as soon as you start paying attention, or maybe it's that people feel their gym lives and social lives become incompatible.

- WORDS BY ANDREW TRACEY

Because what you do on Saturday night definitely echoes through Monday's lifts. If you've ever tried reps of heavy back squats with a hangover in your thirties and beyond, you already know this. But the problem isn't that one glass of wine derails a training block, it's that regular drinking chips away at nearly every process that underpins strength, endurance and recovery.

Let's start with muscle. Strength gains depend on the body's ability to repair, reinforce and adapt after training. Alcohol tilts that equation in the wrong direction. Research in the journal PLOS One found that post-exercise alcohol intake reduced protein synthesis by around 24%. Other studies* have shown that just a few drinks can suppress baseline muscle protein synthesis altogether, leading to slower muscle growth and, over time, measurable muscle loss.