The Study
Alcohol Ingestion Impairs Maximal Post-Exercise Rates of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis following a Single Bout of Concurrent Training
This study found that when young men drank a lot of alcohol after working out, their muscles made less protein than when they drank only protein. It’s like proving that drinking alcohol makes your muscle repair slower — but only for these 8 guys after one workout.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
After a tough workout, your muscles need protein to grow stronger. But if you drink a lot of alcohol, it messes up that repair process.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 546 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — even with protein, alcohol still cuts muscle repair by nearly a quarter, which could hurt recovery and gains over time.
- 2With protein: alcohol cuts muscle repair by 24%.
- 3With carbs: it cuts repair by 37%.
- 4Alcohol also blocks a key signal (mTOR) by half.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
PLoS ONE
Year
2014
Authors
E. Parr, D. Camera, J. Areta, L. Burke, Stuart M Phillips, J. Hawley, Vernon G. Coffey
Related Content
Claims (6)
Drinking alcohol after a workout, even if you also eat protein, stops your muscles from rebuilding as well as they would if you just had protein alone—alcohol messes with muscle recovery, and protein can’t fully fix it.
Drinking alcohol with a sports drink after a workout hurts muscle recovery more than drinking it with a protein shake—protein helps a little, but it’s still bad.
If you drink a lot of alcohol after a tough workout — like 12 drinks — your muscles won’t repair and grow as well, especially if you eat carbs afterward; even if you eat protein, your muscle recovery still takes a hit.
If you drink alcohol after working out, it can cut in half the body’s signal to build muscle—compared to just drinking a protein shake after exercise.
Your muscles don't grow while you're lifting weights—they grow later, while you rest, because that's when your body repairs tiny tears and builds more muscle tissue using the energy and nutrients you've eaten.
Drinking alcohol after a workout doesn’t seem to make your muscles break down faster than drinking a protein shake or a sports drink — at least not in the first few hours after you exercise.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.