If you are dead set on going out for a night of drinking, let me establish a few tips and tricks you can utilize to minimize the damage done to your physique.

1. Don’t Workout That Day

While walking around the club with a pump may sound appealing and like a good idea, it isn’t.

The reason for this is because when you have a significant amount of alcohol in your system, your body’s ability to recover literally plummets.

Your body will prioritize processing the alcohol in your system out before it gets to anything else, so if you breakdown your muscle by working out, and then go drinking, it is the most catabolic thing you could ever do for your muscular recovery and “gains” potential.

2. Don’t Eat After You Drink

There are some weird myths that go around the night scene, one of those being that consuming certain food after you get drunk will help you sober up quicker and prevent a hangover.

This is the most counterproductive thing for those who are serious about their fitness though for the exact reason I already touched on.

If your body is processing the alcohol, any food you consume will literally sit in your stomach or get shuttled directly into fat storage.

The only priority your body has when you drink is to get rid of all the alcohol in your system ASAP.

Loading up on burgers and fries after you get drunk is just asking to further the damage done to your physique, as literally all of this food is going to be utilized poorly, and likely go straight into excess fat storage.

Fat burning comes to a complete halt when alcohol is in your system, so keep this in mind if you want to consume calorie dense junk food after you go drinking.

3. Choose Hard Liquor Over Beer

While this may seem like an odd tip, the reason for this is that liquor has 7 calories per gram.

A 12 oz. can of regular beer contains about 150-160 calories, while most mixed drinks with diet pop are only around 70-80 calories.

At the end of the night, you want to have the least amount of calories working against you as possible while your body fights tooth and nail to process the alcohol as quickly as possible.

The more calories in your system when there is also alcohol there, the more fat you will pack on.

4. Drink LOTS Of Water

Alcohol dehydrates your muscles quite significantly.

As you probably know by now, having proper hydration in the muscle provides a much more conducive environment for muscle growth, and it also contributes to muscle contractions, getting a good pump, nutrient partitioning, etc.

If your cells aren't holding as much water because the alcohol is dehydrating you, you are just putting yourself in a more catabolic environment, and you are also going to suffer in the gym during your workout the next day.

If you have ever trained dehydrated before, you know first hand just how significant of an effect having inadequate hydration in the muscle cells has on your strength levels, and your overall workout quality.

Drink lots of water throughout the night, and slam a litre or two before bed is my advice.

Once again, I reiterate that alcohol is just counterproductive to the maintenance or progression of a good physique.

If you do choose to drink though, use my tips above and you will be much better off.