So, you are putting in the work or wanting to put in the work—hitting the gym, showing up to sessions, grinding through tough workouts. But progress seems to stall, your body aches more than just typical soreness, and injuries pop up more than you’d like. The culprit? It’s not your training—it’s your lifestyle outside the gym. There, I finally said it! Specifically, sugar, alcohol, and gluten quietly contribute to inflammation, hinder recovery, and keep you from hitting your goals.
This trio of sneaky enemies could be why you’re not seeing that six-pack you’ve been working toward, no matter your age. If you haven’t read our post on How to Get 6-Pack Abs at 30, 40, or even 50, now’s the time. It breaks down how nutrition plays a critical role in shaping your midsection, and these three ingredients might be the hidden obstacle standing between you and your abs, but also contributing to excess pain and niggles that just won’t let up.
In this article, I want to help you understand the impact all three substances—sugar, Alcohol, and Gluten—really have on contributing to internal deficiencies and help you start to take control of your life in a way that, once again, your doctor, physiotherapist, and nutrition coach probably do not want to or know how to discuss.
Let us start with Sugar: The Recovery Destroyer.
You know sugar is bad for your waistline, but did you know it’s a serious enemy of recovery and performance? Excessive sugar consumption fuels chronic inflammation, leading to stiff joints, slower muscle repair, and a greater likelihood of injury.
High blood sugar levels also mess with your insulin, spiking and crashing energy. One minute you’re fired up and ready to go, the next, you’re sluggish and prone to burnout. Over time, this cycle makes it harder for your muscles to recover, leaving your body weakened—perfect for injuries to thrive. I have seen this time and again in people, particularly those who are not genetically blessed or suffer more neurological or autoimmune disorders. Even with hard training and in a state of insulin sensitivity that should minimise the effects of sugar in the bloodstream, sugar itself has a habit of inducing inflammation. Slow down muscle repair and leave you constantly sore, exhausted, and unable to give your best effort during workouts. It can also affect the nervous system and block repair mechanisms around the body, which may also be something you notice even though you do not appear to be gaining weight from the foods you are eating.
Cutting back on sugar means faster recovery, less muscle and joint pain, and more energy for training, especially if you want fast results without spending years fighting unnecessary roadblocks.
Alcohol: Straight up It Is A Performance Killer
Whether it’s a glass of wine after work or beers on the weekend, alcohol is often seen as a harmless way to unwind. But when it comes to your body’s ability to recover, it’s a performance killer.
Alcohol dehydrates your body and depletes essential nutrients—specifically, the vitamins and minerals your muscles need to repair and grow. It also disrupts sleep cycles, robbing you of the deep rest critical for recovery. Worse, alcohol impairs judgment and balance during training, making you more prone to accidents and injuries. Also, Alcohol decreases testosterone levels by 75% after a big drinking session over 4 drinks, and can not recover within a minimum of 3 days.
Over time, alcohol can also interfere with muscle protein synthesis, slowing muscle growth and strength development. If you’re serious about achieving any form of fitness over 30, 40 or into your 50s, minimising alcohol will accelerate your progress and protect your gains.
Regular alcohol consumption keeps your muscles in a state of dehydration and leads to poor-quality sleep, which increases your susceptibility to strains and tears. If you have injuries that do not seem to go away, they will rob your body of the repair mechanisms needed to stop those aches and pains. Even just a few drinks a week can undermine the hard work you’ve put in at the gym and make you wonder why you are constantly sore and not progressing from all your hard work.
The one no one is talking about! Gluten!
You might not have a diagnosed gluten sensitivity, but gluten could still be causing low-grade inflammation, impacting your progress in the gym. Found in wheat-based products like bread, pasta, and many processed foods, gluten can be challenging for your gut to break down. Typically, symptoms of a gluten intolerance range from severe to minor loose stools and lethargy that can go unnoticed.
For many, gluten consumption triggers chronic inflammation, making joints stiffer and more painful. This limits your mobility and range of motion—both critical to performing exercises with good form and avoiding injury.
Even if you don’t have an official sensitivity, low-level inflammation from gluten can slow recovery and make it harder to see visible progress in your strength, mobility, and, yes, even those abs you’re working toward. In particular, if you ask me, just a guy who observes people and hasn’t searched for papers of a scholarly nature to back this up, If you have any autoimmune disorder, neurological disorder, or attention deficit and are not considering eliminating gluten and its inflammatory effects from your diet you are missing out on the benefits of eliminating gluten.
When your body is battling minor or chronic inflammation, you’re stuck in a constant state of repair. This drains energy away from muscle growth and recovery and nerve and skin repair, which could be why you’re not seeing the desired results, even with consistent effort. Cutting out gluten can ease inflammation and speed up your path to results.
The Inflammation Connection: A Recipe for Injury
Inflammation is likely at the root of all these issues, from consistent injuries, never-ending aches and pains, and lack of results. I will also add that if you consistently have a mobility issue and muscle tightness, these 3 foods contribute to that. Whether it’s sugar causing blood sugar spikes, alcohol robbing your body of nutrients, or gluten triggering gut issues, these three culprits contribute to chronic inflammation. When your body is in a constant state of inflammation, injuries become more frequent, and my mind will not be changed to this point.
Inflammation makes your joints more vulnerable, your muscles weaker, and your tendons tighter—all of which lead to poor mobility, slower recovery, and a greater chance of injury. This isn’t just about feeling sore after a workout—it’s about long-term damage that could prevent you from seeing the desired results.
The good news? You can take back control. Cutting out completely or at least reducing sugar, alcohol, and gluten to very close to zero from your diet isn’t just about “eating clean”—it’s about setting yourself up for success in the gym, everyday life and beyond.
If you’re serious about improving your physique, staying injury and pain-free, and unlocking the progress you’ve been chasing, it’s time to take a hard look at these hidden saboteurs. Check out our recent blog post on getting fast results for a more detailed breakdown of accelerating your progress. These steps, paired with smarter lifestyle choices, will push you toward your goals faster than you think.
By addressing sugar, alcohol, and gluten, you’ll notice a massive difference in your daily energy, strength, and recovery. You’ll experience less pain and fewer injuries, and your progress will skyrocket. So, ask yourself: are a few indulgences worth sacrificing the body—and results—for which you’ve been working so hard? Or am I better off skipping them and breaking the mould and BECOME EXTRA-ORDINARY?