evilcyber.com
  • Home
  • Workouts
    • Home Workout Plans
    • How To Build Muscle
    • How To Get Toned
    • Home Workout Equipment
    • Advanced Workout Topics
    • Other Workout Programs
    • Important Workout Lingo
    • Recommendable Books
  • Cardio
    • What Is Cardio?
    • How To Start Cardio
    • Home Cardio Exercises
    • Cardio Or Weights First?
    • Best Time For Cardio
    • Does Cardio Burn Muscle?
    • Cardio On Empty Stomach?
    • HIIT – Doing It Right
    • Cross-Training
  • Weight Loss
    • The Secret To Weight Loss
    • Gain Muscle And Lose Fat?
    • Exercise And Weight Loss
    • Diet Reviews
    • Weight Loss Myths
    • Weight Loss Supplements
  • Nutrition
    • Healthy Nutrition Explained
    • Bodybuilding Nutrition
    • What Are Carbohydrates?
    • What Is Fat?
    • What Is Protein?
    • Nutrition For Cardio
    • Marathon Nutrition
    • Exercise On Low Carb
  • Supplements
    • 3 Supplements That Work
    • BCAA Supplements
    • Beta-Alanine
    • Creatine
    • Dextrose Supplements
    • Energy Shots
    • Make Your Own Weight Gainer
    • Multivitamins
    • NAC
    • Testosterone-Boosters
  • The Rest

Fitness, Videos, Workout

How Fast Do You Lose Muscle Gains?

How Fast Do You Lose Muscle Gains?

  • April 23, 2014 9:37 pm
  • 6 comments

Share this Article

  • TwitterTwitter
  • FacebookFacebook
  • DiggDigg
  • StumbleuponStumble
  • RedditReddit
Author evilcyber visit my website

Did you stop training and wonder how fast all that muscle you worked so hard for will say bye-bye? Here is how much muscle mass is really lost due to inactivity!

The Gains Lost

It’s the horror if you work out to build muscle: you are forced to take a break and fear that your muscle gains will be lost.

Will they really? And how fast does it happen?

The answer to the first question is “yes.” To the second it’s “it depends on your training level and experience”:

The Science Behind It

I said in the video I’d give you some scientific background on my reasoning.

Let’s start with a 2005 study by Lars Andersen et al., who analyzed the effect of training and detraining with the help of 14 sedentary men.

For three months he had them train their lower legs 3 to 4  times per week. Then he had them go back to sedentary for another three months, all the time recording their strength and explosive power. As expected, each participant made significant strength gains during the first three months.

Unfortunately, at the end of the three sedentary months, their ability to lift weights was back to starting position (PDF). Anderson and his co-researchers reason that the muscular adaptions necessary to move heavy weights were gone.

But one thing those men did get to keep: their movements were more powerful when measured without load. The muscles had lost their ability to move heavy stuff, but the brain remembered how the movements worked. “Muscle memory” at work.

And Highly Trained Athletes?

This was what happened to untrained people. For experienced athletes things are different.

A 1993 study at East Carolina University examined that by taking 12 highly trained powerlifters and football players and have them stop their strength training for two weeks. How would it influence their strength level?

They had significant decreases in the size of their fast-twitch muscle fibers (those responsible for the bulk), but any changes in actual strength doing bench presses and squats were very small. I reckon that the decrease in size was due to the effect of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy wearing off. That makes you look smaller, but not weaker.

But something else interesting happened: their hormone levels benefited. After those two weeks off, they had higher levels of growth hormone and testosterone (both very important when building muscle mass) and their levels of the stress hormone cortisol had decreased.

Lead researcher Hortobagyi draws the conclusion that carefully manipulating this effect could maximize muscle and strength gains.

What About You?

If you are a beginning trainee, your best bet to avoid losses is training continuously. If you are more experienced, the occasional break (maybe twice or three times a year) can give your body some respite and refill its hormonal reserves. But you shouldn’t overdo that either – too many breaks and strength losses will happen, just later than for beginners.

If you have practical experiences with this, please share!

Picture courtesy of Elvert Barnes.

Help me spread knowledge and share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Search

Subscribe to EC

Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Most Read

  • teen home workout Home Workout Plan For Teenagers
  • strongman eugen sandow flexing his muscles The Eugen Sandow Workout You Can Do At Home
  • Are You Fitter Than The Average Guy?
  • bowl of cherry tomatoes Free Workout Nutrition Plan For Beginners
  • pills Why Bodybuilders Should Say No To NAC

Latest Comments

  • No comments

6 Comments

  1. Dr. J says:
    April 24, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    This is great information! I’ve wondered about this. I know I’ve benefited from breaks every now and then.

    A similar effect is seen with aerobic conditioning also, I think.

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      May 1, 2014 at 2:29 pm

      Yep, I’d say so too!

      Reply
  2. HappinessSavouredHot says:
    April 25, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    A complete break is never a good idea, I think (unless you’re very sick or very injured), but just by slowing down in the past months I am less ripped. 🙁

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      May 1, 2014 at 2:29 pm

      Too many breaks indeed aren’t good. But the occasional one worked for me like the research described.

      Reply
  3. William says:
    April 27, 2014 at 7:06 pm

    I was working out 5 days a week for just short of two years.

    I got a back injury, not due to the weights, and i had to take 7 months off. I haven’t started back yet.

    Before I started, I couldn’t even do one pull up. At the two year point I was up to 26 pull ups. I can’t even do six now. :\

    So ya, don’t take breaks unless you break your back. lol

    I am considering starting up again. In some ways I look forward to the benefits, and in other ways I am not looking forward to all the re-work I have to do.

    After six months of working out I did notice a lot of positives, that I am now noticing the absence of :

    a. you gain strength (that’s the obvious one)
    b. joint soreness and pain goes away
    c. lower back pain almost gone (90% of my pain disappeared after six months of weight lifting – who needs a doctor?)
    d. slept better than I had in YEARS
    e. headaches gone
    f. generally felt chipper and warmer – lots more energy

    I could go on… working really is a great habit to get into. Even if it costs you 25 hours a week and a bit of money.

    I am just trying to find the motivation to start again. I can say for certain I did lose a lot of my gains.

    What i don’t know quite yet is how much time it will take to get back to my two year baseline again. Will it take two months, or two YEARS?

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      May 1, 2014 at 2:26 pm

      Hey William, it’s hard to say how long exactly it will take, but one thing is for sure: it will be faster than what it originally took. I’d say less than a year.

      Reply

    What do you think?

    Click here to cancel reply.


    • About
    • Contact
    • Copyright
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
    © Copyright 2022 — evilcyber.com. All Rights Reserved.

    Evilcyber.com uses cookies

    More info about these little buggers in the Privacy Policy.

    Close
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.