HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LOSE MY GAINS
BECAUSE OF LAYOFF FROM WORKING OUT?
I get asked this a lot. And, after a lot of research and not a
small amount of personal experience, I can say definitively…..it depends!
·
It
depends on the type of protocol you’ve been training in; strength, hypertrophy,
cardio, running, swimming, etc. Does your protocol involve higher involvement
of your central nervous system? (Power lifting for example) If so, it will take
longer to lose your gains. Does your particular protocol involve more fast
twitch muscle fibers or slow twitch muscle fibers? Fast twitch fibers tend to
lose size first. (Fast twitch fibers are the last to be recruited for any task,
provide more explosive power quickly but fatigue quickly.)
·
It
depends on how long you have been training. Highly trained athletes will see
gains dissipate at different rates than novices or intermediate trainees.
·
It
will depend, to some degree, on your genetics.
·
It depends
on your nutrition. Are you missing workouts but maintaining the right amount of
nutrition? Cut back enough to match the calories you are not burning through
exercise but no more. If you are totally inactive from and illness or injury,
for example, you’ll need to cut back more.
·
It
will depend on your age to some degree.
·
It
will depend on the cause of the layoff. The amount of inflammation involved in
the injury or illness affects the speed of muscle loss. ( a interesting fact: muscle loss due to
aging is more related to the chronic inflammation many older people experience
that to age itself)
You will very likely feel
like you have lost more than
you actually have. You may lose some water weight making the scale go down but
not actually lose much muscle. Or you may gain water weight making you muscle look flatter. A decreased sense of physical
well being may also make you feel as if you’ve lost more than you actually have.
So, in general, your strength or muscle mass won’t suffer much, if
at all, in the first two to four weeks off.
You can minimize the potential for strength or muscle loss by
trying to stay as active as possible during your time off. Any amount or any
type of physical activity will help reduce losses. The more the better.
The Good News
There can be several advantages to time off.
Remember you don’t get stronger in the gym. You get stronger
during recovery. Your
body and your central nervous system need an occasional break. Your endocrine system (hormone
production) can also use the break. Studies have shown a marked increase in testosterone
and marked decreases in cortisol during breaks.
It’s not unusual for an individual to actually gain strength and muscle during short
periods of two or three weeks off. Especially if you’ve been short changing
yourself by getting too little time to recover.
Even if you do lose muscle and/or strength during time off, or
you’re time off is for an extended period of time (say months) you will often
gain them back in a fraction of the time it took you to make those gains in the
first place. The rapid
regain of muscle and strength may even continue after you’ve regained all your
losses.
I'd like to get your thinking and experiences on this subject. Comment below or email me at alphaedgefitness@gmail.com
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