Effects of 4 months away from the gym

[llangstone]

Hi all!

I've been going to the gym for a year now and have increased loads in size and strength. I have made a lot of muscle gains and have more than doubled my bench press since I started. However, I am going travelling in South America for 4 months and I'm wondering whether I will lose a lot of my gains and be back to where I was when I first started when I get back in the gym. Will this be the case? If so then how long will it take to get back to my pre-break strength and size? Also, is there anything I can do whilst travelling to maintain my muscle and keep in shape as best as I can to reduce the impact of being out of the gym for 4 months? Any help would be much appreciated, THANKS!

[musikguy72]

Hi all!

I've been going to the gym for a year now and have increased loads in size and strength. I have made a lot of muscle gains and have more than doubled my bench press since I started. However, I am going travelling in South America for 4 months and I'm wondering whether I will lose a lot of my gains and be back to where I was when I first started when I get back in the gym. Will this be the case? If so then how long will it take to get back to my pre-break strength and size? Also, is there anything I can do whilst travelling to maintain my muscle and keep in shape as best as I can to reduce the impact of being out of the gym for 4 months? Any help would be much appreciated, THANKS!

They have gyms in South America.

[ironwill2008]

Hi all!

I've been going to the gym for a year now and have increased loads in size and strength. I have made a lot of muscle gains and have more than doubled my bench press since I started. However, I am going travelling in South America for 4 months and I'm wondering whether I will lose a lot of my gains and be back to where I was when I first started when I get back in the gym. Will this be the case? If so then how long will it take to get back to my pre-break strength and size? Also, is there anything I can do whilst travelling to maintain my muscle and keep in shape as best as I can to reduce the impact of being out of the gym for 4 months? Any help would be much appreciated, THANKS!

Yes, you'll lose whatever gains you've made; there's no way around that fact.

There's no way to predict how quickly (or slowly) you'll regain your previous mass/strength upon your return to the US and the gym. Generally, they come back much quicker the second time around, providing you do most things correctly most of the time once you get back to it.

What you can do to possibly blunt the effects of lack of weight training is to continue to eat to a slight... slight!... calorie surplus, keeping your protein and fat intake up to par, and spending some time each day doing as many body weight exercises as you can devise.

[Labado21]

When i've taken considerable time off from the gym (a month or more) It would take anywhere from 2-6 weeks to regain my strength, but the good news is, my strength would keep shooting up for a good 2-4 weeks after that, getting me past the point i was at before i took time off

But, I'm sure there will be ways you can do weighted pushups, pullups, lunges and calf raises. Maybe you can find a heavy bar of some sort and do some shoulder pressing and curls/skullcrushers? heck even some cinder blocks for arm work

[Jasonw1178]

Pushups, pullups, throwing around rocks, find heavy junk to move around.... whatever just keep the muscles working and you shouldn't lose too much.

Sticking with the program has always been my problem. Something changes in my life and I don't manage to work my workouts in the new schedule. I usually find that I get back pretty quick, and the shorter the break, the better. 4 months is a long time, but I doubt you'll lose everything. However what you lose, you'll bounce back pretty quickly.

[llangstone]

Thanks for all the help guys! I will just try and maintain a caloric surplus as best as I can for the 4 months and also do 20 minutes of body weight exercises twice every day, does that sound good? And jut out of interest what is the best way I start when I get back? because I've heard that its good to do 1 or 2 weeks of full body workouts when you get back in the gym after some time out

[ironwill2008]

And jut out of interest what is the best way I start when I get back?

If you were previously training on a productive routine, there's no reason not to go right back on it. Cut all your loads by about half of what you were lifting previously your first week, go a bit heavier the next, and you'll be roughly back where you were (as far as weight you're able to lift) in a matter of a few weeks, providing you eat and rest adequately.