How long does it take to lose muscle?

[erbetz]

So with the new training program I just do legs 1 day a week, aside form working them on my 2 cardio days. They feel slighty weaker then usual. I don't know if this is in my head or if its from going a few days without training them. My goal is to build muscle in them and right now I am doing Jamie Eason's program. Is it possible to lose muscle that quickly?

[FueledByYelyah]

to be honest, i dont even consider cardio days as "leg days"...when you workout your legs, lets say on a monday, i wouldnt touch cardio until wednesday, give your legs time to rest and recover properly...

now can we see said legs? lol

[italianplaya30]

So with the new training program I just do legs 1 day a week, aside form working them on my 2 cardio days. They feel slighty weaker then usual. I don't know if this is in my head or if its from going a few days without training them. My goal is to build muscle in them and right now I am doing Jamie Eason's program. Is it possible to lose muscle that quickly?

it takes a while to lose muscle...i wouldnt worry about it

[DJAuto]

It's likely mental.

[rage09]

So with the new training program I just do legs 1 day a week, aside form working them on my 2 cardio days. They feel slighty weaker then usual. I don't know if this is in my head or if its from going a few days without training them. My goal is to build muscle in them and right now I am doing Jamie Eason's program. Is it possible to lose muscle that quickly?

You wouldn't be losing muscle that quickly. If you are planning on gaining more muscle, I would work the legs at least 2 days a week with weights, if you're working more on definition then stick to what you are doing. Just make sure you are getting the protein you need and eating on time so your body isn't breaking down muscle for energy.

[firstmark]

One day a week probably would maintain your strenght indefinitely until old age or other issues prop up. Most likely you woudl gain strength also.

[HITftw]

It takes weeks 3-4 for decomposition (atrophy) to take place. Especially considering it takes up to a full week to overcompensate (hypertrophy.) The common misconcepiton is "if you dont use it you lose it." When in fact if you leave the damn muscle alone for long enough it actually has enough time to recover, overcompensate and come back better than ever

[Franco300992]

You dont lose muscle that quick in 1 week, or even in 2. You can help maintain muscles by eating enough even if youre not training them enough.

But you dont lose it quick. I know because i also had stopped lifting for a week and i felt weaker when i got back on it, but my muscles were still big and now they're even bigger. So it just takes the muscles another week or two to get back on track

[erbetz]

to be honest, i dont even consider cardio days as "leg days"...when you workout your legs, lets say on a monday, i wouldnt touch cardio until wednesday, give your legs time to rest and recover properly...

now can we see said legs? lol

lol, thank you and everyone else for your help!

[erbetz]

You wouldn't be losing muscle that quickly. If you are planning on gaining more muscle, I would work the legs at least 2 days a week with weights, if you're working more on definition then stick to what you are doing. Just make sure you are getting the protein you need and eating on time so your body isn't breaking down muscle for energy.

Rage could u do me a fave? Checkout Jamie Eason's workout on here and give me your opinion. Go under find a plan on the homepage, then select "female" then the age group between 20-39" or something like that, and then click the "muscle building" option. I would really love some feedback on her program. Just scroll down through the "get started" stuff til it gives you the daily exercises.... ty so much should you attempt this, lol....

[chazzy1864]

OP, as stated, it usually takes at least 3 weeks before atrophy occurs.

The workout plan looks fine. I'm not a huge fan of every thign being done in the 12-15 rep range, but it still isn't bad.

It looks like a plan that hits most muscle gruops rather well. A beginner could definitely do much, much worse.

to be honest, i dont even consider cardio days as "leg days"...when you workout your legs, lets say on a monday, i wouldnt touch cardio until wednesday, give your legs time to rest and recover properly...

now can we see said legs? lol

Many people like doing cardio the day after a hard leg session to get blood flowing to aid w/ recovery.

[wannabb4ller]

I think we'll need to see size of said legs to determine how quickly muscle can be lost.

[kpkiller85]

I also wondered about this

[erbetz]

OP, as stated, it usually takes at least 3 weeks before atrophy occurs.

The workout plan looks fine. I'm not a huge fan of every thign being done in the 12-15 rep range, but it still isn't bad.

It looks like a plan that hits most muscle gruops rather well. A beginner could definitely do much, much worse.





Many people like doing cardio the day after a hard leg session to get blood flowing to aid w/ recovery.

Thank you.....

[franko man]

think about it this way. How difficult was it to build your muscles? they're not gonna be lost that easily, you'll be fine!

[Tommy W.]

You can lose muscle very quickly depending on body structure, diet and training program.
The leaner you get the more the body has a tendency to "cannabalize" muscle. Too low of cals and laying off weight training and some people can watch their muscles disappear on a daily basis.

[erbetz]

OP, as stated, it usually takes at least 3 weeks before atrophy occurs.

The workout plan looks fine. I'm not a huge fan of every thign being done in the 12-15 rep range, but it still isn't bad.

It looks like a plan that hits most muscle gruops rather well. A beginner could definitely do much, much worse.





Many people like doing cardio the day after a hard leg session to get blood flowing to aid w/ recovery.

Could u please explain further about the rep thing....

[chazzy1864]

Could u please explain further about the rep thing....

I feel lifting weights in the 6-12 rep range is more beneficial. It would allow a female to put muscle on quicker as well (and no, you won't get huge, since females are impossible to get huge w/o chemical additions).

I'd say for the compound exercises (multiple joint movements), work in the 6-8 range, and isolation exercises (single joint movements) use the 10-12 range.

That is you pick a weight that has you failing inside that rep range.

[Tyciol]

For some reason I read 'female to put muscle on quicker' as 'female wrestler'...

"Huge" is kinda subjective here, I think it's definitely possible for women to get "huge" in their aesthetic view without steroids.

It just tends to be harder and you can lay off training a muscle if it gets too big so it shouldn't be a realistic worry.

[ger2oo5]

Could u please explain further about the rep thing....

These might help
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sets...ram_design.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how-...s-and-reps.htm

Personally, i think working in the 12-15 rep range is good for someone just starting out resistance training. The more times you do something the better you get at it. Id stick with Jamies programme personally and see it out and then re-evaluate once its complete.

[rage09]

Rage could u do me a fave? Checkout Jamie Eason's workout on here and give me your opinion. Go under find a plan on the homepage, then select "female" then the age group between 20-39" or something like that, and then click the "muscle building" option. I would really love some feedback on her program. Just scroll down through the "get started" stuff til it gives you the daily exercises.... ty so much should you attempt this, lol....

Sorry for late response! I looked up your program. The program has some really good exercises and the rep range is good for putting on size. The goal of the program is to work all your body, so at the end of the program you'll look nice and lean. I think it's a great program if you are trying build definition and tone up. What I was saying earlier was that you should work your legs twice a week if you are trying to focus more on legs, but for a beginner, I say stick to Jamie Eason's program and see the results in 12 weeks. Then see how your body reacted to this program, see what muscles you want to focus on, and switch to a different program for another few weeks. Hope this helped, let me know if I was unclear anywhere.