How quickly do you lose muscle from time off?

[LanePianoMan]

I'm amazed at how little legitimate info can be found by googling this question. I know a week or so is no big deal, but what about a month or so?

Anyone willing to share knowledge or experiences based on injuries, surgeries or unforeseen events?

LPM

[Marius_Ursus]

For what it's worth after my 18-month layoff I went from squatting 305 for a single to 225 for a single.

I don't know what you can do with that information. I never did anything with it except take a ration of ****.

[7THSIN]

search muscle atrophy it might yield better results. its going to depend on alot of factors

[Legbuh]

Ya, all I can offer is personal experience too.. I was benching 285 for 6-7 reps and hurt my shoulder (benching of course). I was also 265lbs. When I finally could bench again safely 225 was a chore and I weighed 225.

But now I'm back to benching 245-255 for reps and weight 245 (and dropping slowly) so it did seem to come back quickly.

[ectodad]

This is about your upcomming calf procedure?

It's a really hard question to answer. My last surgery was an ACL reconstruction and I can say that it absolutely eats you bloody muscles for lunch. But this is quite normal for knee procedures and you regain strength and muscle very quickly indeed because the therapy is so intense. Your other muscle groups should not suffer as much or as quickly though.

[marine8541]

I'm amazed at how little legitimate info can be found by googling this question. I know a week or so is no big deal, but what about a month or so?

Anyone willing to share knowledge or experiences based on injuries, surgeries or unforeseen events?

LPM

Im 37, I compete in class V events, when I went off due to being lazy and unmotivated I was benching 315lbs incline for 8 reps, I weighed 255lbs at 10%bf...I took about a month off but one thing to add I am on 4iu GH per day...so when I came back after a month I still put up 315lbs for 5 reps and my weight stayed the same as well as my bf, I did it the same just not motivated off AAS to workout...

So the moral is get on HGH ; )

Sniper

[LanePianoMan]

search muscle atrophy it might yield better results. its going to depend on alot of factors

So that's what it's called? Will google that. Thanks.

Thanks for the other responses, too. Yes, this is about the bad melanoma being dug out of my calf. I believe once the stitches are out of the one being removed from my back I can resume upper body right away. The bad one on my leg, I have no idea--guess I'll just have to wait and see.

The seriousness of this has sunk in. I'm going to be strong and follow doctors orders but I want to jump back into my workouts ASAP. No sense thinking the worst case scenario.

[Danimal]

I think if you only take a month off, you won't lose much. 6+ months, it'll go fast, but it comes back pretty quickly as well. I restarted lifting in Feb after several years layoff. Benching 135x5 was embarrassingly difficult. I'm up to 250x6 now.

[icedemon]

Take this info with a grain of salt, it might just be bro-science cause I'm just going on what I've heard. Your muscles will start to atrophy after 4 or 5 days. How fast it atrophies depends on a lot of things. If you keep your protein uptake high, it should atrophy slower.

My experience is that you'll start to see small changes after about a month or two. In about 3 or 4 months, your friends will start seeing you get smaller. The good news is that you'll get back to where you were really fast once you start working out again.

[michail71]

Some of this contradicts what I've read about growth. I recall reading growth can occur for up to a week and possibly a month.

Though I was bedridden one time in the hospital for two weeks. Just being able to sit up and walk was tough after that.

[ggNoRe83]

I once had a personal trainer tell me that you lose more/less 3 months worth of training gains for every one month you take off.

My personal experience is after a couple weeks you lose size and strength relatively fast. However, the upside is I'm usually able to gain it back really fast and is not near as hard as it was initially. Basically you get noob gains all over again for the first month or two coming back.

Dealing with tendonitis issues right now and on my second week off. Still not even close to healed up. SUCKS!

[Phattso]

I had surgery last December 12. Lost about 12lbs from my already lean body. Was off three weeks. Off four weeks of leg work. Took two good months to gain back strength and most weight and size. It is tougher on the mind.

[dday39]

please don't flame me for this, but I think genetics will play a role. I concede that hard-gainers are under-eaters.

I've always been pretty lean and with more knowledge of diet and training I've gotten a little bit bigger and stronger. However, I find that taking 3 or so weeks off and I shed body weight quickly. I was looking over some training logs recently. I had taken a break from training in early July to build a deck. My last log before the time off had my body weight at 168lbs. My diet has remained pretty consistent (I eat essentially the same meals every week). I got back to training on 7/31 and weighed in at 161lbs. My weight is back up now and my lifts have moved close to where they were before I took the break.

Might not be a hard gainer, but it comes off pretty quick.

[brava]

If you eat strong you may get some fat, but muscle you dont lose. Then once back to lifting you can diet down the fat.

Good luck with the surgery.

[Brackneyc]

Keep the muscle/mind connection, and you won't lose anything. So I have heard.

[frozensparky]

This thread is relavent to my interests right now. Have to do hernia repair in October so I'm going to be 4-6 weeks off (at least). Being a former fatty it really bugs me to have to take time off but I guess I just have to bite the bullet and do whats best for me in the long run

[GuyJin]

From what I've read--mainly by Bill Starr, but his articles focused more on strength than size--it takes about two weeks in general for the strength to go. Size-wise, depending on the injury or operation, you will probably shrink some during your layoff, but there is that muscle memory thing and if you eat well during your recovery and try to contract your muscles i.e. dynamic tension, it should minimize the loss. Think of the recovery time as a needed thing and not something to dread. Your body needs time to recover and regenerate, so to me, it's not a huge loss.

[NuclearArms]

All bro science. There just isn't the funding to study something like atrophy and recovery.

Anyway, I was out of the gym for three months and had significant size and strength loss. Took a month just to get back to where I felt I could finally go to full intensity again. It will take a few more months to get to old size and strength.

One other thing. Age and nutrition will also play a great role in recovery. Eat, sleep and allow for adequate recovery.

[soccerdad5]

I tend to believe this. Muscle memory is real (I am a testament to that). I had 10 years of training then layed off for 3-4 year then came back. It is not fun the first 6 weeks after the layoff but then you start to see changes being made. I think the muscle is always there, I think you just need to "turn it on" again. By the way, to get it back quicker your diet has to be "dialed in." This is a given.

From what I've read--mainly by Bill Starr, but his articles focused more on strength than size--it takes about two weeks in general for the strength to go. Size-wise, depending on the injury or operation, you will probably shrink some during your layoff, but there is that muscle memory thing and if you eat well during your recovery and try to contract your muscles i.e. dynamic tension, it should minimize the loss. Think of the recovery time as a needed thing and not something to dread. Your body needs time to recover and regenerate, so to me, it's not a huge loss.

[mslman71]

"How quickly do you lose muscle from time off?"

How quickly I lose muscle from time off isn't likely very relevant to how quickly you might lose it. There is no rate calculator and even then it would be a probabilistic model. All you can do is be smart and minimize your rate of loss; get plenty of rest, eat smart, and heal up quickly. Whatever you lose you can get back and it won't be as difficult as it was the first time. Strength comes back very quickly. This is one of those things that is what it is whether you know the answer or not.

[socket]

I lose quickly. Very quickly. Both size and strength. Im convinced my body wants to be 160ish. I can only speak for myself.

Tbh, i dont really care. I enjoy the journey more than the destination. Its like I am always making a come back.

[LanePianoMan]

These are all great answers leaving me satisfied, more informed and less discouraged.

I also talked to my trainer and he said a lot of the same things, that I'll lose some strength after a couple of weeks, but not much size if I keep my protein high. And we all know the real power/benefit of muscle memory.

I'm sure my surgeries will go well since I'm healthy overall, have trained for many years and dropped some bad habits recently, namely weekend binges.

Thanks guys, this thread has really been helpful.

LPM

[soccerdad5]

Forgot to tell you I had gallbladder surgery one month after I won the Dymatize Challenge back in August of last year. I was out 6 weeks and lost 10 lbs. Got everything back by Christmas.

These are all great answers leaving me satisfied, more informed and less discouraged.

I also talked to my trainer and he said a lot of the same things, that I'll lose some strength after a couple of weeks, but not much size if I keep my protein high. And we all know the real power/benefit of muscle memory.

I'm sure my surgeries will go well since I'm healthy overall, have trained for many years and dropped some bad habits recently, namely weekend binges.

Thanks guys, this thread has really been helpful.

LPM

[davidolson22]

10% body fat at 255lbs..

Okay Jeff. A claim like that ALWAYS needs pics.

He's riding a bicycle. It's maybe a bit high LBM, but not totally ridiculous.

[mikieson]

I quit workingout 3 years ago..im still about the same weight but its fat now..NO muscle didnt turn to fat..but in its place is more fat..I cant even tell you all the differences from then to now..all my years of hard work..lol..oh well..life goes on..

[anonymous]

He's riding a bicycle. It's maybe a bit high LBM, but not totally ridiculous.

Actually it is, unless he's 6'4". He would be carrying more muscle than pretty much every if bb pro up until the dorian era.

Pics will be posted at the same time as that 315x8 incline video

[Rufflez]

Depends.

[patnshan]

There's a difference between less activity (ie: no lifting, but still active) and no activity (being layed up in a bed in the hospital). Based on my experience taking care of patients like the latter and the experience of PT's that helped me with this, I say muscle atrophy takes place in 3-5 days of no activity. It's weeks or longer I suspect, with just no lifting but still remaining active (ie: using the muscles but not tearing them).
Personal experience with wearing a cast on my arm, I lost just about half my forearm in 4 weeks.

Pat

[LanePianoMan]

Forgot to tell you I had gallbladder surgery one month after I won the Dymatize Challenge back in August of last year. I was out 6 weeks and lost 10 lbs. Got everything back by Christmas.

Thanks for adding this part. I think I might be out four to six weeks, so all this info is adding up in my favor. But I'll be as active as possible and as soon as that first stitch is out is when my foot hits the gas pedal heading back to my gym.

[LanePianoMan]

Actually it is, unless he's 6'4". He would be carrying more muscle than pretty much every if bb pro up until the dorian era.

Pics will be posted at the same time as that 315x8 incline video

I appreciated his response, but I pretty much thought the same thing.