How long before you lose muscle

PibblesRun
PibblesRun Posts: 236 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I had to stop lifting over a week ago because I did something to my back...so of course I cant even do sit ups to target my abs because they hurt my back...or any high intensity workouts. Im still walking every day though. Im bummed...I thought by now my back would be feeling better, but its not.

Now my concern is losing the small amount of muscle ive built up so far. How long of not lifting and working my muscles would it take to lose them?

any suggestions to get my back to heal, or exercises to do that wont affect my back? Thanks!

Replies

  • jalloggio
    jalloggio Posts: 141
    Studies have shown that it takes as little as 3 days of inactivity to start losing strength gains, however this does not mean that the muscle will atrophy.
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
    You may/will lose a little bit of muscle and strength. But it will come back, even a bit faster than what it took to build it, when you get back to lifting again.

    I have an anecdote that might help you get through the emotions of having a setback. So, back in mid-January, I hurt my back in and didn't lift for two-three weeks. After that, I did light lifting for another month or so after that. But eventually, I got back to where I was (within a couple-three months). I think the gradually increasing the weights helped me to start activating the muscle (and eventually start rebuilding it).

    As much as I was feeling a bit down during that time (well, let's face it, I was distraught!!!) haha ... I came to realize that I was making progress and would eventually get back to where I was before the injury. So devote time to getting better, and don't push it when you get back into the swing of things. You can build up to it over the course of weeks and when in doubt about going up a weight or doing another set, just be conservative and push it to the next session. If you find yourself being particularly bummed, feel free to drop me a PM. :)

    Good luck and speedy recovery to you!
  • CoachDreesTraining
    CoachDreesTraining Posts: 223 Member
    Depends on diet, genetics, activity level, etc.

    You probably won't notice any atrophy for 2-4 weeks. Your body tends to bounce back quickly, so I wouldn't worry much about it.

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