How long does it take to lose muscle you've gained?

kerrbear79

How long can you go without doing your normal work out routine, i.e. strength training, before you start to lose what you've worked so hard to obtain? I'm having a pacemaker implanted on 10/20/11 and won't be allowed to lift anything over 10 lbs for 2 weeks and anything over 20 lbs for 2 weeks after that. I also won't be able to lift my arm above my head. I can't even pick up my 15 month old. =(

Will I lose a lot of my tone and definition in that one month? What if I just do little 5 to 8 lb hand weights? Is that better than doing nothing or a waste? Anyone know? TIA!

trelm249

It starts to fade in about a week of not using it. Muscle is something the body deems expensive to keep. It consumes calories and as you well know the body is very efficient at storing calories for later use.

This is why you only build muscle when you actually need it. And as soon as the body figures out it is no longer needed, the atrophy begins. Don't freak out though, once developed it comes back easier the next time.

prestonmay

Wish you a speedy recovery. You do not want to become skinny fat. You will lose strength and some mass. But adjust your MFP guide where you are getting more protein, carb then last fat.

Maintain phase for me 40 pro 40 carb 20 fat %
Summer 30 50 20
Winter 35 35 30

If you can reduce your body fat while you are recovering , you may come out of this looking more fit. When I am 18 percent fat people think i am big in clothes........when i am 10 percent fat they think i am skinny until I wear something that fits. You can create an illusion with your body shape.

sarah307

not sure what the scientific answer is..

but, funny story...

I was on crutches for 13 months and that made my arms super strong and toned.. I didn't do strength training back then.. and when I stopped using my crutches, my arms stayed strong and toned for about 6 months !! ... then i started doing upper body pilates to keep some muscle.

but i just always thought that was insane! haha, lets all start using crutches for work outs.

kerrbear79

Not what I'm wanting to hear! Lol. Thanks guys. Another question: If I take BCAA's will that help keep some of the muscle or does that only help when you actually weight train?

Rae6503

I know a lot of my muscle tone and size is left over from when I lifted weights heavily in college (I haven't done it on a regular basis since). I think it remains for a while (unless you starve yourself at any point).

kerrbear79

not sure what the scientific answer is..

but, funny story...

I was on crutches for 13 months and that made my arms super strong and toned.. I didn't do strength training back then.. and when I stopped using my crutches, my arms stayed strong and toned for about 6 months !! ... then i started doing upper body pilates to keep some muscle.

but i just always thought that was insane! haha, lets all start using crutches for work outs.

That IS insane!

lauehorn

Generally, you do not want to take more than two weeks off or your overall fitness begins to decline. I would recommend that you keep a close eye on your nutrient and calorie intake during this 4 weeks and talk with your Dr about what kind of exercises you can do during both the initial two weeks and the subsequent two weeks until you are back to normal. It may be that you can do some lower intensity cardio during the first and second two week periods coupled with modified strength or resistance training during the second two week period. You shouldn't lose everything over just four weeks even if you took it easy the entire time. Regardless, after the four weeks is up, don't dive right back into what you were doing before you had to stop. Start back slowly and listen to your body. It shouldn't take long to get back to where you were after a short break.

BATMANNYC

Losing muscle over time is called detraining and it's really dependent on several factors- including how long you were training before you stop and most importantly, how intense your workouts were before you stopped. There's a great article on detraining here and I hope you find it useful- http://www.naturallyintense.net/blog/exercise/what-happens-when-you-stop-training/