How quickly do you lose strength gains?

jabbajuice
jabbajuice Posts: 17
in Fitness and Exercise
So I've been strength training pretty consistently for about 3 1/2 months now. Lost a good amount of weight, gained some newbie gains, etc, etc. The only problem is that at one point, when I wouldn't always strength train according to schedule (such as missing a day of training or doing it for less than my 40 mins) I started losing strength. Then, I took a few breaks...Once when I went to D.C for a few days and again a week later when going to NY for vacation. I kept my diet going and I still got A LOT of walking done on my vacations but when I went back to the gym I WAS SO WEAK. And i still haven't gained back my strength from before! I tried lowering the weights a few ibs but found that I was shaking and tired after 15 minutes of weight lifting...and every time I go to the gym it doesn't change. What gives??? My sleeping schedule has been a little funky and I haven't been keeping as hydrated as I usually do so I don't know if that's it but if it is how do I get back into the swing of things?

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    i read somewhere that it's like 4 weeks
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
    The relationship between time off and strength loss isn't linear and includes A LOT of different variables. Nutrition, daily activities, rest and strength level before you took time off are probably the biggest ones. At your level of strength and the amount of time taken off I am willing to bet that you just had a bad training session and let it get into your head. You also probably don't have very practiced technique so taking a week off without practicing your form could be a big contributing factor as well. Pay closer attention to your sleep, diet and hydration and stay the course.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    How much under maintenance are you eating? You should not lose strength that quickly, but if you are in a big deficit, that could help explain it some.
  • falconaviation
    falconaviation Posts: 6
    IME Any strength loses can quickly be reversed after a few workouts.

    As stated above eating at a deficit will zap some of your endurance.
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
    I don't think I've taken more than about 10 days or so off in a row in several years. I just took about that many off for vacation, came back stronger. But I'd say about 3 weeks or more is about right. But it will come back quickly. Now cardio fitness on the other hand, takes longer to build up yet goes away very quickly.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,961 Member
    The relationship between time off and strength loss isn't linear and includes A LOT of different variables. Nutrition, daily activities, rest and strength level before you took time off are probably the biggest ones. At your level of strength and the amount of time taken off I am willing to bet that you just had a bad training session and let it get into your head. You also probably don't have very practiced technique so taking a week off without practicing your form could be a big contributing factor as well. Pay closer attention to your sleep, diet and hydration and stay the course.
    THIS

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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I took a week off (9 days actually) in Feb to go south...

    I did not lose my strength in those 9 days...actually when I got back I went right back at it using the same weights i had when I left..and in that week managed a PR in squats and continued to rise.

    I was a little sore...but nothing appreciable.

    However I find this question interesting...but I don't want to hijack this thread with my own questions so I will jsut follow along and start my own if I feel the need.
  • willrun4bagels
    willrun4bagels Posts: 838 Member
    I have had two 1-week long breaks from Stronglifts 5x5 over the last couple of months, one was in late June/early July while I was on vacation with no access to a gym that had any free weights, I did a couple of bodyweight routines on my own during that week, but came back from vacation, deloaded squats from 145lbs to 130lbs and really struggled my first day back. I ate at a deficit during vacation, didn't eat as much protein as I normally do, and drank more alcohol than I normally do... I think all 3 of these things contributed to that. I ended up de-loading all of my lifts after that vacation out of necessity, I simply could not lift the weights I had been lifting before the 9-day vacation, no matter how much preworkout I took or how hard I tried lol.

    Since getting back from vacation in early July, I continued to progress up from my de-loaded weights. Was back up to squatting 145lbs, bench press 80lbs, OHP 65lbs, deadlift 165lbs, and rows 65lbs (because I suck at rows). Then, a week and a half ago, I stayed at my mom's house for 5 days to house/pet-sit while she was away. Her gym sucked, so no SL workouts to be done there either. I didn't eat at as much of a deficit, got more protein, didn't drink like I did on vacation, and came back to the gym after those 5 days and lifted the same amounts that I did before the break, and added weights the next workout.

    Now, I hurt my back at work last week, and had to de-load squats to 130lbs yesterday morning to make sure that my back felt OK. One step forward, two steps back sometimes...
  • iceey
    iceey Posts: 354 Member
    Good timing on this question.

    I just took a 3 week break (2 weeks vacation and 1 week lazy) and just went back for the first time today. Really struggled and went down a lot of weight and reps. Sad.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    It probably depends on the person. I took a week off from just squats because I had a twingy knee, got back at yesterday and lifted the same weight I did last time (doing 5x5) and it was a real struggle. I was able to do it, but the same weight had been easy peasy the prior week. I am also super sore in my glutes, when normally (when I squat 3 days a week no exceptions) I have very little in the way of DOMS.
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    This summer I took a 3-week vacation to Europe, and while I had excellent intentions to make sure and do a fair bit of body weight exercises, and even con my kids into riding my back for things like squats and push-ups, the Mediterranean sun, fresh seafood, blue water, cold beer, and various other goodies meant that my intentions weren't really more than intentions - I did very little of what I could even call strength training. I was very active - lots of walking, swimming, hiking, etc., and I even packed protein powder and prioritized protein ('cause I like it!) to make sure I was hitting at least one macro target. Between the actual trip, and jet-lag etc. it was just about four weeks away from the weight room.

    I found that I lost quite a bit of strength in that time. I deloaded to get back into the swing of things, and it has now been about 5 weeks back on my regular program. I am just now returning to my previous weights and reps for much of my upper body exercises. I started hitting new PRs on lower body stuff a week or a week and a half ago -- so took me like 3 weeks to get back to where I was on things like squats, deads, barbell lunges, etc.

    I definitely lost more strength than I would have imagined in a relatively short amount of time away from the gym. And chastised, I will try and do better on my good intentions the next time I am away from weights for a bit.

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