HOW QUICKLY WILL I LOSE MUSCLE... If I take a break from lifting?

What happens to your body when you stop lifting weights? Well, it’s important to understand that muscle loss is a complex process, an ongoing battle between muscle protein synthesis & muscle protein breakdown.

We can think of muscle as a brick wall: muscle protein synthesis is the process of adding bricks to the wall, while muscle protein breakdown is the process of removing them. These processes are always occurring & regularly take turns as we alternate between a fed & fasted state. When we’re fed, we tend to be adding bricks to the wall (assuming we ate enough protein) & removing bricks from the wall when we’re in a fasted state (about 8 hours after the last meal).

It seems obvious then, that if muscle protein synthesis is greater than muscle protein breakdown for long enough, more bricks are added than removed so the wall gets bigger. If muscle protein synthesis is less than muscle protein breakdown for long enough, it gets smaller.

Several studies into this since the 80’s have demonstrated that inactive muscles lead to what’s known as anabolic resistance, where the muscles response to food is less sensitive than normal. Not only does muscle protein synthesis decline more than normal in the fasted state, meaning faster muscle loss, it also doesn’t rise as much in response to feeding, meaning slower muscle gain.

How long does it take to lose muscle?

How quickly you lose muscle largely depends how much you’re doing physically. The science tells us that if you don’t do any physical activity at all, you’ll lose a lot of muscle depressingly fast. One 2016 study found that complete bed rest caused significant muscle loss in less than a week. On the plus side, unless you’re seriously injured or hospitalized, chances are you won’t be restricted to a bed for seven days. And even if you’re not training, chances are most of you will still be getting out of bed & doing some sort of normal everyday activity such walking which instantly reduces the speed of muscle loss. The studies on active individuals tell us that you probably won’t see noticeable muscle loss within two weeks of no training. But this appears to be the cut off. Shortly after two weeks, most people will notice some muscle shrinkage.

Okay so what if you’re forced to cancel your gym membership for, say, two months? Luckily, a study published in 2006 looked at this exact question. They put subjects on an 8 week training program & then had them abruptly stop training for another eight weeks. During the first two months, they saw a 10% increase in muscle size, but during the two months off, they saw those gains cut in half. So, if we take a “glass half full” approach, even after two months of no lifting AT ALL, they kept half the muscle they had built just by continuing everyday activities. It is also much easier to rebuild lost muscle than it is to build new muscle from scratch, so it’s not all bad news.

How much muscle will I lose?

This depends on 3 main factors:

1. Physical Activity

We now know that being active is far better than bed rest, but even so, it barely compares to doingbodyweight workouts, & even better than that is heavy resistance training.

It is important to mention that subjects all trained to failure in all the studies I created this based on, highlighting the importance of trying to stay within three reps from failure for all sets, especially when training with light weights.

2. Caloric Intake

How much muscle you lose also depends on your daily calorie intake. You should eat at caloric maintenance or a slight surplus, if your main goal is to avoid muscle loss. This is especially true if you are training les or not at all.If you aren’t sure what your maintenance calorie intake looks like, you can get a rough idea by multiplyingyour bodyweight (kg) by 35-40 (women) & 40-45 (for men). Be sure to track your weight for a few weeks to check if you’re staying the same.

3. Protein Intake

Eating enough protein is crucial when it comes to preserving muscle mass. The recommendation of 1.6-2.2g daily per kg bodyweight applies to us ALL, regardless of whether you lift or not. Another thing many people worry about is age, with many nutritionists, dieticians & scientists suggesting an even higher daily protein for older individuals, but there isn’t enough concrete research for me to recommend it yet.

Some definite positives to take away, the biggest among them is yes you can enjoy your 2 weeks in Ibiza without the fear of losing your hard-earned muscle. So... I'll see you at the bar!

Elliot Hutchinson // 04.05.2025

© 2024 The Coaching Collective