How fast do you lose muscle?

brianthebard

A friend asked me the other day, because he hadn't been to the gym in four days cause he sprained his thumb. He was a wee bit afraid that perhaps he would have lost muscle. I thought that it would take a bit longer than that, but how long does it take? Is it a constant fight to maintain muscle, ensuring that enough protein is ingested every day, or is there a bit of leeway? I'm just curious.

ronbyrne2005

Better tell him to work out twice every day so he won't lose any muscle! In reality a break of a week or two would aid muscle growth/recovery in someone who trains a lot. As for losing it, it would take many months of no training and reduced calorie/protein to loose significant levels of muscle size. You don't loose muscle your muscle just get smaller (Atrophy) if not used, but it is easier to get back to previous size than it was to get the muscle big in the first place.

davyjose

I think diet is a bigger factor than training. If he eats well he should be ok. I would say, purely from personal experience a week is an ideal gap between working a muscle group. But after two I start to lose strength anyway.

brianthebard

davyjose wrote:

I think diet is a bigger factor than training. If he eats well he should be ok. I would say, purely from personal experience a week is an ideal gap between working a muscle group. But after two I start to lose strength anyway.

I don't think he does tbh, stereotypical male student, but I did get him to get a protein supplement about two weeks ago so I think that at least helps.

davyjose

In that case he's barking up the wrong tree - without a proper diet he won't gain in the first place so he shouldn't worry about muscle loss.

TerrorFirmer

I wasn't at the gym for almost a month recently (ill) and when I went back, it was pretty much as if I'd never stopped going...

I think worrying that your muscle is wasted away after 4 days is ridiculous. Most people wouldn't even train the same group in that time frame anyway.