Is muscle mass hard earned yet easily squandered? Just how fast does muscle dissipate when we cease exercise and what steps can we take to slow this process down? Let’s explore.

One of the key principles in exercise science is the principle of use/disuse alternatively known as the use it or lose it principle. This establishes that muscles will hypertrophy with use (provided certain criteria is met) and atrophy with disuse, explaining why we decondition when we stop exercising for an elongated period. This is pretty set in stone however the rate at which this process happens can be influenced dramatically by many factors, some we can control and some we cannot such as muscle dissipating much faster as we age.

It's well established that consistency is one of the big players in determining the success of any fitness endeavour and this is true when the goal is to increase muscle mass. Turn up, keep turning up, implement progression, rest, repeat, eventually good things will happen. This is oversimplified of course and there are many finer details to observe but ultimately turning up is imperative. With this in mind its easy to see why many keen lifters feel like their precious gains slip away when the inevitable happens and they skip a workout. The truth is that when this eventuality does happen, nothing untoward acutely occurs. It can help to think of workouts as bricks constructing a wall, each workout is a metaphoric brick that gets placed upon the last and contributes to building something much larger. Missing a workout just means that day’s brick isn’t laid but the next one in sequence takes its place and the construction continues. 

So, all good and well for just missing the odd workout here and there but what about longer breaks? Weeklong holidays or injuries that keep us out of action for weeks or months? Well, the simple answer is it depends. It depends on the time frame and what we do physically and nutritionally in the interim. A weeklong break? Nothing. 2 weeks? Again, Nothing. After 3 weeks we may start to induce a small amount of atrophy but we’re talking grams not pounds, nevertheless we’ll take this as the tipping point and state that this atrophy will likely accelerate beyond this point, there is however, a large amount we can do to stem this. Muscle mass is indeed hard earned however it’s surprisingly easy to hold onto with research showing that anywhere from one third to one seventh of the stimulus needed to gain muscle is required to maintain it. Specifics aside we can say with confidence that it is degrees easier to hold onto muscle than it is to build it, in theory, one workout covering the major muscle groups would likely be enough weekly stimulus to hold onto any hard-earned muscle mass. Beyond physical measures it would also be wise to keep an eye on the nutritional side of things while taking time away from the gym for any elongated period. Just like one skipped workout will have zero negative physical effects the same is true for a day or two of eating ‘off plan’ provided these ‘blips’ are few and far between. However, during a prolonged period without the same degree of stimulus the body has become accustomed to in your efforts to build muscle, it would be highly beneficial to keep calorie intake around maintenance to avoid adding extra incentive for the body to begin breaking muscle tissue down for energy. It would also serve you well to ensure your protein intake is sufficient to support the maintenance of the lean tissue during your lay off.

There is even a common scenario where a short, planned or even unplanned break from exercise of say a week or so actually results in the progression and increase of physical attributes such as strength and lean muscle tissue by way of an accidental de-load. Many who train in a motivated state often redline their stimulus to recovery ratio by under utilising rest and therefore actually end up benefiting greatly from a short lay off.

Age is also big factor in this discussion, simply put, as we advance into our later years, it’s much more difficult to maintain lean muscle tissue. However, it could be argued that it becomes much more imperative that we do, considering the relation that muscle mass and strength have to quality of life and independence. The area in which this battle would be won or lost would be the ability to stay active, prioritise resistance-based training and avoid long periods of inactivity.



In summary, any panic around short, infrequent breaks from your schedule is unwarranted and, in some cases, can actually lead to progression. Longer abstinence (3+ weeks) from exercise can and will lead to an eventual loss of lean tissue but the stimulus needed to support muscle maintenance is much lower, therefore a little in the way of effort can go a long way in this pursuit. Finally, during any such break, keeping our energy equation balanced and ensuring we consume an adequate amount of daily protein will further bolster our efforts and ensure our hard-earned lean mass is protected.