How long can I stop exercising for without losing muscle?
Not that you should ever be completely stopping physical activity, but if you were to stop, how long would it take to completely lose what you’ve worked for?
The only real scenario this applies for are very long vacations or surgeries/injuries. Even then, I’d tell you there’s things you can do, but let’s play devil’s advocate here.
Let’s just say you workout hard for a year. You set a goal and accomplish it seeing some really good progress. Maybe you lost 15 pounds or gained 10 pounds of muscle. Whatever it is, it’s what you set out to do.
Now you get injured and can no longer workout. How long will it take to lose all you worked for?
Of course this depends on a few factors. If you do absolutely nothing and go off the rails eating yourself into oblivion, it likely won’t take longer than 1-2 months.
HOWEVER, if you are aware of your eating habits and stay as active as you can, you’re gains will take longer to lose than you think.
Gym rats like myself are always so worried that if they stop, they’ll lose it. Meanwhile, thats just not how the human body works.
I use the “½” rule. If you make good choices,you will start to notice a difference in about half the time it took you in order to see progress. So if you saw crazy progress in 1 year, it will take about 6 months to lose it. Missing one gym session or even a few weeks won’t do it especially if you’ve built a big base up.
If you’re a newbie who just can’t stay consistent, this won’t really apply.
So for those consistent gym goers out there, stop worrying so much about losing progress. Your body does need rest and a vacation won’t kill all your gains. You may feel sluggish getting back into it, but it always comes back easier and faster the second time.
And if you need multiple months off because of an injury, that’s okay! Things happen and you want to make sure you’re working out pain free in order to see progress in the first place. Whatever you lose will come back!
It takes longer than you think to lose gains, so don’t stress!
You Got This!
P.S. This doesn’t mean you can workout for a month then take 2 weeks off every time either. Consistency is key as long as you’re healthy. This isn’t an excuse to do this, just a reminder that life happens and the same way it takes a while to gain, it takes a while to lose.
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