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What happens to your muscles if you stop lifting?

J

jtvang125

Diamond Member
Let's say you stopped and gained some weight back. Does you body slowly consume all the muscles you gained until you're back at your very first starting point? Or do you maintain some of it but is just heavily covered up by the fat?
 
Muscle starts to fade noticeably around the two week mark of no use. Maybe some small bit before that, but noticeably at the two week mark and gradual downward from there. It's a bit different than "losing" muscle, though, as some of the core building blocks basically stay. So it's easier to build back up on a 2nd go around than if you were first starting out.
 
Genetics has a little to do with it. Everyone gains fat in different places. Everyone also eats a different diet. If you eat a diet rich with protein, you'll likely lose muscle slower than if you just stop lifting and don't put those muscles to use.

Once you reach where you want to be, it's much easier to maintain it than it is to get it back again later. You can even lose muscle by maintaining if your diet isn't right.
 
He wasn't asking about genetics and he wasn't asking about where fat is stored. He's asking how things play out if you stop lifting and gain a bit of non-muscle weight. More specifically, is the muscle still there, but buried under the fat, or is the muscle lost?

You will lose the muscle over time, and the start time for it to be noticeable is around the two week mark and the muscle will go away more and more from there. You might notice a small bit of strength loss before the two weeks, but the muscle tissue is still basically ALL there. Even way beyond two weeks, there will remain some basic building blocks of that muscle, making it easier to re establish where you were. It will be easier the next go around than if you were trying to build that muscle for the first time.
 
HutchinsonJC said:
He wasn't asking about genetics and he wasn't asking about where fat is stored. He's asking how things play out if you stop lifting and gain a bit of non-muscle weight. More specifically, is the muscle still there, but buried under the fat, or is the muscle lost?

You will lose the muscle over time, and the start time for it to be noticeable is around the two week mark and the muscle will go away more and more from there. You might notice a small bit of strength loss before the two weeks, but the muscle tissue is still basically ALL there. Even way beyond two weeks, there will remain some basic building blocks of that muscle, making it easier to re establish where you were. It will be easier the next go around than if you were trying to build that muscle for the first time.
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Wow didn't know you start losing muscles that fast. How does the body know at which point to stop and maintain? I stopped for about 2 years now and can definitely feel I'm not anywhere near where I left off but not when I first started either.
 
Muscle growth is adaptive response to stimulus. If you use it your body maintains it. I.e. if you want to remain able to bench press 300lbs then you need to do something weekly that places that same amount of stress on the same muscles.
 
I think the two week statement is probably right. I can definitely tell when I stop working out longer than that. But on the other hand, it doesn't take much to maintain it. I stopped going to the gym about 6 months ago due to shoulder issues, which I had surgery for a couple months back. During that time I haven't been to the gym, but I have done some work at home, mostly just bw squats. I do 25 squats about 5-6 days a week before I hop in the shower each morning. It's quick, easy, and while i'm sure i've lost some strength, and definitely gained some fat, my legs and even my upper body don't seem to have lost as much muscle as I normally would.

Probably different for everyone, but seems to have helped me. Hoping to get back to working out soon.
 
If you did bench 300# weekly for months is there still muscle tearing going on or the muscle has just adapted to that weight and just maintains it?
 
When I mentioned genetics, I was suggesting that when you gain fat, it will go where your DNA tells it to. That's why you see some people gain extra fat in their core vs legs. If it's going to cover up your muscle, it may or may not affect whatever muscle groups you are most concerned with....but gaining fat is a result of consuming more calories than your burning.

Muscle doesn't turn to fat, it's displaced by fat. I agree with the 2 weeks as well...and will say again that eating well makes a huge difference.
 
Scarpozzi said:
When I mentioned genetics, I was suggesting that when you gain fat, it will go where your DNA tells it to. That's why you see some people gain extra fat in their core vs legs. If it's going to cover up your muscle, it may or may not affect whatever muscle groups you are most concerned with....but gaining fat is a result of consuming more calories than your burning.

Muscle doesn't turn to fat, it's displaced by fat. I agree with the 2 weeks as well...and will say again that eating well makes a huge difference.
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I knew a guy who was super well toned buff all around 6 pack yet did nothing like working out. And real nice guy not all into himself. One lucky bastard.
 
I definitely agree that genetics dictates the location of fat stores. I just don't think the OP's question called for an answer about genetics or placement of fat stores. I think his question was more general terms than that.

"If you did bench 300# weekly for months is there still muscle tearing going on or the muscle has just adapted to that weight and just maintains it?"

Your body will try to keep muscle around based on your activity and up to the limits that your diet allows.

If you tell yourself that you're gonna do 300# 8x every week, and never make any attempts at that #9 rep and you make no attempts at lowering the weight to 250 to get a few reps on a lighter weight, your body is probably not going to respond to your activity very well in terms of creating new muscle - you'll "plateau"... and you'll quite probably end up doing just those 8 reps every week. Which is maybe great if you just want to maintain your progress, look, etc.

When you plateau, you should maybe add a few reps at a slightly lighter weight to try to push through the plateau, or consider if your diet is holding you back, or consider if you're at the edge of what's even humanly possible.

Everyone's body is different, and everyone's difficulty level is on a different level of progression (Begginer/Advanced). A specific set of "rules" maybe won't work for everyone. It's especially easier to gain muscle fairly quickly for most beginners in terms of percentage gains through a year - where as someone who has been doing it for 5+ years will probably not see anywhere near the same kind of % gains through a year.
 
pete6032 said:
I'd like to know the answer to this too.
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I'd say adaptation.

Goggle "muscle memory." It took me a long time to achieve goals. After some periods of non-lifting, it's taken me significantly less to re-achieve them.

For the non active question...the left bicep (worked since 1977) has been in a brace for the last 5 weeks to fix the bicep tear. GD crepe myrtle look, OMG. Whatever, if I'm at 110lbs prescher curls 2019, I'm happy.

RSW
 
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