Do You Lose Muscle When Taking Time Off From Training?

Something a lot of athletes, bodybuilders or fitness fanatics often worry about is losing muscle when taking time off from their training. Do you really lose muscle when taking a small break from your training? The answer is no, you do not lose muscle from taking time off from your training. After all, who could keep up an intense weight training routine forever? Your body certainly cant and that’s why its actually important to schedule rest periods in your training. You will not lose any noticeable size or muscle mass when taking a week or two off from your training.

If you‘ve been dedicated to your training for six solid months and decide its time for a small break there‘s no way you can lose all your hard earned muscle mass in the space of a week or two. Taking small breaks such as a week or so off from your training is a great way to let your body fully recover and come back even stronger than it was before. All those hard mornings/evenings spent at the gym along with the discipline it takes to stick to a solid diet are certainly not a complete waste of time, there is no way you can train 3-7 days a week every week for the rest of your life.

There will always come a time in your training when you need to take a step back and give your body sufficient time to rest, grow and recover. Its understandable that for many athletes or bodybuilders who are dedicated to their training find taking a week off extremely hard. You probably feel like you are taking a step back in your training and possibly losing valuable muscle tissue in the process. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As long as you do not take prolonged periods of time off from training and completely neglect your diet you should not be concerned about losing size and muscle. Taking a week’s break is one of the best things you can do after a long period of continuous heavy lifting.

Rest Is Good

What a lot of people do not seem to realise is that our bodies actually grow and recover when we are resting or asleep. Not when we are in the gym. Training provides the stimulus that our bodies require to grow but without sufficient rest and sleep you will not reap the full benefits of your training. How do we know when to take a week off from training? This is hard to answer as its likely to be different for every person. A good rule would be to take a weeks break from lifting once every couple of months. However, if your fully motivated, training hard and continually seeing great results in the gym do not stop! Everyone’s different, some will need a week’s break earlier on in their training than others. The secret is to listen to your body. If your continuously becoming less motivated in your training then that’s a good sign that a break would do you good.

Another good indication is when your training sessions are becoming less productive and you find it harder to continuously progress and improve from week to week. Do not worry about  losing muscle from your week’s break, chances are you will return to your training refreshed, more motivated and probably even stronger than before. Strength levels may seem to have decreased for the first week or 2 but once your back in the swing of things progress in your training should become a regular occurrence.

Its important that your diet does not change during the time you have off from your training. This is important. Ensure you are consuming the correct number of calories for muscle growth and take in sufficient amounts of protein each day. At least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. Remember that during the week or two you have off from training you are not burning off as many calories as you normally would when training. Be sure to limit the consumption of junk food as you will be more prone to put on weight and body fat at this time. Rest periods from training are not an excuse to eat whatever you like.

Be Careful How Much Time You Take Off

Taking time off from your training once in a while is good for your body both mentally and physically. However, do not take excessive periods of time off  as this will be counterproductive. Let me explain. When we workout and lift heavy weights we send a signal to our bodies that it needs to recover and grow stronger in order to deal with this type of stress that is placed upon the muscle. As a result, with solid nutrition and rest your body will gradually grow stronger and look to build extra muscle tissue. If you take a month or two off from your training your body no longer has a reason to grow. As a result your body slowly begins to dispose of any muscle tissue that it no longer needs.

This doesn’t mean that you will lose all your muscle tissue you’ve built up from your training at once, but it does mean you will begin to lose muscle tissue and size at an increasingly faster rate. Its possible for some people to lose muscle a lot faster than others. Unfortunately this is down to genetics and there is nothing we can do about it. The best thing to do if you’re thinking of taking a break from your training is to take around 1-2 weeks off. You will not lose any noticeable muscle tissue in this period and will return to the gym more motivated and refreshed than ever before!