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How to maintain muscle during breaks from training?

4 min read

Asked by: Krystal Bjugan

Here are some tips to keep you in good shape if you’re injured or just taking a break from training. Maintain a good supply of amino acids, especially leucine, glutamine and arginine.

Maintain muscle and fitness levels when you’re on a break

  1. Nutrition.
  2. Normal Activity.
  3. Genetics.
  4. Rest.

How long can I stop training without losing muscle?

Athletes typically lose less overall muscle strength during a break than nonathletes. In general, you can take up to three or four weeks off without seeing a noticeable drop in your strength performance.

How do I maintain muscle without losing it?

How to maintain muscle

  1. Schedule recovery time. Give yourself enough time to recover between workouts. …
  2. Don’t restrict. Avoid any type of eating plan that’s too drastic or restrictive. …
  3. Exercise. Exercise is another important aspect of maintaining muscle mass. …
  4. Eat healthy. …
  5. Try a supplement.


Can I maintain muscle without working out?

While it may be harder to do resistance training than cardio or mobility work without a gym, it’s entirely possible. If you want to maintain your strength and muscle while self-isolating due to the coronavirus, you need to incorporate key movements and ensure you’re eating enough protein.

Will I lose muscle if I take 4 days off?

Key Takeaways. If you take a week or two away from the gym, you probably won’t lose strength or muscle mass. If you take more than three weeks off, you’ll lose at least a little bit of strength and muscle, but you’ll regain it quickly when you start lifting again.

Will I lose muscle if I take 2 weeks off?

For most people, strength loss occurs after two to three weeks of inactivity, says Molly Galbraith, a certified strength and conditioning specialist. But it depends on why you take the break. “If you are sick, your body is overstressed, so you’ll start to lose strength after two to three weeks,” she says.

How quickly does muscle come back?

According to the research of pro bodybuilder Jeff Nippard, the timeframe to get your muscle gains back is typically around half the time you took off. So, if you had a 2-month break from lifting, it might take just a month to get all of your gains back. Took six months off? You’ll need three months to gain it all back.

How do you maintain muscle after goal reached?

To maximize muscle retention, allow 2-3 exercises per body part, 3 sets per exercise. Do 10-12 repetitions and give yourself 30-90 seconds rest between sets. If you won’t be near a gym and you want to maintain muscle mass and strength, do core bodyweight exercises.

Is it easier to maintain muscle than build?

It is easier to maintain our current levels of muscle mass than to achieve those size gains in the first place, because workouts that are intended to increase muscle size must achieve larger transitory increases in the rate of muscle protein synthesis, which requires a larger training volume.

How often do you need to workout to maintain muscle?

The research says that at the very least, training a minimum of two days per week is needed to maximize muscle growth.



Strength training.

Training level Days of training
Intermediate 3 to 4 days per week of strength training (split up workout by body part or upper/lower body)

Does overtraining make muscles smaller?

If you overtrain, your muscle fibers tear and your body does not have enough time to heal the muscles before you go back into the gym and tear the fibers again. This is overtraining! If you overtrain your muscles will not grow in size or strength and can actually get weaker or smaller.

Will I lose muscle if I stop taking creatine?

When you stop taking creatine, your body’s stored creatine levels will go down. This may result in a loss of strength, reduced energy levels, and a slight loss of muscle mass.

Will I lose my gains if I take a month off?


This is the same timeframe muscle researchers Fisher and Steele cited in their review of evidence-based. Recommendations. For hypertrophy with quote up to three weeks being the maximum time frame you