By: Chris Gates

You’re probably here for one of three reasons.

And whichever one of these describes you, I want you to know that you’re in the right place!

1. You have to take time off from training.
2. You’re just coming off an extended training absence.
3. Or… You’re a complete nerd (like me) and are really interested in this stuff!

It’s super common to have to take time off from the gym.

And it’s also super common to worry about losing muscle and strength. Tell me if any of these thoughts sound familiar…

• “I’m going to lose all of my progress!”
• “My strength is going to disappear!”
• “I’ll have to start all over when I get back into the gym!”

Those feelings are super common, and it makes total sense to get a bit worried.

If you’ve been training consistently and making progress, then time off from training must mean you’ll start heading in the opposite direction.

Right?

No so fast, my friend!

In this article, I’ll answer the question that’s on your mind: How long does it take to lose muscle?

There’s a lot of information out there that will probably calm your nerves, and help you see that all of your hard work and progress isn’t about to disappear.

We’ll talk about how your body builds, maintains, and loses muscle, and you’ll learn exactly what to expect (and how to maintain all of that progress you’ve made).

So without further ado, let’s dive in!

First and Foremost: Don’t Freak Out

Before we get into the finer details of how long does it take to lose muscle, I want to calm your nerves a bit.

Because I’ve been there.

• You’ve got a long vacation coming up and you can’t train.
• Or you get really sick and have to take a week off.
• Maybe you had a serious injury and have to wait several months before you can get back into the gym.

Whatever your situation is, it’s not the end of the world.

The information we’re about to go over is going to prove that you’re not doomed.

• Your gains aren’t about to evaporate.
• You’re not going to lose all of your progress.
• It won’t take years to build back all of your muscle and strength.

In reality, you’re probably not going to lose anywhere near the amount of muscle that you think (or that you fear).

Some muscle loss can and will occur with extended time off from training. But whatever muscle you lose, you can build it back pretty quickly.

So take a deep breath…

And let’s dive in 🙂

How Long Does It Take To Build Muscle?

Before we go over how long does it take to lose muscle, let’s talk about how long it takes to BUILD muscle.

Because actually building muscle is a much more time-intensive process than maintaining it, or rebuilding it a second time.

Think about it…

To build muscle, your body needs to actually add tissue to itself. That’s what muscle is — a specific type of tissue in your body.

So you’re lifting, and eating, and recovering. And your body is doing all kinds of amazing work behind the scenes to actually add muscle tissue throughout your body.

It’s an amazing phenomenon that I think most people overlook, or take for granted.

It will take you several years to put on your first 20-30 pounds of muscle, which is a humongous investment of your time and resources.

Luckily, maintaining it is much easier. And if you lose some muscle, rebuilding it is pretty simple, too.

How Long Does It Take to Lose Muscle? Muscle Memory Is The Key

There’s a term called “muscle memory” that you should become familiar with.

Muscle memory involves your body’s ability to “remember” prior training, which leads you to build back muscle pretty darn quickly.

I’m no researcher, and I’m certainly not an exercise scientist, so here’s my incredibly simple way to describe it…

In order to build muscle tissue, your body has to actually build the cells and nuclei of that muscle tissue. You’re constructing muscle cells that didn’t previously exist.

When you stop training, those muscle cells may shrink in size, but they don’t completely go away (at least not for a really, really long time). And that’s the key to this whole muscle memory concept.

Because since those cells remain in your body, when you start training again you can build back muscle exponentially faster than it took to construct those muscle cells the first time around.

This 2018 study showed the ability to build back muscle after 7 weeks of no training. And a 2007 study showed participants quickly regained strength after 3 months without training.

How Long Does It Take to Lose Muscle? Form and Technique Matters

When you take time off from lifting, that first week or two in the gym can often be awkward.

• The weight you used before probably feels super heavy.
• Your joints don’t quite feel as comfortable.
• Some of the exercises are a little wonky and your form isn’t as crisp.

And that’s not all due to muscle loss.

Sometimes, the reason you struggle after a layoff from training is because your form and technique needs to improve.

Think about it…

You got really good, and really strong, at those exercises because of the amount of reps you put in.

And I don’t mean you were using the right the rep ranges.

What I mean is, you did those exercises over, and over, and over again for months and months. And that’s a big deal.

Lifting is just like any other skill. The more you practice it, the better you will get.

If you took some time off, and now lifting is hard. It’s probably not solely because you lost all kinds of muscle.

A big part of it is likely due to your form and technique, and you just need to get back into the swing of things and practice those exercises again.

How Long Does It Take to Lose Muscle? Short Layoffs Are A Non-Issue

Let’s talk about how long you’re unable to train.

If we’re talking months, then yes. You will probably lose a little bit of muscle.

But if we’re talking something shorter — really anything less than one month — you’re probably worrying way more than is needed.

A lot of the research on this subject shows virtually no ill effects of taking short periods of time off from training, when it comes to losing muscle.

• This 2017 study showed no declines in muscle or strength after 2 weeks off.
• A 2011 study compared one group that trained continuously, while another trained for 6 weeks followed by 3 weeks off. There were no significant differences in muscle or strength.

So if you’re forced to take a couple of weeks off from the gym, you can probably put your mind at ease and just jump back into things when you’re able to train again.

If you layoff is longer than that, you’ll still be able to jump back into things relatively quickly. Let’s talk about how to do it.

An Action Plan For Returning to Training

Whatever your specific situation may be, let’s talk about how to jump back into the gym and start training again.

Because whether it’s a short-term or long-term layoff, you’ll probably need to take at least one step back in order to take several steps forward.

First and foremost, if you’re forced to take time off due to an injury, take that time to recover and heal. Follow the directions from your doctor, and don’t force your body to have to recover from both an injury and the damage and fatigue of lifting weights.

When you’re fully healed, don’t expect that you’ll pick back up where you left off. You’ll need to scale the intensity back and plan on progressively working your way back up.

And now you know, you can get back to where you left off pretty quickly!

If you have to take a short period of time off from the gym, you can probably hop right back into things when you’re able to train again. A primer week is a good idea — slightly scale the intensity back from where you left off to help your body acclimate to proper form and technique again.

And also consider this…

If you’re going on a vacation, or a trip, you can maintain all of your muscle by training as little as one day a week, and doing as little as one exercise per muscle group.

So if you can do a few bodyweight exercises and take them to failure, or if you can pop into a gym as a guest once or twice wherever you’re staying, then losing muscle becomes a complete non-issue.

How Long Does It Take to Lose Muscle? Your Nutrition Matters

We’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about your diet here.

You ate a certain way to build muscle, which means you should probably be intentional with your diet to maintain muscle as well.

In general, eating a high-protein diet and enough calories to maintain your bodyweight will really help. If you’re deficient in either one of those, it will be easier to lose muscle.

• If you’re in a calorie deficit, your body will burn fat, muscle, and other bodily tissues for energy.
• Without adequate protein, your body will lack the building blocks it needs to repair muscle.

You want to avoid both of those scenarios if you can.

Once again, for short layoffs from training, things aren’t as dire. A lack of calories or protein for a week or two won’t cause your muscle to evaporate into thin air.

But for longer layoffs, the more protein you can eat, the better. And staying at a maintenance level, or perhaps even a very slightly surplus, with your calories can only help.

In The End, You’ll Be Fine

I really hope you found this article helpful, and if anything I hope you came away with this one takeaway…

You’re going to be fine.

Muscle loss can occur when you have to take time off from the gym, but it shouldn’t be an overly stressful situation.

1. You can regain muscle very quickly.
2. You probably won’t lose much to begin with.
3. There’s a lot of simple and easy things you can do to maintain as much muscle as possible.

So try not to stress, and use the methods outlined in this article to work your way back into training when the time is right.

And if you feel like you could use some help navigating this journey of yours, I work with people all over the world to build muscle, burn fat, and make tons of progress!

I’d love to help take the guesswork out of things and keep you moving in the right direction with your training and nutrition. Check out my coaching page if you’re interested.

Thanks for reading!

~Chris