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Editor’s Note: This is a guest article by Reese Dockrey<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Things don\u2019t always go as planned in the life of a lifter. On a long enough timeline, it\u2019s guaranteed that some unforeseen event will interrupt your training. Maybe it\u2019s an injury that sidelines your workouts for several weeks. Or you have a baby, and suddenly there\u2019s no time to get \u201cthe pump\u201d on for a few months. Or there\u2019s a worldwide pandemic that forces your gym to shut down for an extended period of time.<\/p>\n Then, in the following weeks, the consequences kick in: you start losing the gains you worked so hard to build, and you begin shrinking down to your old self. Maybe you pick up a basic bodyweight routine at home<\/a>, but you know that pushups and lunges won\u2019t be enough to replace a barbell and squat rack.<\/p>\n When this happens, a lot of guys go into panic mode, understandably. The fear of knowing that you have to \u201cuse it or lose it\u201d sets in. Even when you\u2019re finally able to get back into the gym, you remember how hard it was to build up your body, and you dread the thought of having to do it all over again.<\/p>\n Thankfully, the situation isn\u2019t so dire. The fact is, guys who lose muscle are typically able to gain it all back quickly, i.e., you\u2019re not starting from square one. Before diving into how this works, let\u2019s take a quick refresher on how you were able to build all of that muscle in the first place. Here\u2019s the CliffsNotes version:<\/p>\n In strength training, \u201cmuscle memory\u201d has long been understood as the body\u2019s ability to \u201cremember\u201d certain movements. Basically, as you build muscle, your neural networks get more efficient at moving heavy loads in specific patterns. When you stop working out for a while (aka \u201cdetrain\u201d), you lose some of that strength. Then, when you resume lifting (even years later), like remembering how to ride a bike, you quickly recover your nervous system \u201cgains.\u201d<\/p>\n Even your DNA remembers. A 2018 study<\/a> found that, even after detraining for several weeks (and potentially years), your \u201cepigenetic\u201d ability for hypertrophy isn\u2019t lost, i.e., if you get swole once and lose it, you can get swole more easily the second time around. <\/p>\n Then there\u2019s your muscle cells and their multiple nuclei \u2014 called \u201cmyonuclei\u201d \u2014 which are sort of the \u201ccontrol centers\u201d of the cell. Each myonuclei can handle only a certain amount of muscle within the cell, so for the muscle cell to continue to grow over time, it needs more myonuclei. When you train, your individual muscle fibers acquire these additional myonuclei from nearby \u201csatellite cells,\u201d and BOOM, you get massive pecs and traps. In a 2010 study<\/a> of mice, researchers at the University of Oslo discovered that after you stop your workouts and your muscles atrophy, those additional myonuclei tend to stick around — potentially for years.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all to say: you\u2019ve already done the hardest part!<\/p>\n Simply put, adding more myonuclei to your muscle fibers and strengthening your nervous system is like upgrading your car with a new engine. It was a Honda Civic before, but now it runs more like a Lambo. Even if you stop driving it for a while \u2014 and the gas tank dries up, and the battery loses power \u2014 you still have a supercar sitting in the driveway, waiting to be brought back to life.<\/p>\n You didn\u2019t start shrinking after only a few days of not working out. In fact, it takes about 3-4 weeks of not training a certain muscle group before the muscle begins to break down. <\/p>\n According to a meta-analysis by the experts at Legion Athletics<\/a>, here\u2019s what else you\u2019ll lose:<\/p>\n These estimates assume you continued eating enough protein and calories (i.e., you weren\u2019t in a caloric deficit) and stayed relatively active during your break.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also see a decline in your athleticism and general health. In an article<\/a> analyzing the effects of a 4-week detraining period on endurance athletes, strength coach Carmen Bott observed some common outcomes: a decline in V02 max (i.e., less aerobic endurance), lower insulin sensitivity, reduced ATP production (i.e., less energy), and muscle atrophy. She noted that, essentially, the more well-trained you are to start, the faster your decline will be. On the plus side, it was found that strength can be maintained for the first month of detraining. <\/p>\n A 2013 study<\/a> of both rugby and football players showed that strength levels can be maintained for up to 3 weeks of detraining. The rate of strength decay accelerates thereafter (weeks 5-16).<\/p>\n Age is an issue too. Basically, the older you are, the quicker you\u2019ll lose muscular strength as you detrain. A 2000 study<\/a> observed 2 groups as they detrained for 31 weeks: the younger group (age 20-30) lost around 8% of their 1RM (one-rep max) strength, while the older group (age 65-75) lost closer to 14%. <\/p>\n Therefore, regardless of age or training experience, and even if your diet was on point, you probably lost a little size and athletic ability after a month of detraining. After a few months, you might have lost a lot.<\/p>\n Since you\u2019ve detrained for months (or even years), you now have insane potential for muscular growth. Remember those sweet \u201cnoob gains\u201d you had when you first started lifting, when you were able to add 50 pounds to a lift in a month? Well, you\u2019re not an actual beginner again, but you\u2019re in a similar position. Your gains will come back at an alarming rate.<\/p>\n According to the research of pro bodybuilder Jeff Nippard<\/a>, 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\u2019ll need three months to gain it all back.<\/p>\n It might come back even faster. Sports scientist Greg Nuckols<\/a> noted that a 3-month detraining period might require a month or less to regain all of your lost muscle. <\/p>\n This timeframe works well if you’ve been off for a period of months, but if you\u2019ve detrained for many years, there\u2019s no formula to tell you how quickly you\u2019ll get it all back.<\/p>\n Of course, you can\u2019t suddenly jump right back into whatever training you were doing last. This is for a few reasons:<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve detrained for years, you\u2019re not starting from scratch, since you have muscle memory. Still, if you lost most of your gains in that time, you\u2019re almost back to being a beginner (aka \u201cnovice\u201d). You\u2019ll do best to follow a basic barbell beginner program, such as Starting Strength<\/a> or Strong Lifts 5×5<\/a>. The weight will be light enough for the first few weeks that you should have no issue with being overly fatigued.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s address the guys who detrained for months, not years.<\/p>\n You need to slowly ease back into training heavy by reducing intensity, volume, and frequency. That is, lift lighter weights, for fewer sets and reps, during the course of fewer workouts per week. This period should last only 2-4 weeks before you can resume training hard again. This will give your body time to make a host of necessary improvements, including revitalizing your neurological efficiency and your \u201cmind-muscle connection,\u201d which is simply your ability to mentally engage each muscle group. Put simply, you need to get some practice in before getting back into the game. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind: <\/p>\n Reduce the intensity. <\/strong>You shouldn\u2019t start with the weight you used last, as your body isn\u2019t capable of recovering from it. You definitely don\u2019t need to be maxing out or doing super-heavy, low-rep sets. Don\u2019t lift to failure, either. Always keep a few reps in the tank, especially on the compound lifts. With isolation lifts, you can go closer to failure.<\/p>\n Reduce the volume.<\/strong> It\u2019s best to stick with sets of 5-12 and perhaps only 2-4 sets per lift. Similar to when you were a beginner, the 5-rep range might be best. It tends to be the perfect middle ground, allowing you to meaningfully test your strength without going too heavy, and providing enough volume without overtaxing your body. Also, be sure to rest plenty between sets, as you might have lost a lot of cardiovascular endurance during your break.<\/p>\n Like normal training, you should still be making your workouts harder each time, but you might do best to avoid adding weight for the first week or two. Instead, make things harder with slow reps, drop sets (not to total failure), pause sets, etc. Your muscles need only a little nudge right now, not a sledgehammer.<\/p>\n Reduce the frequency.<\/strong> Hitting each muscle group 2-3 times per week should be plenty. Once per week might not be enough to gain back muscle and strength quickly, and more than 2-3 times per week can lead to unnecessary volume and soreness. Either a push-pull-legs or upper-lower routine should be perfect for this. You can easily get all of the necessary volume in just 2-3 workouts per week, 30-60 minutes apiece.<\/p>\n Exercise selection.<\/strong> To avoid muscle soreness, which is very common when coming back from a detraining period, you might avoid lifts that require a big stretch, such as lunges, Romanian deadlifts, and good mornings. Whatever lifts you choose, you want to really feel the muscle being worked and to allow for a good pump. This means cables and machines will be your friend as you ease back into training. You should still use heavy compound lifts like bench, (conventional) deadlifts, and squats, but with light weight.<\/p>\n After 2-4 weeks, once your strength and form improve, you can get back to lifting hard and heavy. From that point on, do whichever program works for you<\/a>, so you can gain back muscle fast: powerlifting, bodybuilding, etc.<\/p>\n Of course, to gain that muscle back quickly, you have to eat right, and how you should eat depends on what happened to your body since you stopped lifting.<\/p>\n As you were forced to pause your workouts, you likely let your diet slip. That\u2019s okay; it\u2019s hard to stay motivated to eat healthy when you don\u2019t have any planned lift sessions to put those calories to good use. This means your body composition (i.e., your fat to lean mass ratio) has changed, and you might need to eat differently than before.<\/p>\n If you continued working out at home during your break \u2014 perhaps an advanced bodyweight<\/a> or dumbbell routine<\/a> \u2014 then you might have kept most if not all of your muscle. If you also ate maintenance calories, then your body composition basically hasn\u2019t changed. For the sake of this article, however, I\u2019ll just assume you didn\u2019t work out hard and that you did lose muscle.<\/p>\n While detraining, naturally skinny guys who tend to undereat (aka \u201chardgainers\u201d) will typically reduce calories from a bulk to their natural low-calorie eating habits. Then, they\u2019ll lose weight \u2014 all muscle loss \u2014 while their body fat stays the same.<\/p>\n Most other guys will lose muscle and gain fat simultaneously as they detrain. If they ate maintenance calories, they simply experienced a \u201cbody recomposition\u201d for the worse (i.e., they lost muscle and gained a higher body fat percentage, with no change in weight). If they overate during their break, they lost muscle and gained weight (all fat gain).<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s discuss the pros and cons of three dieting methods to choose from.<\/p>\n Eat at a Calorie Deficit (aka \u201cCut\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n This is best for anyone who became significantly overweight during their hiatus. On the bright side, your excess calories likely helped you maintain more muscle than other guys. Since you\u2019re now overweight and potentially obese (BMI over 30, or body fat over 25%), you can lose weight and build muscle simultaneously.<\/p>\n Reduce eating by 20-25% of your maintenance calories. If you don\u2019t know your maintenance calories, estimate them using a free online \u201cTDEE calculator.\u201d Or even better, track your normal food intake for a week, then divide the total calories by the number of days. If you\u2019re a bigger guy (200 lbs plus) aim to lose 2 lbs per week. If you\u2019re smaller, aim for closer to 1-1.5 lbs per week. This way, you\u2019ll burn fat as fast as possible without losing muscle.<\/p>\n Eat lots of protein, at least one gram per pound of bodyweight. Even more protein is probably better during a \u201ccut,\u201d and yes, it\u2019s safe. You can reduce carbs significantly, and try to eat most of your carbs before and after workouts. Aim to get at least 80% of your diet from \u201cclean,\u201d whole foods.<\/p>\n After a few weeks (or months), when your weight and body fat percentage are below obesity levels, you can increase calories to maintenance to achieve slow muscle gains while continuing to lean down. Or, continue cutting until you\u2019re leaner; then you can increase calories to a small surplus to build muscle even faster.<\/p>\n Eat Maintenance Calories (aka \u201cBody Recomposition\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n This is best for the guys who gained body fat but aren\u2019t obese. Since you don\u2019t have a ton of extra weight that would allow you to gain significant muscle on a \u201ccut,\u201d your best option is to eat maintenance calories. Your bodyweight should stagnate, but your body fat percentage will drop while you build a little muscle. The fat loss will be slower than it would be with a \u201ccut,\u201d so you might need several months to get lean. Again, keep protein high and eat \u201cclean.\u201d Once you\u2019ve leaned down, or you\u2019re just ready to get faster gains, you can start bulking up.<\/p>\n Eat at a Calorie Surplus (aka \u201cBulk\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n This is best for anyone who is at a healthy weight and body fat level, and who wants to build muscle as fast as possible. If you\u2019re older (35+) or you gain weight easily, increase your intake by 10-20% of maintenance calories. You want to regain muscle fast while minimizing the fat gain. Expect to gain roughly 0.5-1 lb of bodyweight per week, most of which should be muscle gains.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a young, skinny \u201chardgainer,\u201d you probably became underweight as you detrained. Due partly to your hyper-fast metabolism, you\u2019ll require even more calories to bulk up. You have the potential to gain a ton of muscle as your body fills out. You might need a 1,000-calorie surplus or more. Expect to gain 1-2 lbs per week, and aim for a muscle-gain to fat-gain ratio of 1:1 or better. Once your body fills out to a normal weight, you can reduce calories to a smaller surplus for slow and steady gains.<\/p>\n All bulkers should eat lots of protein and calorie-dense, whole foods. If you tend to have a hard time gaining weight, eat plenty of carbs. If you gain fat easily, use carbs sparingly, and try to get most of them before and after workouts. Whenever you get uncomfortable with the fat gains, reduce to maintenance calories to lean down.<\/p>\n All you have to do now is make a plan for your workouts and your diet and just show up and do the work; the gains will come back in no time.<\/p>\n ______________<\/p>\n Reese Dockrey is a land surveyor and a former \u201cskinny guy\u201d who struggled his entire life to gain muscular size and strength. His physical transformation from scrawny to swole (and the mountain of research it required) inspired him to share that knowledge with other men who need it. His website is scrawnytoswole.com<\/a> and his book, <\/em>Scrawny to Swole<\/a>, is available on Amazon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Editor’s Note: This is a guest article by Reese Dockrey. Things don\u2019t always go as planned in the life of a lifter. On a long enough timeline, it\u2019s guaranteed that some unforeseen event will interrupt your training. Maybe it\u2019s an injury that sidelines your workouts for several weeks. Or you have a baby, and suddenly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":133847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230,7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-133774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-health-fitness"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2021\/01\/lift-538x280.jpg","aom":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2021\/01\/lift-372x230.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2021\/01\/lift-320x213.jpg","reactor-640":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2021\/01\/lift-640x427.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133774"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140169,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133774\/revisions\/140169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133774"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=133774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
The Key to Your Comeback: \u201cMuscle Memory\u201d<\/h3>\n
How Quickly Gains Are Lost<\/h3>\n
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How Long Does It Take to Rebound?<\/h3>\n
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How to Train to Regain ASAP<\/h3>\n
How to Eat as You Get Back into Training<\/h3>\n