Are muscle gains permanent?

When it comes to building muscle, one of the biggest questions is whether the results are permanent. After putting in all the hard work at the gym and kitchen to build muscle mass, it would be disappointing if those gains disappeared as soon as you took a break from training.

The good news is that research shows that muscle gains from proper training and nutrition are largely permanent. However, that doesn’t mean you can just stop training and maintaining your physique once you’ve reached your goals. There are various factors that determine how well you can keep the muscle you’ve built over time.

What happens when you stop training?

When you take an extended break from strength training, you will lose some of the muscle size and strength you worked so hard to gain. However, you won’t lose all of your muscle gains.

One study looked at strength trainers who took a 3 week break from training. They lost an average of 6% of their strength and muscle thickness after the break. However another study found minimal muscle loss in experienced weightlifters after a 2 week break.

The extent of muscle loss depends on various factors like:

• How long you’ve been consistently training
• Your training programming and nutrition habits
• Your genetics and hormones
• How long your break from training is

People who are new to weight training tend to lose muscle gains faster than seasoned lifters. Your genetics also play a role in determining how prone you are to lose muscle mass during periods of inactivity.

Why you lose some muscle when you stop training

When you strength train with adequate protein intake, you are able to build and maintain muscle through a process called muscle protein synthesis (MPS). This is when your body utilizes amino acids from protein foods to repair exercise induced muscle damage and reinforce the muscle fibers.

MPS is stimulated by the mechanical tension caused by lifting weights. When you stop providing this stimuli through training, your body does not need to synthesize as much muscle protein. Over time, this can lead to loss of muscle protein, and subsequently, muscle size.

Resistance training also helps maintain sufficient levels of anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone. When you stop lifting weights, your body produces less of these hormones. This creates a more catabolic state in the body that can enhance muscle breakdown.

Furthermore, taking a training break allows your body to shed any extra water weight being held within the muscle. This accounts for a small portion of size loss when stopping training.

How long do muscle gains last?

For experienced weightlifters, research indicates that size and strength gains from at least 6 months of proper training appear to largely persist even with long term detraining.

One study had participants follow a progressive full body training program for 6 months. They increased muscle cross sectional area in the limbs by 5-10% over the study period. After ceasing training for 3-4 months, these measurements only decreased by about 2%.

An even longer term study looked at competitive powerlifters who stopped intensive training for 3 years. The lifters maintained most of their muscle strength and fiber size over that period, only experiencing minor decreases.

Based on the evidence, if you have consistently trained with good programming for over 6 months, most of your muscular gains can remain for years provided your nutrition and lifestyle remains relatively stable.

However, the picture is less clear for newer lifters who have only trained for say, 3-6 months. While they will retain some muscle during detraining, they are likely to experience more substantial atrophy after stopping training.

Why muscle memory makes gains easier to regain

Muscle memory plays an important role in allowing your body to more easily regain any muscle lost after taking a layoff from training. Also known as skeletal muscle hypertrophy, it refers to how your muscles can rebuild size and strength faster the second time around.

When you first strength train, you stimulate muscle protein synthesis to build bigger fibers. This also generates more myonuclei, which are like the powerhouses that support growth in muscle cells.

Normally myonuclei have a limited lifespan before they must be replaced. However, weight training causes satellite cells in your muscles to donate extra myonuclei that are much longer lasting. This creates a “memory” effect.

If you lose muscle during a break from training, those extra myonuclei remain embedded in the muscle fibers. When you resume working out, the muscles can rapidly regain their prior size thanks to the heightened myonuclear domain.

How to maintain muscle during a layoff

While your muscles have a built-in mechanism to facilitate re-growth, you will still wish to minimize any losses during a training break. Here are some tips to maintain your physique as well as possible:

Keep lifting at a reduced volume

Continuing to lift weights at a lower volume can help preserve strength and muscle while allowing your body the break it needs. Try lifting 1-2 days per week focusing on compound movements at about 70% intensity.

Stay active

Even if you are not weight training, staying physically active will help reduce muscle wasting. Walking, easy cycling, hiking, and recreational sports are examples of light activity to maintain fitness.

Maintain protein intake

Keep eating sufficient protein while you take a break from intensive training. Shoot for around 0.5 grams per pound of body weight daily to supply your muscles with amino acids.

Watch your calories

Don’t use your training break as an excuse to eat an excessive calorie surplus. Only eat slightly over maintenance to minimize fat gain which could make regaining muscle later more difficult.

Get adequate sleep and manage stress

Your body produces its highest testosterone and growth hormone levels while you sleep. So continue getting 7-9 hours nightly. Also avoid chronic stress which raises cortisol and can impair muscle growth.

Can you permanently lose muscle gains?

While muscle memory makes it faster to regain lost size and strength, there are scenarios where you can permanently lose the gains you worked hard for:

• Taking years off from proper training
• Letting your body fat get very high
• Not eating enough protein for long periods
• Getting injured or developing arthritis which limits training
• Muscle wasting illness or taking medications that impair muscle growth
• Age related declines in hormones like testosterone and IGF-1

Maintaining your physique requires lifelong habits of proper training, nutrition, and lifestyle. But if you stay relatively consistent, you can hold onto your muscle mass gains for decades.

How long does it take to regain lost muscle?

Thanks to muscle memory, regaining muscle lost during a layoff is faster than building it from scratch as a beginner. But how long it takes exactly depends on several factors:

• Your training history – Recent newbies will re-gain slower than seasoned lifters
• How much muscle was lost – More size/strength loss requires longer to re-gain
• Your genetics – Some naturally build muscle easier than others
• Your age – Youth speeds up hypertrophy due to higher hormone levels
• Your program – Training smarter speeds up the muscle rebuilding process

For experienced lifters who retained most of their muscle during a layoff, size and strength can bounce back within 3-6 months of proper training. Those starting with fewer myonuclei may need 6-12 months to look muscular again.

Implementing an optimal strength training program also accelerates the muscle re-growth process. Keep lifting challenging by progressively overloading the muscles and incorporating intensity boosting techniques like rest-pause and drop sets. This maximizes muscle protein synthesis.

Nutrition for regaining lost muscle

Proper nutrition is key for priming your body to rapidly regain any muscle lost during time off from training. Here are some diet tips to get back your gains as quickly as possible:

Eat sufficient protein

Research shows protein needs increase during periods of active muscle rebuilding. Aim for 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily split among 4-5 high protein meals.

Time nutrients around workouts

Have a fast digesting protein source either before or after lifting to provide muscles with amino acids when MPS is maximally stimulated. Also eat carbs to promote an anabolic muscle building environment.

Consider creatine supplementation

Creatine can help boost strength and lean mass gains by volumizing muscle cells. It may be especially useful when rebuilding muscle tissue after a layoff.

Adjust calories for goal

Muscle growth requires a calorie surplus. Aim for 300-500 extra calories daily to lean bulk. If you gained fat during your break, focus on body recomposition by eating at maintenance calories.

Maintaining muscle gains long term

Here are some habits to keep your hard earned muscle over the long haul after you’ve reached your ideal physique:

Train each muscle group at least 2x per week

Maintaining muscle requires regularly training about twice weekly to keep protein synthesis elevated. Full body programs are great for this.

Progressively overload over time

Challenging your muscles is key to avoiding plateaus. Try to increase load, volume, or reps on lifts over weeks and months.

Change up your program

Periodizing your training means cycling volume and intensity over a long term plan. This helps continually trigger new muscle growth.

Take periodic diet phases

Schedule off-season periods of around 300 calorie surplus for building muscle, and cutting phases to reveal definition as needed.

Use advanced techniques

Methods like drop sets, super sets, partials, and negatives can provide new muscle stimulation as you get more experienced.

De-load regularly

Take a light week of training every 4-8 weeks to allow your body to fully recover and supercompensate.

Conclusion

Research shows that a majority of the muscle mass gained through consistent training and proper nutrition can be maintained long term. However, some loss of size and strength can occur after a layoff. Thankfully muscle memory allows you to regain muscle fairly rapidly when you resume training.

While genetics play a role, sticking with good lifting and diet habits makes it possible to largely keep your muscle gains permanently. Some loss may happen slowly over the years. But regularly training each muscle and progressing your workouts can offset this natural decline.

Although you can’t necessarily just reach your goals then coast forever while staying muscular, putting in the work upfront to build a strong foundation of muscle makes it relatively easy to maintain your physique with basic maintenance training and nutrition.