Top tips for maintaining muscle mass

The phrase 'use it or lose it' has never been more true than when applied to muscle mass. Just as we can gain muscle through appropriate exercise routines, we will gradually lose muscle if we stop training in the same way.

Why do we lose muscle?

To answer this, it's necessary to consider how we build and maintain muscle in the first place. When we exercise, we place demands on our body, from our cardiovascular system to our muscles. Resistance training is a type of exercise which puts our muscles under stress by creating a resistance for them to work against. To cope with this extra demand, changes happen within our bodies to ensure our muscles are equipped to deal with the extra stress placed upon them.

These changes are anything from neurological adaptations to improvements in blood supply, or increases in the size of muscle fibres. The changes ensure our muscles cope more easily with the demand placed upon them, to ensure we avoid injury and continue to perform optimally. If we keep placing more and more demand on our muscles – e.g. lifting heavier and heavier weights – our muscles will continue to adapt to the extra stress.

Now reverse this and imagine taking away the demand on muscles through inactivity. Over time, this signals to the body we no longer require the ability to lift such heavy weights, as this is no longer a part of our routine. In a bid to conserve energy, our body will begin to adapt in the opposite direction, by decreasing the size of muscle fibres and reducing the blood and nutrient supply to our muscles. This results in a gradual loss of muscle mass until it plateaus at a level which best suits our day-to-day activity.

How long does it take?

The rate at which muscle mass and strength starts to decline depends on a number of factors, from how long you have been training for and your level of muscle mass, to your age and your diet. The exact level of inactivity will also play a role in the rate of decline, as one study found men lost muscular fitness after two weeks of complete leg-immobilisation (1), whereas another study suggests muscle strength can maintain for three weeks without training (2). As a general rule a 3-4 week training break should not cause significant reductions in muscle mass and strength – but longer than this will result in a gradual decline.

Muscle memory

The good news is, there may be such a thing as muscle memory! What this means is that we can regain our muscular fitness faster than we developed it first time around (3). So if you have trained for months to get yourself to a certain level of muscle mass and strength, but have to take a 6 week break due to injury, you should be able to get back to your pre-injury levels pretty quickly.

4 tips for maintaining muscle mass