Muscles stimulated by exercise increase their volume. But what happens to them when we give up training? How fast are we losing them? Scientists decided to look at this problem. How often do you need to exercise strength? How long does muscle mass decline? How much time can you be without strength training?
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In this article you will learn, among others:
- How fast do your muscles weaken?
- How fast does muscle mass decline?
How fast do your muscles weaken?
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen decided to test the strength, work ability, composition of muscle fibers and lean mass of the leg after its previous short-term immobilization. They published the results of their work in Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. 17 young (mean age 23) and 15 older (mean age 68) men were invited to participate in the study. They had an immobilized leg for 2 weeks, and then performed aerobic training on a bicycle for 6 weeks. Maximum muscle contraction, work ability (Wmax) and lean mass in the leg (DEXA method) after immobilization and in the 3rd and 6th weeks of rehabilitation were assessed. A muscle biopsy was also done to evaluate the muscle fibers.
How fast does muscle mass decline?
After 2 weeks of immobilization, younger men lost between 22 and 34 percent of their muscle strength in the unused leg, and older men 20-26 percent. In the younger group, there was also a decrease in lean mass in the leg by an average of 485 g. Rehabilitation was introduced by recommending cycling 3 times a week for a month, and then 4 times a week for 2 weeks. After this time, leg strength, weight and working capacity were re-analyzed. It turned out that it was lean mass in the leg returned to normal, but muscle strength was still 5-10 percent less than before immobilizing the leg (the increase in strength in the younger group was 26-42 percent, in the older group 11-23 percent).
Although the study was conducted on men, author Andreas Vigelsø emphasizes that the results can also be applied to women. It also notes:
The results don’t mean that you can’t skip gym exercises every once in a while, but they do show how quickly you lose muscle strength and fitness if you reduce your activity to zero.
Although the decrease in lean mass in the leg was smaller in the group of older men, it should be remembered that in this age group any loss of strength and muscles is strongly felt and reduces mobility and performance quite significantly. Therefore, it is essential to remember to be active on a regular basiswhich will improve the quality of life, especially in old age. The author of the study notes that lost muscles can be recovered faster through strength exercises. Therefore, it is worth adding appropriate resistance activity to walks, runs or cycling. We wrote about its impact on the body of postmenopausal women in combination with creatine in the article ‘This supplement can strengthen your bones’.
What is your experience of losing muscle? How long will your muscle mass decrease without exercise? How often do you do strength training?
The photo comes from flickr.com
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