How long does it take before you start to loose?

[Crazymank]

Its been 5 days since i've made it to the gym. Diet has been okay, but I feel like im getting smaller already. I know im not as lean..... this blows man!!

 

[LeatherHead]

Everything that I've read says within 72 hours, you start to lose it.

 

[Pharm_Fed]

For me, if I miss a few days at the gym, I feel flat and small even if my diet stays the same. Doesn't take long.

 

[tatzoo]

For me, if I miss a few days at the gym, I feel flat and small even if my diet stays the same. Doesn't take long.

+1

I feel the same way...

 

[theBIGness]

dont stop norm

 

[The Deuce]

I have gone 10 days before without going to the GYM.. And haven't felt ANY DIFFERENT i mean maybe a little different but not noticeable by a long shot especially by other people looking at me... everyone still says..every time I see them "DUDE YOU ARE LOOKING GREAT.. HUGE MAN.. HUUUUUGEEE!!" Definite Ego Boost !!

... I mean I took 4 months off after knee + shoulder surgery and STILL the second I went back to train, yah I was not as BIG and YAH I felt like complete Crap made that I didn't look the exact same but it all came back quick..

I don't believe in this 72 hours bullcrap.. we go 1wk between training a certain muscle group again.. so I mean.. WHY would 72hours shrink you?? It wouldn't.. I think 72 hours PAST the 1wk mark (10days).. I mean.. if we looked FLAT after Not training for 3 days.. we would all look like shit.. wouldn't ya say?? We wouldn't make any gains.. we wouldn't be anywhere.. because we would be FLAT all the time.. I just get all twisted and indifferent about this issue...

Discuss??

 

[LeatherHead]

I don't believe in this 72 hours bullcrap.. we go 1wk between training a certain muscle group again.. so I mean.. WHY would 72hours shrink you?? It wouldn't.. I think 72 hours PAST the 1wk mark (10days).. I mean.. if we looked FLAT after Not training for 3 days.. we would all look like shit.. wouldn't ya say?? We wouldn't make any gains.. we wouldn't be anywhere.. because we would be FLAT all the time.. I just get all twisted and indifferent about this issue...

Discuss??

From what I've read, and I will try to find the articles again, but they said that if you are stagnant for 72 hours, you start to lose it. I think the key word here being stagnant. Yes we go 1 week in between body parts, but we aren't sitting on our ass not doing anything for the 6 days in between. We are still working out, and secondarily working those muscle groups still. You cannot work a bodypart without working every other bodypart in some sort of fashion. Just putting plates on a bar will work your arms, back, shoulders, legs, and chest. With that being said, too... just because after 72 you start losing it, doesn't mean that you go from 220lbs to 168lbs in 72 hours. It just means you start losing what you have. Doesn't say how fast it goes away, just says you start to lose it. You might lose a half ounce of strength per day from that point, or maybe 2mm of size. Something that would take many days to notice the difference, ie 32 days before your weaker and your max drops by 1lb. So as you can see, there aren't really any solid measurements of how much is lost how fast, it's just that after 72 hours the body starts to give up what you made.

 

[The Deuce]

OK.. Yah bro !! I understand Now.. and I get totally what You are saying !! That makes so much Sense !!! SO MUCH !! Bro, You are the man !!

 

[saudades]

Hmm...I'm not sure there is simply a loss after 72 hours. Many times we take a week off, and we come back in stronger. That to me would indicate that perhaps maybe 72 hours after your body has completely repaired itself (given proper nutrition, etc.) you may start losing.

 

[Chris250]

you will lose muscle after about the 3rd week of no training at all...but for now, its just glycogen that your losing...and once you start up again... you will gain it back super, super fast

 

[MaskedMoron]

Hmm...I'm not sure there is simply a loss after 72 hours. Many times we take a week off, and we come back in stronger. That to me would indicate that perhaps maybe 72 hours after your body has completely repaired itself (given proper nutrition, etc.) you may start losing.

I would agree with that, I have taken a week or two off before and came back stronger. i think a break every now and then for a week or two does the body good, the whole rest up thing. Guess its cause i gave it all time to heal up. i imagine there is a trickle of deterioration after a certain point but i highly doubt it would be anything noticeable for quite some time. Like maybe a month or so in my experience. Now where I do see a hell of a setback is when you get sick and are out for a while. This past winter i had the flu and when i went back a couple weeks later my body was still a mess. I dont know what it does to ya but strength goes out the window.

 

[The Dude]

There are two things going on here that are being discussed that are very different. Leatherhead hit it on the button. I used to train each bodypart once every 10 - 12 days and made great gains. But I also had a period of 6 weeks where I had to have an immobolizer on my right arm and it went from 20' of muscle to nothing but flab..... everything was gone. The feeling you have after 72 hours is the loss of cell volumization following your training and has nothing to do with tissue accrual or loss.