Once muscle is lost does it take long to rebuild it?

Question

Ive been working out for the past 2 - 3 years and I finally got to the point where I had definition and what not. but for the past month ive been sick not being to eat as much and unable to go to the gym. and it is very noticable that i have lost quite a bit. So I'm wondering if rebuilding the muscle will take as long as it did to gain the muscle in the first place.

Answer 1

Fire, muscle has a kind of "memory" to it and it can bounce back fairly quickly, even after an extended time away from the gym.

A month away from the gym -- provided that you were eating sufficient calories during this time-- probably did not result in significant lean tissue loss. It's more likely that your loss of definition is from a reduction in muscle volume (think about the "pump" you get when you work out), which will come back fairly quickly once you hit the weights again.

I tore a quad doing really heavy leg presses at the height of my strength early last Fall, and had to take three months off from all leg training. Ironically, I actually found that once the muscle was healed and I returned to training, my strength improved and I've made more progress overall than before the injury. Sometimes a rest is a good thing -- people have a tendency to overtrain. It took me about eight weeks to best my pre-injury performance. In the end, it was actually beneficial because it forced me to lighten up a bit and focus on form and range-of-motion.

I'm betting the same thing will happen with you.

Best of luck!

Answer 2

Eat a lot of protein, and start working out a lot again. Stay hydrated, and just work at getting back in shape. Then the muscle will come back, but the amount of time depends on how hard you work/how much protein you eat. Muscle fibers need protein to be built and strengthened, so the more you eat then the stronger the filaments can become.

Answer 3

It all depends on your body. It takes around 2 weeks to lose full conditioning that u did. If you get sick again try taking glutamine to keep your muscle gains. I think you should bounce back in no time if you been out for a few days.

Answer 4

From my experience, it is easier to put muscle on than it is to take it off. Your muscles probably look smaller because you haven't been working out lately and they aren't pumped full of blood. After your first week of working out again, you will notice your muscles are back to their original size. You might have also lost some definition because you gained body fat when you weren't working out, and your muscles are buried under the fat.

Answer 5

For myself, it usually takes about the same amount of time I took off to gain back what I lost, perhaps even more, or consistent activity. Getting back to your strongest is the most challenging part, but getting close to it isn't so hard.

Everyone has setbacks and times where life interferes somehow in our routines. It sucks because of all the time and energy we put into it, but that's just how it is. You'll learn how your body reacts through experience, and everyone is different.

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

maybe 2-3 months