Muscle Evolution Muscle_Evolution__July-August_2017 | Page 62

IT TAKES TWICE AS LONG Exercise physiologist Lyle McDonald, who has worked with a wide range of athletes from powerlifters and endurance runners to bodybuilders, believes you can quickly regain what you have lost during a layoff, although it is highly variable from individual to individual. McDonald has seen lifters for whom a short break of 3 to 5 days had a negative impact, leaving them totally flat and unable to perform. Others who took a break returned to their training without any problems, quickly regaining what they had lost in terms of size and strength. Periodic breaks, if applied correctly, allow the nervous system to recover, muscles and connective tissue to fully repair, and other systems to recuperate from the demands of chronic training loads. “Once the break gets beyond the 5-7 day mark, it is possible to lose some progress, although most of the losses in the short-term are more the neural training adaptations than muscle mass, per se (a lot depends on what caused the layoff),” says McDonald. According to McDonald, a layoff of 1 to 2 weeks would take twice as long for you “IF YOU LOSE 2 WEEKS OF TRAINING, EXPECT IT TO TAKE ABOUT 4 WEEKS TO GET BACK TO WHERE YOU LEFT OFF.” WHEN YOU SKIP THE WEIGHTS, PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS WILL BE LOST IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER: ■ high intensity aerobic conditioning ■ aerobic conditioning; ■ muscle mass; ■ strength; ■ skill. to get back to where you originally left off. “If you lose 2 weeks of training, expect it to take about 4 weeks to get back to where you left off.” “It's all about supply and demand,” says exercise scientist Jason Karp, Ph.D. “When we exercise, we stimulate the syn thesis of proteins, like mitochondria and enzymes, to meet the demand we place on our bodies. When we stop exercising, we eliminate the demand, so we start to lose our supply.” He recommends a slow and steady approach of using lighter poundages for 2 weeks before pushing to where you were before the layoff. A longer layoff will result in a longer period to return to where you were as both neural adaptations and muscle mass are lost. A good rule of thumb, depending on the circumstances of the break (injury or rest) is to start with a low volume of training and gradually work your way back up to your former work capacity. Rushing the process is only going to invite injury and frustration. Leave the heavier sessions for when you have re-established your base, then build up from there. FACTORS THAT AFFECT HOW QUICKLY YOU LOSE MUSCLE ARE: ■ your age; ■ the length of your training regimen prior to your break; ■ type of exercises you usually perform. BREAK N JUST TRAINING TIME? LOSING MUSCLE IN A HURRY Researchers (Lo, et al 2011) monitored two groups of people who trained for a duration of 3 months on either an aerobic conditioning or weight training schedule. Both groups stopped for up to 3 months and were then assessed. After 4 weeks of inactivity, the VO2 max gains were completely lost in both groups of individuals. After 3 months of no training, the aerobic training group had lost all their training improvements, while weight trainers still held on to some of their muscle gains. The rate of muscle loss was, however, greater than the rate of strength due to the fact that the neural mechanisms of strength (how to best recruit muscle fibres) were better retained, even while the size of the muscle fibres diminished with time. www.muscleevolution.co.za 59