Use it or lose it! Did you know that muscle power decreases by 17 percent after only four weeks of inactivity? And that’s not all: your muscles begin to decrease in size and appear less toned in as little as 72 hours!
Muscle that you use on a daily basis, like your hamstrings, atrophy slower than muscles you use less often, like your quads. And the stronger the muscle, the slower it will decrease in power and size.
Here are a few tips to avoid this from happening to your precious muscles:
1. Be consistent. Obviously, if you’re keeping up with your fitness routine you won’t have to worry about losing muscle. Instead of going all-out for a few weeks, only to take a month off from exercising, stick to something more consistent – even if it is just twice a week.
2. Don’t let an injury turn you into a couch potato. If you pulled an upper body muscle, work on your lower body and walk on an incline on the treadmill. Talk to a trainer at the gym and see what you can safely do to avoid total muscle atrophy and not be completely out of shape when you’re able to start up again.
3. Don’t think you have to go to the gym to get a good workout. Just because you can’t make it to a gym, whether you’re traveling or there just isn’t enough time in the day, doesn’t mean you can’t get in a good workout. Bodyweight exercises, like lunges, crunches, sit-ups, etc., are highly effective. Jump ropes and resistant bands are also inexpensive options to keep at home and take with you when you’re traveling.
4. Switch it up. Your muscles will get used to the same routine, so make sure you’re switching it up to keep your muscles growing!
5. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a few days. Life happens – we can’t always be perfect with our routines. Instead of giving up because you missed 4 or 5 days, just get back on it and don’t let those 5 days turn into 5 weeks. Do what you can, even if it’s just 20 minutes on some days. You can definitely squeeze in an effective, muscle-sparing routine in just 20 minutes a day when that’s all the time you have.