Unable to hit the gym or give your training your all? No need to stress. Here are eight nutritional and supplement tactics that can help you ward off muscle loss.
It's only natural to feel down when gym time becomes a no-go.
But the speed at which gym enthusiasts lose muscle during a break from their regular resistance training is still a bit of a mystery.
In this study, the lifters who maintained their protein intake didn't experience any losses in terms of strength and size.
Fortunately, we have an abundance of anecdotal evidence that suggests muscle and strength loss during a break isn't as severe.
A challenge with muscle disuse is that it triggers anabolic resistance, which dulls the body's response to protein intake.
If your pre-break daily protein intake was 1.6 grams per kilogram, stick to that even during the hiatus.
Achieving this protein intake through whole foods is an option, but it might inadvertently push your daily calorie intake beyond the necessary levels.
Regulating your energy intake might sound like a no-brainer, but there's more to it than meets the eye.
Surprisingly, maintaining a positive energy balance during periods of inactivity can actually exacerbate muscle atrophy.
Adequate calorie intake sustains your muscles, while an excess of calories not only deteriorates them but also adds extra pounds to your frame.
Stress and inactivity are known to lower testosterone levels, which in turn affects muscle protein synthesis.
It may seem unconventional, but this could be the ideal moment to consider a testosterone cycle, such as applying more testosterone gel or increasing your injectable T dosage.
Continuous systemic inflammation is generally undesirable, and there's substantial evidence showing that, in cases of muscle loss, inflammation significantly hampers skeletal muscle protein synthesis.
Leucine, a branched-chain amino acid, effectively maintains muscle mass, strength, and endurance in patients confined to bed rest.
While we're actively training, it's common knowledge to evenly spread our protein consumption across our three primary daily meals, along with any snacks.
However, if you happen to lose some size during your gym hiatus, rest assured that when you return, you'll bounce back quickly, fully recovered and rearing to go. Your muscle losses will be swiftly regained.
