How Quickly Does Your Body Lose Muscle When You're Not Training?

The human body is a complex network of many different systems all working in tandem. Your skeletal system makes up the framework of the body while the muscular system allows the parts of the body to move and lift things. Other systems like the endocrine system, reproductive system, and nervous system all have their part to play in the intricate web of perfection that is the human body.

When you lift weights or train against any kind of resistance, muscle fibers are broken down only to repair and come back stronger. Each human has a slightly different blueprint that makes us all unique, and their are a group of body types that most everyone will fall into to categorize how your body will respond to different types of training and diet. In short, these body types are the endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph.

Endomorphs are generally shorter individuals with a slow metabolism. It’s easy for endomorphs to gain weight as well as muscle. Mesomorphs are more athletic in stature and it’s very easy for them to gain muscle. Their muscles are more defined than those of an endomorph. Ectomorphs are the typical tall and lanky individuals that find it very hard to gain either weight or muscle. They are thin and possess a very fast metabolism.

It’s also possible to be a combination of two of these body types, and often combinations occur as you age. It helps to know which category you fall into, because it can give you an idea of how you gain muscle and an understanding of how quickly your body loses muscle. For instance, a mesomorph with a very hard body and well defined muscles won’t lose their muscles as fast as an ectomorph who possesses very lean muscle mass. If you stopped working out for a few weeks as an endomorph, the slower metabolism and soft, undefined muscles wouldn’t hold up to the lack of resistance training. You could lose your muscle mass faster than a mesomorph.

Likewise, the diet plays a large role in how quickly your body loses muscle. An endomorph can gain weight easily, and the majority of the weight is fat. If you have this body type, you wouldn’t need to eat as much protein as an ectomorph. Ectomorphs are instructed to eat plenty of high-protein foods at night so that their muscles don’t go into a catabolic state and actually release energy. If this happens the body’s metabolism acts in a destructive way. 

And don’t think that because you are athletic and may be defined as a mesomorph that you’ll never gain weight. Mesomorphs definitely gain fat more easily than an ectomorph (but so does everyone), and they have to keep their caloric intake in check.

To ask the question, “How quickly does your body lose muscle?”, you have to be honest with yourself and think about what body type, or combination of types, you truly are. This will make it immensely easier to know how quickly your body will lose muscle.