Keeping Muscle?

[shadowfox]

Ive been wondering, once you've actually gained enough pounds and your happy with your physique, what then, how do you keep looking like that?

Do you have to eat a truck load and continue lifting or can you stop this? If you did stop eating like a mad man and lifting would your muscle go away.. im just curious, once you start this crazy life style, do you have to mantain this.

bottom line - can i eat at a maintanance level, stop lifting and keep all my gains. Maintanance level will be less protein etc, because im worried of the effects of a protein rich diet.

edit: oh sh1t i thought i was in fitness CAN SUM1 PLZ MOVE THIS IM SORRY

 

[[]D [] []V[] []D]

well im not quite sure about this subject but i think yes you have to maintain it

but it will become a habit once you start, and youll always want to get bigger (stronger) anyways, so might as well keep up the routine.

 

[crunk]

the fact of the matter is. after 2 weeks of not working out.. your going to start loosing muscle mass! even tho u keep eating, its just gunna turn to fat unless you do somthing about it!

 

[Warboss Alex]

Originally posted by crunk
the fact of the matter is. after 2 weeks of not working out.. your going to start loosing muscle mass! even tho u keep eating, its just gunna turn to fat unless you do somthing about it!

Okay, that's the most stupid, idiotic and absolutely senseless post I've ever read on this forum - and lemme tell you, I've read a few.

 

[Warboss Alex]

bottom line - can i eat at a maintanance level, stop lifting and keep all my gains. Maintanance level will be less protein etc, because im worried of the effects of a protein rich diet.

Hydrate yourself properly to help your liver out, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with a protein rich diet.

 

[The Bad Ass Canadian]

I find, for the most part, you can relax from working out for awhile... once you are in the shape you want to be in. You won't lose anything significant, if you still keep your diet in check.

There's nothing wrong with taking 3 weeks to a month off from working out. It'll probbaly do your body alot of good, and once you hit the weights again, since you're in pretty good shape, what minimal amounts of muscle you lost will quickly return and you'll probably make better gains after the fact.


I'm no expert... just going by what I've seen personally.


Once you are in shape, and have been that way for a longtime... it's harder for the ol' beer gut to come creeping back in. You'd have to really let yourself go, to screw that up.

 

[Not Quite There]

sometimes i get anxious thinking about this, if for instance I stop at some future point, what will happen?

This sound silly, but the thought of going to the gym for the rest of my life seems quite daunting!

Also, say if your skinny, and you put on a good few pounds of muscle, then stop, are you going to revert to being skinny or is it just going to turn to fat?


at the moment I am trying to bulk a little, and am going to the gym 4 to 5 times a week, once i get to a decent size, will once or twice a week be enough to maintain that size, bareing in mind I won't want to grow any more, just maintain the muscle.

 

[Schlep]

Muscle doesn't turn into fat. It goes away at the rate of 1% a year after 20. If you're active and don't ever hit the weights, it'll go away faster.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Muscle doesn't turn to fat. Fat doesn't turn to muscle.

Get it into your heads.

Muscle will only waste away if it's not fed and maintained properly, and you're hardly going to lose your gains overnight - since you didn't put them ON overnight did you?

If at some future point you stop working out, your muscle will revert to what's needed for your lifestyle - if you have a physical lifestyle most likely you'll keep most of it, if you have a deskjob then probably not.

You can maintain your muscle quite sufficiently with a full-body workout once or twice a week - intense training built muscle, intense training will maintain muscle.

Trust me though, once you've made the muscle, you'll be totally motivated to keep it.

 

[Warboss Alex]

A lot also depends on metabolism/genetisc - skinny ectomorphic kinda guys will have to work and eat harder to keep muscle, us endos have it a bit easier..

 

[King of You]

why would you want to stop working out?

 

[pokie87]

Im about 5 weeks in to my cutting program and I am starting to see the results. My bf % is now down to 17% and for the first time in my life I have defined pecs and a body to be proud of. Seeing results just motivates me further and I am now striving to get my bf % even lower to the point where I have a six pack. I think the only time you can lose motivation is in the first couple of weeks when the results aren't quite showing up. Once you hit the stage where you start seeing the results motivation is not a problem.

 

[tristan22]

I lose muscle and strength fast--real fast! I know guys who take months off, yet seem to keep their size and strength. I on the other hand look like the incredible shrinking man within a week or so! I have bad genetics i guess?

 

[Heizen]

Originally posted by crunk
the fact of the matter is. after 2 weeks of not working out.. your going to start loosing muscle mass! even tho u keep eating, its just gunna turn to fat unless you do somthing about it!

You are a idiot. What makes you think muscle magically turns into fat if you don't use it?