When discussing muscle, does the phrase, use it or lose it make sense? If people don’t routinely move their bodies’ in a functional or practical manner, will they lose strength over the course of their life? What if a physically active person needs to take a week or two off from exercise, how much strength and muscle will they sacrifice? Reasons for stopping physical activities and training may vary, but could it be health related, occupational, injury, vacation, or moving to another area. Its difficult to ascertain how much vigor someone loses during downtime, but factors like age, diet, current activity level, and total lean muscle mass are primary determinants.
After the age of 30, most populaces forgo approximately 3-8% of their muscle mass per decade. This markdown of lean muscle tissue greatly contributes to a decrease in overall stamina and power. In the absence of a well balanced diet and exercise program, the depletion of musculature is expedited during lengthy periods of inactivity. As a result, muscles begins to diminish in size, strength and functional skill. A large portion of muscle atrophy (decline) materializes in the lower extremities and is most rapid during the initial days and weeks of bedridden recovery (English, & Paddon-Jones, 2010).
Data was collected on healthy adolescents subjected to extended periods of bed rest and what they found was that the lower extremities lost approximately 100-200 grams of muscle volume per week. Another report highlighted total mass loss of 2.6 kg following 119 days of bed rest in healthy males; of this, 2.4 kg was from the legs. In young females, it was noticed that after 60 days of bed rest, they lost 21% of quadriceps and 29% triceps muscle volume. Routine measures such as speed force and sustained strength of the quadriceps muscles have typically revealed decreases on the order of 5-6% per week for the first several weeks of bed rest and 23% after 28 days of rest. In older adults, 10 days of bed rest resulted in a loss of knee extensor peak force and total lower body strength by approximately 11-12% per week. They also lost muscle mass at a rate of 3-6 times faster than their younger counterparts (English, & Paddon-Jones, 2010).
Father time catches up to everyone and unfortunately, seniors have the most functionality to surrender when not engaged in an frequent exercise program. In the early stages of bed rest, sedentary seniors will experience an accelerated depletion of power and stability. In the United States, approximately 20% of community dwelling people over the age of 70 will endure Sarcopenia (English, & Paddon-Jones, 2010).
According to Cruz-Jentoft et al., (2019) Sarcopenia is a progressive skeletal muscle affliction involving the loss of tissue size and function, which could potentially increase adverse outcomes including falls, functional deterioration, frailty, and mortality. The breakdown of tissue may also be attributed to genetic and lifestyle components operating across a lifespan. Sarcopenia has the potential to affect inactive adolescents as well.
This data leads us to believe that healthy and fit individuals are better equipped at preserving muscle function during subjugated rest-time and the lower extremities are impacted the most by inactivity. However, not all hope is lost for seniors and or motionless individuals and countermeasures are available to help enhance their physical abilities at any age. For example, frequent bouts of resistance training combined with adequate protein- and energy-rich meals will reduce the rate of muscle decline during recuperation across a variety of populations (English, & Paddon-Jones, 2010).
Its apparent that the younger generation has an physiological advantage over their elders, which makes them more proficient at retaining lower body mass and stability. Forging a strong and abled body through exercise and nutrition is ageless and doing so, will greatly lower the rate of muscle decline while on break. Although it must be noted that forced bed rest due to acute injury and illness may require more healing time and can increase the rate of muscular atrophy. According to Hwang et al. (2017) there are two main components to improving someone’s muscle strength and size and as a result, prevent the loss of muscle function during a sabbatical. Balanced food supplementation combined with consistent resistance training sessions will enhance the facilitation of muscular development and preserve vitality.
Excluding sickness and injury, there are benefits to scheduling time off from exercise, which can help improve strength. Doherty et al. (2021) suggests that short term cessation of workouts known as detraining, could replete muscle building adaptations and elicit renewed sensitivity to the growth process. However, this strategy must be calculated and scheduled in order to avoid negative outcomes like muscle shrinkage and decreased athletic performance.
More on strength building and detraining next time.
In summary, does the saying, “Use it or lose it,” apply to muscle? Yes, absolutely! Individuals who do not exercise regularly have the most leg strength and muscle function to lose if bedridden for sustained periods of time. There is a direct relationship between muscle mass and its ability to power the body during day to day activities. The less muscle size and strength someone has, the more frail and vulnerable they will become, increasing the risks of hospitalization from a fall or chronic illness. Actionable steps are possible at any age and it requires a healthy dose of resistance training, daily walks and wholesome meals. Becoming healthy and fit isn’t easy, but at the end of the day, it will ease routine errands, promote better balance, reduce injuries, boost immunity, confidence and longevity, and foster a more abled body built to take time off without sacrificing muscle size and strength!
There you have it folks, if you don’t use it, you will definitely lose it! The more you move your body, the stronger you will become and the easier it will be to maintain muscle power and function while on hiatus. So, what are you waiting for? Get up, start moving, exercise regularly, eat healthy and don’t forget to laugh, smile and enjoy the simple things in life!
Works Cited
Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., & Sayer, A. A. (2019). Sarcopenia. Lancet (London, England), 393(10191), 2636–2646. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31138-9 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31171417/
Doherty, R., Madigan, S. M., Nevill, A., Warrington, G., & Ellis, J. G. (2021). The Sleep and Recovery Practices of Athletes. Nutrients, 13(4), 1330. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041330 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8072992/#B1-nutrients-13-01330
English, K. L., & Paddon-Jones, D. (2010). Protecting muscle mass and function in older adults during bed rest. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 13(1), 34–39. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0b013e328333aa66 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3276215/
Hwang, Paul S.1; Andre, Thomas L.1; McKinley-Barnard, Sarah K.2; Morales Marroquín, Flor E.1; Gann, Joshua J.1; Song, Joon J.3; & Willoughby, Darryn S (2017).1 Resistance Training–Induced Elevations in Muscular Strength in Trained Men Are Maintained After 2 Weeks of Detraining and Not Differentially Affected by Whey Protein Supplementation, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: April 2017 – Volume 31 – Issue 4 – p 869-881 doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001807 https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2017/04000/Resistance_Training_Induced_Elevations_in_Muscular.1.aspx