Thread: How long does it take to come back?

I wouldn't sweat it...you'll readapt to the weight pretty quickly, and I would doubt you lost all the much muscle in 8 weeks...I'd guess you could get back to similar levels of strength in a month or so

It might just be a "pump" factor, but for me I notice a size difference after missing just a few days in the gym. Last year when I went to Spring Training and took a week off, I came back and definitly lost some weight off my bench, and the same thing happened this summer when I went on vacation.

The good thing is, you'll be back up in no time, so keep working.

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

It might just be a "pump" factor, but for me I notice a size difference after missing just a few days in the gym.

That's not a pump factor, that is psychosomaticism.

As for you SJ69, there is a wonderful, partially unexplainable, phenomenon called muscle memory. You will regain your strength and muscle mass quickly relative to someone who never possesed that level of strength or mass prior to you.

i lost about a year due to back surgery. i regained what i had in the course of about 6-8 weeks. now im stronger than ive ever been.

Originally Posted by SJ69

I've been liftin' pretty steady for about 4 years now, with a couple 1-3 week lay offs. Recently I had to take a 8 week lay off and now I'm so depressed over my looses, I didn't think it would be that bad. Before my 8 wk lay off my max bench was about 300-305 and I was getting 225 for about 8-10.
Now I can barely get 240 up for one and I'm struggling with 205 for 5 reps. I also went from 195lbs to 182lbs I know everone is different, but if you had a long lay off how long did it take you to get back??
On a side note I wuz hoping the strange forearm pain I had when curling would have healed, no go there, keep the injuries AND loose the muscle, sux!

I was out of the gym for about 3 months, lost well over 20 pounds and about 50% of my strength. Normally, people dont lose that much of either in such a short time, but I was very sick. I couldnt eat and could hardly even drink water for a few weeks. It took me about 4 months to get it all back. Comparingly, I dont think it should take you more than a month.

Good Luck

I basically took this summer off to A) Concentrate on riding my bike, and B) I bought a house and that took up pretty much all my free time. But, I got back on the horse the beginning of October and I am just about back up to my old strength. Just stick with it. Your strength won't came back overnight, but you'll get there soon wnough.