Muscle Preservation – Here Are the 5 Most Important Tips

How do you maintain muscle mass? Tough times with unusual circumstances!

The more days go by with social distancing measures and closures of all recreational and entertainment venues, the more out of balance we become.

If all of this also leads to us losing hard-earned muscle mass, there’s only one word for it—DISASTER.

That’s why today I’d like to give you 5 tips on how to stop muscle loss!

 

Tip 1 – Don’t stop working out

One thing is certain—if you stop training completely for more than two weeks, you risk a decline in both aerobic and anaerobic performance, as well as muscle mass loss (1–5).

On the other hand, physical activity signals to our system that muscle mass is still considered essential and should therefore be preserved. Numerous studies show that we need exercise not only to build muscle mass but also to maintain it (6–10).

Which type of training is most effective?

Virreal et al. (6), for example, investigated this question. They placed their subjects on a severe caloric deficit and, dividing them into three groups, had them perform the following workout three times a week:

• 60 minutes of cardio
• 60 minutes of strength training
• 75–90 minutes of a combination of both

There was no statistically significant difference in fat loss among the groups. What differed significantly, however, was the change in muscle mass. While the group doing cardio training lost 2.7 kg of muscle mass within 26 weeks, the group doing only strength training was able to reduce that loss to 1 kilogram.

My advice
: To maintain muscle, you need to regularly challenge it with physical exertion. Strength training is considered the most effective method for this.

 

Tip 2 – Eat Enough Calories

Just like muscular stimulation, caloric intake also acts as a kind of signal and control mechanism for the gain or loss of body mass.

Studies on so-called VLCDs (Very Low Calorie Diets) in the range of 400 to 800 calories per day report that a significant portion of the lost body weight consists not only of fat mass but also of lean mass—and, in this context, muscle mass (11, 12). Even a moderate calorie reduction of just 20% of your actual daily requirement leads to a decrease in lean body mass (13).

My advice
: Make sure you consume enough calories to meet your daily needs and thereby preserve muscle mass. A diet tailored to your needs can help maintain not only muscle mass but also your physique.

 

Tip 3 – Eat Enough Protein

In addition to water, muscles consist of a significant proportion of protein structures. The constant synthesis and breakdown of protein in the body (called protein turnover) affects our muscles just as much as when we intentionally try to damage them through strength training to trigger new adaptations. These arguments suggest that an adequate intake of protein must also be recognized as a key factor for optimal muscle preservation.

How much do we need?

Assuming physical activity, a recent study currently suggests that muscle mass can best be built with a threshold amount of about 1.6 g of protein per day, provided that intake is well-distributed and comes exclusively from high-quality sources (14). Another study considers an amount of 2.0 g of protein per kilogram of body weight necessary to maximize muscle growth in trained athletes (15). For a calorie deficit, amounts ranging from 2.3 to 3.1 g of protein per kilogram of body weight are even recommended (16).

My advice
: If you want to maintain muscle as effectively as possible, aim for a protein intake in the range of 1.6 to 3.1 g per kilogram of body weight, depending on your calorie intake and the quality of your protein sources.

 

Tip 4 – Stay Healthy

Everything mentioned so far assumes you’re in the best possible health! Only when I’m healthy can I train and follow an optimized nutrition plan for maximum muscle maintenance.

We’re all well aware by now that exercise affects the immune system: while moderate exercise boosts immune function, intense exercise tends to suppress it.

Less well known is the fact that an immune system that is already weakened or strained by other demands significantly impairs recovery and, in this context, also the adaptive processes resulting from training (17).

My advice
: Do everything necessary to stay healthy during this time!

 

Tip 5 – Don’t Let Stress Get to You

Psychological stress is not only considered highly immunosuppressive (18), but it can also hinder muscle maintenance. The stress hormone cortisol is to blame for this, due to its overall catabolic (breakdown-inducing) effect on the body (19).

While a physiologically normal level of cortisol performs vital functions in the body, an excess of cortisol poses a problem—including for muscle mass. Early studies as far back as 1970 (20) already showed that elevated cortisol levels promote muscle breakdown and, in particular, the decline of type-2 fibers. It is precisely these types of fibers that we need for fast, intense strength performance as well as for hypertrophy. Recent studies confirm the link between elevated cortisol levels and a tendency toward muscle loss (20, 21).

My advice
: Stay balanced even during these difficult times! Stress originates primarily in the mind. Ultimately, it determines not only the strength of your immune system but also whether you lose or maintain muscle mass.

 

Best regards
, Holger Gugg

www.body-coaches.de

 

 

Sources

  (1) https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2017/04000/Resistance_Training_Induced_Elevations_in_Muscular.1.aspx
  (2) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-013-0031-3
(3) https://www.medicaljournals.se/jrm/content/abstract/10.2340/16501977-1961
  (4) https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1984.57.6.1857
(5) https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1993.75.4.1444
(6) https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1616338
(7) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946208/
(8) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421125/
  (9) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30870215
(10) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19819352_Resistance_weight_training_during_caloric_restriction_enhances_lean_body_weight_maintenance
(11) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8383636
(12) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28630601
(13) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5161655/
(14) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28698222
(15) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28179492
(16) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28630601
(17) https://www.germanjournalsportsmedicine.com/archiv/archiv-2019/issue-10/the-role-of-the-immune-system-in-response-to-muscle-damage/
(18) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12909458
(19) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315033/
(20) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/569497
(21) https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/92/9/3553/2597859