Yahoo Answers: Does Muscle Build Up More Easily After Atrophy?
Question
So I was into weight training last year, during high school. Then I graduated and lost my access to a gym, and most of my muscle with it. I was wondering if muscle builds up faster the second time around, if it's been developed before and then atrophied (as opposed to building it up for the first time).
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In a word, yes, your body builds muscle faster after it's atrophied. It's called "muscle memory." There was an infamous case of muscle memory back when Arthur Jones, creator of the Nautilus system, used a young and just rehabbed Casey Viator in his studies on high intensity training. Viator, a Mr America, had been in an industrial accident and had lost considerable muscle size. In fact, he lost over 30 pounds as a result of the accident and subsequent allergic reaction to one of his medications.
Jones, the marketer, sought to use Casey as a case study of the effectiveness of his Nautilus equipment and high intensity training techniques. In 28 days, Viator gained 45 pounds.
It was very easy for Viator to regain the weight that he had lost. Most of the weight gain was from muscle memory, not due to the efficacy of the training equipment or method.
An "average" man who had never attained that sort of size would have gained relatively little weight in such a short period of time.
Note, though, that gaining considerable muscle mass in a short period of time is possible, though very difficult. It's much easier to regain size than it is to build it in the first place.
This is why guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger can leave competition for YEARS (he retired in 1975 and returned to win the Mr Olympia again in 1980) and train for literally a few months and regain their previous stature.
So, long story short, it's far easier to regain size than it is to build it in the first place. You should be back in top form within 2-3 months of hitting the gym hard.
