Losing Muscle Mass

[gacquav1]

Hey guys I have a quick question,

I'm a long time reader and this is my first post, so sorry if its not up to par!

Recently I have been diagnosed with a stress fracture in my back. Because of this I am not able to lift for a few months. I was wondering if anyone knew what was the best way to conserve muscle without lifting. I've been lifting for about 3.5 years now; 20 yrs. old, 160, 5'7". Is there any thing I can change or add to my diet to slow down muscle loss?

 

[safety]

Add lots of protein. Tuna is great. Skinless chicken is great... Protein supplements such as Whey Protein Isolate (better than concentrate) would help. Lean cuts of meat (beef steak etc) are all good sources of protein.

I've always liked the way creatine made my muscles feel, so I would reccomend that if you're not opposed to it. It also is good for your brain

(i take an average of 2.5 grams of creatine a day... some days up to 5 grams, sometimes 0 grams for a week or so)

I'm not sure I can offer any support for the following statement but I'll say it anyways: If you take time to consciously think about the muscles in your back, envisioning yourself doing the lifts and feeling the burn of muscle exertion, it will help maintain muscle mass. Just slowly imagine yourself doing your excercises, and feeling the effort of every muscle. You don't need to tense the actual muscles in your back just concentrate focusing on how they feel.

This is like how basketball players envision the ball going in the hoop... the more you think about it in your mind, the better you are in real life. It's like practicing in your mind, you will see real results. you can improve at an activity by thinking about it and I bet it would help maintain your muscles

my 2 cents

 

[who_can_say]

If you can do *any* weights, I would try and do a maintenance routine. Low weights, high reps. Or try doing exercises that only require body weight.

As for things like creatine, Im not sure how effective they would be given that you're not lifting weights. And I have read *nothing* about creatine being good for your brain.

If anything, I would probably lay off any supplements other than a normal multivitamin.

 

[safety]

As for things like creatine, Im not sure how effective they would be given that you're not lifting weights. And I have read *nothing* about creatine being good for your brain.

Here's a start: Link to BBC article
Like anything in the science world, the views could change
Eggs are good for you/Bad for you, etc
But creatine does seem to be beneficial. I find benefit from it.
Google creatine brain and there are many articles

 

[Pingu]

yeah im a vegetarian and I find my memory improves significantly when im taking it

 

[PinkStrawberries]

Increase your physical activity. This will preserve lean body mass, decrease fat stores, and stimulate protien synthesis.

High resistance work outs should do the trick.

 

[gacquav1]

sounds good, thanks for the comments!

 

[TRPPNASS_DSCOMONKE]

also try some isometrics. just flex the muscles real hard and hold it for like 8 seconds, work all the way through your body. repeat as neccesary. i do it and it works!

 

[Mehm]

I would honestly consider putting all of your focus into healing your back. Maintaining your current muscle mass might not be the best way to accomplish this. I'm assuming that the lifting had something to do with the stress fracture in the first place. Massage and gentle yoga will strengthen your spine, so you can eventually gain back your pre-injury strength pain free.

good luck