I've quit the gym due to my college exams. It will take like 3 months before I go back. Please give tips on maintaining muscle mass. I do have access to body weight exercises and if there is anyway to maintain the weight that I used to lift please do tell.
-
1Go ahead and do those bodyweight exercises. Whatever you do will help.– AlecCommented Jan 21, 2018 at 18:04
-
Have a look at something like the recommended routine on reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness It's a pretty good resource for bodyweight stuff.– Dark HippoCommented Jan 22, 2018 at 10:58
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Don't underestimate calisthenics.
Find an intense body-weight training program and keep up with the right nutrition.
It's entirely likely you'll even gain muscle as it sounds like it will be an entirely new form of training for you.
(paid program: Athlean Xero
find tons of free routines and ideas by "youtubing":
calisthenics/body-weight programs)
If you've got exams coming up don't drop your exercise. It'll help keep you energized and positive to rock those tests.
Edit
Another good resource for calisthenics - Mark Lauren, You are your own gym.
-
I agree with this answer, calisthenics is a great way to train (even if you do have time to go to the gym). I would suggest thenx on youtube if you want inspiration and guides on how to start doing calisthenics instead of payed programs. It's also very important to understand learning calisthenics takes a lot of time, you won't be doing a proper front lever or planche in 3 months time.– MJBCommented Jan 22, 2018 at 13:53
-
Calisthenics is definitely good when you can't train at the gym (even at the gym I concentrate on body weight exercises), but I think OP should explain more about his current workouts and how much muscle mass he actually has to maintain, as he states he wants to maintain the mass he uses to "lift".– Y12KCommented Jan 23, 2018 at 10:35
I sometimes have to spend months away from a gym, and you will lose muscle mass and strength if you were training with heavy weights: there's no way around it. Your body adapts to the challenge and if there's not as much resistance then it doesn't need to keep all that expensive muscle tissue alive.
But you can mitigate the loss and you can make it so that when you get back to a gym you're not starting from zero. Even just keeping the discipline and routine locked in is critical.
- Eat protein, and don't let your diet suffer.
- Get a set of rings, and if you can a 53lb kettlebell. Armed with those you can do lunges, pullups, snatches, suitcase deadlifts, dips, swings, and presses. That an an ab wheel can fit in a milk crate, can all be had for under $100 USD (in 2018) brand new and will last decades.
It's also a great opportunity to focus on things like plyometrics and pistol squats. A lot of single leg stuff tends to not happen in a gym but you can use your gym-less time to work on mobility and strength on both sides of your body.
