How to Keep Your Gains During Quarantine (Or Any Time You Can't LIft)

These are trying and uncertain times for many of us. Does that not sound like every email you have written the last 30 days or what? In all seriousness though, these really are unique and trying times. It’s particularly tough for those of us who were in a really solid rhythm with our fitness and are being forced to adapt quickly.

The most common concern I have heard since this started has to do with losing muscle. I empathize with this because who the hell would want to lose something they worked so hard to gain. While the financial ramifications are not in the same universe, you can think of losing muscle a lot like taking steps backward with a project or business. You put a ton of time and energy in and would hate to see yourself lose progress or momentum. It’s very understandable.

Worry not. There are things you can do to hold onto your gains even with no gym access.

Before we get started, you won’t find “ spend thousands of dollars on home gym equipment” on this list. While equipment purchases are generally sound strategies, it is not a practical recommendation for many at this time, so it won’t make the list.

Everything you will see here requires no equipment.

Let’s start with the big rocks.

Tip One: Eat Enough Food:

It is possible to gain muscle at almost all calorie intake levels.

but building muscle optimally requires additional energy resources for recovery and tissue repair.

If building and preserving muscle is of primary importance I RECOMMEND eating at or slightly above your bodies TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

PRO-TIP: Many of you are likely moving less due to COVID-19 related lifestyle modifications. Your MAINTENANCE calories have likely come down slightly (primarily due to reductions in neat) if you are going to try to eat at MAINTENANCE or above, expect that number to be a bit lower than normal.

Tip Two: Focus on Protein and Protein Timing:

The nutritional parameters required to optimally build muscle are almost identical to those required to optimally maintain muscle.

While nutrient timing is often seen as "splitting hairs" If ever there was a time to "split hairs", it may be right now. Here are some actionable parameters you can aim for each day.

Aim for 0.7-1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.
Try and split those feedings up across your day (three to four feedings is better than one to two).
Try and ensure each serving of protein is adequate enough to turn on MPS (muscle protein synthesis) 0.4 g/kg/meal as an example. [1]. I have found a good place to start is around 25-30 grams for women and 30-40 grams for men split across four daily meals.

Tip Three: Get Some Serious Sleep

Sleep plays a vital role in promoting recovery, managing stress and hormone production (PARTICULARLY those that play a role in body composition and PERFORMANCE).

It is for these reasons we can say sleep impacts muscle growth both directly and indirectly. It is also vital for maintaining body composition [4].

While many of us have no problem getting additional sleep right now, it's worth covering.

Aim for 7-9 hours per night.

Tip One: Train Closer to Failure

Training to failure and high amounts of stress do not make for a good long term combination. That being said, if you are able to monitor your nutrition and get adequate sleep training to near failure (even with novel exercises) is likely a good option.

Training closer to failure increases motor unit recruitment [2]. This is an effective tool to stimulate muscle tissue in the absence of heavier, more efficient loading, something that is made easier by traditional gym equipment.

Aim to leave 0-2 rir (reps in reserve) on most sets if you can.
Try to achieve higher intensities by focusing on proper technique, tempos, and control rather than simply doing sloppy reps until you run out of steam.

Tip Two: Focus on Eccentrics

While all parts of a muscle contraction play a role in hypertrophy (muscle growth), if we were to highlight one as having the most potential to stimulate hypertrophy it would likely be the eccentric [3].

Eccentric's, or "negatives" as they are often called can easily be accentuated or highlighted by simply slowing down and controlling the lowering portion of most lifts, for EXAMPLE

Lower yourself down more slowly on pushups, lunges, pull-ups, squats, and more.
The muscle is "lengthening" or getting longer whilst performing eccentric work - so be careful of high velocities.
Additional muscle damage can be associated with eccentrics so soreness is normal.

Tip Three: You Can Still Apply Progressive Overloading Principles

While it may seem counterintuitive at first, you can still apply a progressive resistance stimulus to your body with minimal to no equipment.

You just have to reframe the way you look at "progressive overload". While we typically view this as adding more weight to the bar, here are some other ways you can program progressively more challenging training stimuli.

Add more reps/set to bodyweight exercises.
Do an exercise with good technique for more time.
Increase the duration of the eccentric.
Add in an isometric for 3-4 seconds before or after the set.
Add more sets to an exercise each week.
Shorten rest periods to enhance fatigue and increase motor unit recruitment.
Increase the velocity of concentric work to increase motor unit recruitment.
Incorporate modalities like sprints that require high levels of muscle recruitment.

Resources:

[1] Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, Schoenfeld BJ, Henselmans M, Helms E, Aragon AA, Devries MC, Banfield L, Krieger JW, Phillips SM. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2017.

[2] Nóbrega, Sanmy R, and Cleiton A Libardi. “Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary?” Frontiers in Physiology, Frontiers Media S.A., 29 Jan. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4731492/.

[3] Franchi, Martino V, et al. “Skeletal Muscle Remodeling in Response to Eccentric vs. Concentric Loading: Morphological, Molecular, and Metabolic Adaptations.” Frontiers in Physiology, Frontiers Media S.A., 4 July 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5495834/.

[4] Nedeltcheva, Arlet V, et al. “Insufficient Sleep Undermines Dietary Efforts to Reduce Adiposity.” Annals of Internal Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 5 Oct. 2010, www.nc