Is it true that muscles can shrink if we stop exercising?

Getting a muscular body like a bodybuilder takes hard work and a high level of persistence. But after all the hard work and the profuse drops of sweat that have been shed all this time, is it true that muscles can shrink if we stop exercising?

Muscle can shrink after you stop exercising

During exercise, your body doesn't actually create new muscles but rather forges existing muscles to make them bigger and stronger. Regular exercise can also widen the vessels in order to facilitate blood flow to these muscle cells to stimulate them to be more active. As a result, your muscle mass will appear bigger and clearer.

Now when you stop exercising, blood flow will no longer be focused towards the muscle cells. The body also begins to adjust to your new lifestyle changes by re-narrowing the body's capillaries. The reduced blood flow to the muscles causes the muscles that were formed to shrink and reduce in mass instead of completely disappearing.

Pete McCall, a physiological exercise expert at the American Council on Exercise says over time the muscles realize that they no longer need to store too much energy. As a result, the glycogen stored in the muscles decreases which can result in decreased muscle mass (muscle atrophy) due to not having been used for long due to lack of physical activity. Therefore, the muscles will appear to shrink, not completely disappear, after stopping exercising.

Just imagine a balloon being filled with air, then slowly deflating it again. That's about the effect it has on the muscles after you stop exercising. Once the muscles have shrunk, it takes a little extra effort to get them back to the surface.

So, does the lost muscle turn into fat?

Keep in mind that fat and muscle are two different things. Muscle cells and fat cells are two different types of cells so they do not have the ability to swap positions. When you stop exercising, muscle mass does decrease and shrink. However, that does not mean that muscle turns into fat.

If you experience accumulation of fat in a part of your body that was previously muscular, this is a sign that you are consuming more calories than your body needs. Excess calorie intake is converted by the body into fat stores, which are also stored in various parts of the body that were previously muscular.

You have to be diligent in exercising and eating healthy if you want muscle mass to remain durable

To maintain your muscle mass, the key is to continue to exercise regularly and promote a healthy and balanced diet. This healthy lifestyle can also prevent fat accumulation in the body.

Try to keep exercising 10 to 20 minutes a day to keep your muscles strong. Simple exercises such as stretching, push ups and sit ups besides building muscle, it can also help your body's flexibility.