Borja Yus, personal trainer: "If you take a 2 or 3-week break from training and notice that you're losing muscle, don't worry."

Borja Yus , a personal trainer and TikTok content creator, has explained how long it actually takes for the body to lose muscle when you stop training. He explains that a two- or three-week break doesn't pose a risk to muscle mass, although it can create the sensation of losing volume.

In a video posted on his profile ( @borjayus ) , the specialist clarifies: “Let’s say you take two or three weeks off from the gym for vacation or because you’re sick and you start to notice that your muscles look smaller or even feel less defined. Well, there’s good news, even if during this time you feel smaller, it’s not muscle you’re losing, but glycogen.”

Muscle glycogen , as Yus points out, is responsible for muscles looking full and defined . "As soon as you return to the gym, a couple of workouts will fill it up again," he emphasizes. This means that visual loss during a short break is due more to the reduction of energy reserves than to the destruction of muscle fibers.

The role of muscle memory

The trainer also clarifies what happens during longer breaks: “If you spend more than three weeks away, you're likely to start losing muscle. But there's more good news: muscle memory is real. Your body remembers the muscle you had, so getting back to where you were will be much faster and easier than when you first built that muscle .”

With this message, Yus encourages people not to give in to frustration after periods of inactivity : "If you've missed a few workouts lately, don't let your mind trick you into thinking you've lost everything, because that's just your body dysmorphia talking." A clarification intended to reassure those who associate any break from training with an immediate loss of results.