Q. When a person stops weight training does the muscle turn to fat?
A. No – This is often seen as the case, however the weight gain is usually a result of a decrease in training not being accompanied by a decrease in calorie consumption.
Other factors:
- The muscle loss is due to the fact that when we stop training there is simply no stimulus for it to stay.
- More muscle mass = Higher metabolism – 1 pound of muscle can require upwards of 20 calories per day (A loss of 5 pounds of muscle = 100 calories per day)
- The individual is also losing out on the calorie expenditure both during and after the training sessions (Recovery phase)
All of the above can equate to a drop of calorific expenditure of over 3000 calories a week – Easily resulting in a Fat gain of 1+ pounds a week.