Title: How Do You Maintain Muscle and Strength Gains? - Organic Authority
Headings: How Much Exercise Do You Need to Maintain Muscle and Strength Gains? (The Answer May Surprise You!)
How Much Exercise Do You Need to Maintain Muscle and Strength Gains? (The Answer May Surprise You!)
Christmas Comes Early!
What Do You Mean by Volume and Intensity?
Is This For Reals?
What About Every Other Week?
A Caveat: How Old Are You?
The Bottom Line
Related on Organic Authority

Content: Age seems to have an impact on how often you need to hit the gym if you want to keep packing your current guns. In a 2011 study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham two groups of participants lifted weights 3 times a week for 16 weeks. The first group was younger, ages 20-35, and the second group was older, ages 60-75. Of course, marked gains in muscle mass and strength were made by both groups. But when they switched into a 32 week-long maintenance mode, something interesting happened. They divided both the younger and older participants into 3 groups. The first group stopped training altogether. The second group reduced their strength training to one-third (around twice a week) of the amount they had been performing. And the third group reduced their strength training to one-ninth (around once a week) of the amount. Unsurprisingly, the first group who didn't lift lost muscle mass and strength, regardless of age.