Muscle memory

[calfzilla]

After taking an extended layoff from the gym, when one gets back into it how long does it take to regain the muscle you once had?  3 mos 6 mos? 
I'm natural have been training only sporadically the last 2 years, lost some size but not all.  Just wondering how long the muscle memory phenomena takes on average. 

[LatsMcGee]

It all depends on your diet and for how long you had been training before my friend.

[wes]

Comes back pretty fast if you`re training and eating consistantly.

[io856]

Comes back pretty fast if you`re training and eating consistantly.

he could be training and eating poorly consistently...

[Knowledge]

I believe that "muscle memory" is a highly overused term.  It is a misinterpretation of what it actually means. Therefore, in my opinion, the way it is used here is more of slang.

[jpm101]

Hard to say how long. The muscle system can revert back to  near (though not matching...that will take more future effort on your part) the top level (size & strength) it held before interrupting training. And  fairly quickly. Has been debated if the former development was helped with drugs, than it may take longer. That I do not know. Anyway the body will seek that same prime lever of development as a natural choice or selection. If your going to hit it hard, with serious workouts, than probably with-in a 2 to 3 month range. Using your being a natural as a rule of thumb. All this in regard to personal diet, training, recovery time and mind set.

 If a person is blessed with great genetics, than pretty darn fast. Have seem some of these guy's  make impressive body changes day by day. Gaining muscular weight and losing fat goes alone with the process with these types. Of course, if your older now, than snapping back into shape will take a little longer.

Calling the term "muscle memory' slang is way too incorrect to even discuss. Good Luck.

[Knowledge]

Muscle memory in it's proper usage refers to brain-muscle memory of a repeated movement as in a golf swing, jump shot or tennis serve.  Even here it is referred to as a vernacular term.

[PANDAEMONIUM]

Comes back pretty fast if you`re training and eating consistantly.

x2

In my experience, there have been times when, for a variety of reasons, I've more or less taken a few months off from the gym.  If you've built a solid enough base (=at least a few years of constant, dedicated lifting and attention to diet), it won't take more than a month to build back up to what you had before.  Again, that's just from my experience, which is based on taking no more than a few months off.  Take a few years off, it's likely a totally different story.

[JasonH]

IMO it all depends on experience - I've been training for fifteen years and if I take a two weeks off for a holiday it only takes me another week/ten days on top of that to get back to full strength again. If you haven't been training very long then there probably won't be a significant amount of muscle to begin with to have a "memory".