Effect of Training Cessation on Muscular Performance: A Meta-Analysis
Method
Seven databases searched; 103 of 284 potential studies met the inclusion criteria
Question: the effect of resistance-training cessation on muscular performance
Standardized mean differences (SMD) weighted by inverse variance; moderators: training status, sex, age, duration of cessation
Key Findings
Resistance-training cessation harmed all components of muscular performance:
submaximal strength: SMD -0.62 (95% CI -0.80 to -0.45), P < 0.01
maximal force: SMD -0.46 (-0.54 to -0.37), P < 0.01
maximal power: SMD -0.20 (-0.28 to -0.13), P < 0.01
Dose-response: the longer the cessation, the larger the loss (the abstract gives the relationship, not week-by-week percentages)
Loss was larger in older people (> 65 years)
Loss in maximal force and maximal power was larger in inactive people than in recreational athletes
Practical Application
Pooling 103 studies, stopping resistance training lowered every strength quality: submaximal strength most (SMD -0.62), maximal force next (-0.46), maximal power least (-0.20), with losses growing with the length of the break and larger in people over 65 and in the inactive than in recreational athletes. Strength endurance goes first; peak power holds best.
Inference, not tested: because submaximal strength decays fastest, the first thing a returning athlete notices is fewer reps at a given load, not a lower one-rep max.
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: during unavoidable low-load periods keep one strength touchpoint a week rather than dropping the gym entirely — the meta-analysis shows what full cessation costs, not what a minimum dose preserves.
Limitations
Meta-analytic aggregation; individual-level kinetics vary
Resistance training only — says nothing directly about endurance detraining
Moderator subgroups (older, inactive) are coarse; the recreational-athlete group is the closest to an endurance athlete's gym work
How this entry was checked and changed
Content correction 2026-09-27
Week-by-week strength losses ("2 weeks ~3-7%", "4 weeks ~7-10%", "8+ weeks 10-20%") -> not in the abstract, which reports SMDs and a dose-response relationship only; removed.
"VO2max drops 7-8% by 4 weeks", "LT power drops ~10% by 4 weeks", "1 session/week of 30-50% volume slows decline", "minimum-effective dose 1-2 sessions/week", "elite: 2 sessions/week minimum" -> not from this paper (it covers resistance-training cessation only); removed or relabelled as house practice.
"Highly trained lose MORE in relative terms" -> the abstract says the opposite direction for the groups it compared (losses larger in inactive people than in recreational athletes). Corrected.
Tier "4-5 (Elite)" -> mixed 0-2 (inactive, recreational, older adults); Sport general -> strength.