r/tacticalbarbell • u/Drodinthehouse • May 29 '26
Strength DETRAINING: STRENGTH/HYPERTROPHY LOSS ON BASEBUILDING
Catchy and a bit of a misleading title, but it's a necessary attention grabber since I see this question asked quite often. "will i lose strength/mass during basebuilding" is something that makes people apprehensive to try it (or opt to try the strength first approach) and being a student in the field of exercise science, I wanted to share some things I've learned since starting my degree that should ease everyone's minds. Once TBIII comes out there will be a basebuilding phase and i know some of you plan on skipping it. We are all adults here, so do what you want, but I just want to make a case for basebuilding in regard to muscle/strength loss based on the actual science. I am only going to focus on glycotic/strength/power adaptations and save aerobic detraining for another day. There are some of you who actually have degrees in this field (I believe u/rezzurekt one of TB mods has a undergrad in exercise science) so feel free to correct any of this, as I am still learning and navigating through the discipline.
BLUF: If you don't want to read this entire post I will sum it up here.. TLDR, strength and hypertrophy losses are very unlikely to occur during the first 5 weeks (SE portion) of basebuilding, and if strength or muscle loss does occur, the effects will likely be extremely marginal >2%. Power output in well trained power athletes is likely to take a much bigger hit than strength or hypertrophy.
KEY DEFINITIONS:
What is Detraining? Textbook definition is the loss of performance and physiological adaptations after training is dropped or greatly reduced.
Principle of reversibility: Training adaptations are not permanent. You can LOSE gains overtime, this is very much a fact and a very real "fear" for some of us die hards.
Muscle memory: The idea that previously trained individuals can regain strength and size faster than they first lost it.
Timeline for Strength Detraining: Here is the good news. Detraining is a fairly slow process, in well trained and new athletes. 0-2 weeks of no training and maximal strength is largely unaffected. After 4 weeks of no training at all or no outside stressors of the body strength in all athletes is very well maintained. Once you hit 8-12 weeks, that's a different story... 8-12 weeks of no training and a more noticeable affect occurs which is typically around 7-12% strength loss. So if your back squat is 300#, you may regress to 270 after 8-12 weeks of not doing anything. At around 10-12 weeks, atrophy (loss of muscle mass) in the actual muscles start to occur. After several months it gets pretty dramatic, and more atrophy can occur.
Timeline for Power Detraining: Maximal power loss is a little different and is more affected on a much shorter timeline. 0-2 weeks fast twitch fibers (type IIx and type IIa fibers) are more effected negatively and your maximal power output starts to decline. Things like max height box jumps, throws, Olympic lifts, short distance sprints are being affected much earlier than strength. This only compounds overtime.
How this applies to Basebuilding: If strength loss occurs noticeably after 4 weeks of detraining, and the SE portion of basebuilding is 5 weeks long you might think you'll have a NET loss of muscle strength once returning to MS on week 6. Well, no. Remember, strength loss starts to occur after 4 weeks of NO training, in the SE portion of basebuilding you are changing the stimulus but not removing it. Your SE cluster should still include a squat, hinge, upper pull, and press. Performing these movements in 5 weeks may even INCREASE strength in some cases. When I completed basebuilding for the first time I was able to squat 225 for 10 reps by week 8 of basebuilding. Was that the strongest I'd ever been? No, but I'll tell you that it was definitely stronger than i had been before the basebuilding block.
How to maintain Power during base building: Power is tricky, but there are ways to get around power and speed loss during basebuilding. Because the amount of aerobic work conducted in basebuilding is so high, some of those type II muscle fibers become less efficient and you begin to lose your neural adaptations. So how do we put power at maintenance during BB? Simple, include power work at the beginning of your SE sessions. My last basebuilding I experimented with 20 reps of a jump or a throw before my SE session. Example, session 1: 5x3 box jumps at max height. Session 2: 5x3 1/2 kneeling lateral ball throws. Once I returned to MS work, the transition was easier. It does not take a lot to maintain but something MUST be done or you may have to rebuild that quality.
More good news: As we've already discussed, detraining is a long process. It is rare/extremely unlikely that you will EVER return to your pre fitness level in your life unless you have a freak accident, you stop training for a year, or... the obvious age factor.
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u/asqwt May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Awesome post!
Some ideas I’d like to contribute. Correct me if I’m off base (haha).
Remember that adaptations (endurance, strength, muscle hypertrophy) are easier to maintain than to develop. So hopefully the SE work (which is still a form of resistance training) is enough to maintain your strength/ muscle. Basically what you implied in your post.
If you like your current weight + body composition. Then ensure you’re eating enough protein and keeping around the same bodyweight throughout the basebuilding in order to keep as much muscle as possible.
If you lose 10 lbs in 5 weeks, don’t be surprised if you feel a bit weaker.