Can protein and creatine save your musculature?

[Ottora]

One thing got me wondering. If you stop training, can protein help from losing muscle mass? Or maybe creatine could help to maintain the muscle mass when you stop working out as much?

 

[Lev Butlerov]

None of these would help. Creatine would play no role whatsoever, since it only increases the levels of ATP, so it does not contribute to muscle building directly. Regarding protein, it is a nutrient, but it will be useless if you do not train. Most of the muscle loss takes place due to lack of training. The body is a smart machine, and if it sees that you are not using those muscles, it will get rid of them. Therefore, taking protein will not help – you need to train. If you can not train a lot, do at least 1-2 sessions per week at maximum intensity – this will help keep the muscle mass and send a signal to the body that you are actually using it.

 

[stevesmi]

if that was true then every fat american you see shopping at walmart and buying tons of steak and chicken would be ripped right?

you need to workout to stimulate the muscles, you can't just sit on your ass eating steak and chicken all day and magically gain muscle sorry

 

[SteveMobsterG]

Maintaining muscle still requires stimulus. Some training as opposed to none.