If young, healthy guys do certain tough leg exercises before keeping one leg still, they might avoid losing muscle in that leg during the first couple of days of not using it.

If young, healthy guys do certain muscle exercises before having one leg kept still for a week, it doesn’t really help keep the muscle from shrinking — both those who did the exercises and those who didn’t lost about the same amount of muscle.

If young, healthy guys do a tough leg workout right before having one leg immobilized for a week, their muscles in that leg keep building protein faster for the first couple of days compared to if they didn’t exercise first.

If young, healthy guys do certain muscle-damaging exercises before their leg is immobilized, their muscles might waste away less—even if their muscle-building activity goes down. Without those exercises, lower muscle-building activity means more muscle loss.

If young, healthy guys do certain muscle-lengthening exercises before having one leg kept still for a week, their muscles don’t slow down making new proteins as much as those who don’t exercise — which might help prevent muscle loss.