You may remember Hilary Swank’s role as the nicely-muscled boxer in Million Dollar Baby. In the latest issue of TIME, she was asked how she got "rid of all that muscle" that she put on in order to play that role.

Swank’s response reveals a truth about body-building: "I just stopped working out five hours a day and stopped eating 210 grams of protein a day, and slowly - it took a while - the muscle just went away".

Contrary to popular myth, muscle does not turn to fat. A person who works out and then stops will simply return, eventually, to their genetically-determined build. Hilary Swank looks the same as she did before taking on the boxing role.

Of course, a person who stops working out but eats too many calories will gain fat. But muscle doesn’t become fat even with less activity. It simply shrinks.

I saw Million Dollar Baby and Hilary looked great. But it should be remembered that she had the time to devote to training and access to the best personal trainers, just as any big-time actor does. For most of us regular working schmoes, we have to balance our workouts around full-time jobs, family, etc.

Wouldn’t it be cool, though, to have access to all that time and advice?