Staying the Fitness Course

What Happens When You Take A Break From Exercising?

When you exercise on a regular basis, you not only gain physical benefits, but neurological ones, as well. Though these gains may take a few weeks to notice, they disappear just as quickly once the exercise stops. It takes twice as long an inactive period to get back into shape. For example, if you stop your normal exercise routine for a period of two weeks, it will take up to four weeks to resume your previous level of fitness.

Why Do Fitness Levels Drop After Two Weeks Of Inactivity?

Even though the body needs time to recover after an intense round of physical activity, completely skipping workouts for a period as short as two weeks is enough to qualify you as "out of shape."

A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, showed that ceasing exercise for two weeks is enough to greatly reduce insulin sensitivity, lean muscle mass and cardiovascular fitness. During that time, a measure of cardiovascular endurance known as "VO2 Max," will begin to drop at a rate of half a percent a day.

In a related study, researchers determined that not only can a person's VO2 Max drop seven percent after a 12-day period of inactivity, but enzymes associated with endurance levels can drop by 50 percent. It was also discovered that endurance cyclists experienced a 20 percent drop in VO2 levels, following a four-week period of inactivity. Even well-trained athletes lost all VO2 gains after being inactive for four weeks.

Does Inactivity Cause Muscle Loss?

Although cardiovascular gains deplete quickly during periods of inactivity, strength gains do not recede as quickly. Newly-made gains appear to stay in place even after a several-month period of inactivity. Researchers studied a group of untrained men who participated in a strength-training program for a period of 15 weeks. In the middle of the program, the men took a 3-week break, with no decrease in strength levels after the training program resumed.

For most however, this is simply not the case. Take a two week vacation, then hit the gym... Then you tell me. Aging also plays a key role here; the older we get the more quickly our body loses strength, muscle mass and endurance. Mid-40s you can anticipate the loss of five tenths percent lean mass annually-do nothing, and pile on fat mass in its place.

Skipping exercise can increase the risk of death, also. Most experts recommend exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes per day, five days per week. Simply doing this is enough to reduce your risk of death from many factors by 19 percent. By increasing the recommended exercise rate to seven days per week, the initial 19 percent increases to 24. A related study proved that individuals who led sedentary lifestyles have a much greater risk of death due to heart disease as compared to those who exercise on a daily basis.

Should You Ever Skip A Workout?

No matter what your fitness level, there may be times when it is necessary to take a small break between workouts. If you have a fever, are suffering from an illness such as the flu, are injured, or are experiencing fatigue, you may need to take a step back from working out. Consider this time to be
a sort of "recovery process," but avoid the habit of consistently missing exercise sessions-it's a slippery slope-once you miss too many, too often, it becomes an easy recipe for giving up. Mostly because, the hill one must re-climb to get back to where you were, post break, is a steep one.

No matter what type of exercise you perform, remember that something is always better than nothing. If you become bored with your current workout routine, don't just simply throw in the towel. Experiment with other activities, until you find one you like. If you love running but are beginning to find it monotonous, try yoga instead. Sometimes this type of alteration is just what you need to ignite your passion for fitness and prevent you from stopping entirely. Simply tell yourself to "show up" for workouts, even if the energy and drive is suspect. Then, given you "showed up," you might as well push as hard as you can, based on how you feel, drive and energy wise that day.

Face it, not all workouts are the same. Some are superhuman, some subhuman. The point in the end, is that you walk away feeling better about you, due to the "At least I did not bail" factor. And, most importantly, remind yourself to "eat clean 95 percent" of the time. If you do these two simple things, chances are very good that you will win!