What Happens to Your Body When You Abandon Your Fitness Routine: 4 Eye-Opening Changes
ABSTRACT
Discover the surprising effects of abandoning your fitness routine. Learn how quickly cardiovascular fitness declines, the impact of aging on fitness loss, and why flexibility decreases fast. Personal training insights are included for a comprehensive understanding of fitness recovery and maintenance.
KEYWORDS
Fitness routine
Abandon workout routine
Cardiovascular fitness loss
VO2 max decrease
Lose flexibility quickly
Fitness loss aging
Effects of quitting exercise
Sedentary lifestyle impact
Recovering fitness after break
Personal training insights
Cardio Fitness / Photo: Andrea Piacquadio
Introduction
Need the motivation to stay consistent with your workouts or personal training sessions? Check out the eye-opening results of ditching your fitness routine for a while (from the fitness article "9 Unexpected Things That Happen When You Abandon Your Workout Routine").
1. Cardiovascular Fitness Starts to Tank After One Week
Aerobic fitness is defined as the ability of the body to transport and utilize oxygen from your blood in your muscles. This measure, also known as VO2 max, decreases after as few as one to two weeks of inactivity, says Danielle Weis, doctor of physical therapy with Spring Forward Physical Therapy in New York City. “The functional capacity of the heart also decreases. After three to four weeks of bed rest, your resting heart rate increases by four to 15 beats, and blood volume decreases by five percent in 24 hours and 20 percent in two weeks.”
Personal Trainer Wisdom: While these numbers may vary from person to person, I've found similar occurrences with my personal training clients. Why does this happen so quickly? With a sedentary personal and professional lifestyle, losing what you gained doesn't take much. You have two choices: Return to the African fields and be chased by lions (good cardio fitness, active lifestyle, greater appreciation for life, high risk of death), or schedule your personal workouts every Sunday and adapt your schedule appropriately (good cardio fitness, doing your best to be more active, appreciation for life while thinking about the lions you're avoiding, less risk of death).
2. You Lose Cardiovascular Fitness More Slowly If You’re a Seasoned Exerciser
If you’re new to fitness and recently started working out (less than six months), you’ll lose fitness faster than someone who’s been exercising a year or longer, says Brad Thomas, M.D., orthopedic surgeon and UCLA chief of sports medicine. “You’ll lose up to 40 percent of your cardio fitness, but your fitness VO2 max will still be higher than someone who’s never exercised,” he says. For example, you take two people: one who’s exercised regularly for two years and the other for only two months. If both stop working out, they will both lose all their gains quickly — by about six weeks. “But the well-trained athlete will lose about 40 percent and then plateau,” says Thomas. So trained athletes lose less fitness than sedentary people who’ve only recently started exercising.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: I've seen this more with my post-pregnancy personal training clients than with other populations. Women with the most active lifestyles before and during their pregnancies recover 33% faster.
3. Flexibility Loss Occurs Quickly
You lose the benefits of flexibility quickly if you take any substantial time off from stretching, says Michele Olson, professor of exercise science at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama. “After a bout of flexibility exercise, the muscles and tendons begin to retract to their typical resting length — particularly if you sit during your commute regularly and/or sit at a desk at your job.” Olson notes that you’ll notice a loss of flexibility in as few as three days, with even more pronounced changes occurring at the two-week mark.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: The keywords here are "flexibility exercise." Although you may need to lengthen the muscle, you may also need to activate or strengthen other muscles to maintain your new range of motion. Stretching is usually never enough to restore the balance of strength and flexibility and can lead to strains when done improperly.
4. Aging Affects Fitness Loss
You lose strength and overall fitness twice as quickly as you age, says Dr. Brad Thomas. “It’s largely due to hormone levels. As we age, we have lower levels of human growth hormone (HGH), which makes it harder to recover.” We also lose our ability to handle stress and recover from the resulting stress hormones, such as cortisol. As we get older, this same mechanism results in greater fatigue after a workout. Older athletes take longer to recover from workouts in general, according to several studies, including a 2008 article published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: I know what you're thinking...and taking an HGH supplement isn't the answer to offsetting the effects of age. Do the work naturally, and your body will produce sustainable results.
What happens to your body when you abandon your fitness routine?
Picture Credit:
MSN.com-Are you ready to stretch your workout beyond the chair again?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MICHAEL MOODY, PERSONAL TRAINER
As an author, a personal trainer in Denver, and podcast host, Michael Moody has helped personal training clients achieve new fitness heights and incredible weight loss transformations since 2005. He also produces the wellness podcast "The Elements of Being" and has been featured on NBC, WGN Radio, and PBS.
Michael offers personal training to Denver residents who want to meet at the 2460 W 26th Ave studio….or in their homes throughout LoHi (80206), LoDo (80202), RiNo (80216), Washington Park (80209), Cherry Creek (80206, 80209, 80243, 80246, 80231), and Highlands (80202, 80211, 80212). Michael also offers experiences with a personal trainer in Jefferson Park (80211) and Sloan's Lake (80204, 80212).
If you’re looking for a personal trainer who can curate a sustainable (and adaptable) routine based on your needs and wants, Michael is the experienced practitioner you’ve been looking for. Try personal training for a month…your body will thank you!
