{"id":38175,"date":"2017-05-17T11:15:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T15:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=38175"},"modified":"2021-05-13T10:09:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T14:09:31","slug":"skip-the-gym-out-of-shape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/skip-the-gym-out-of-shape\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens to Your Body When You Skip a Workout in the Gym?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"What
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No matter how dedicated you are to fitness, sooner or later, it\u2019s going to happen: You\u2019re going to skip a workout\u2026 and another\u2026 and another. Maybe you can blame a vacation<\/a>, a mile-high pile of paperwork at the office or just your run-of-the-mill funk<\/a>. Whatever the reason, before you know it, you’re out of shape.<\/p>\n

Neglecting the gym every once in a while is nothing to worry about \u2014 after all, sometimes your body needs to rest and recover<\/a>. But, when you hit pause on your workouts for more than a week, you might actually be throwing your fitness level into rewind.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The 25 Craziest Workout Excuses Trainers Have Ever Heard<\/a><\/p>\n

How Fast Will You Fall Out of Shape?<\/h2>\n

You worked hard to get fit, whether by logging regular runs<\/a>, or striving for new personal bests<\/a> in your bench press. When your workouts fall by the wayside, how fast you fall out of shape depends on more than just how much time you spent away from the gym. Your overall fitness<\/a> and the type of workout you\u2019re missing will also impact your losses, says James Ting, M.D., a board-certified sports medicine physician with the Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, CA.<\/p>\n

“Your max bench press will suffer before your 10K time does when you\u2019re slacking.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a general rule, the fitter you are, the longer it will take your muscles turn to flub, he says. Your physique doesn\u2019t like change; it\u2019s constantly trying to achieve homeostasis. So the longer you have been exercising (and the fitter you are), the more time it will take for your body to say, \u201cWell, I guess we don\u2019t need to build muscle any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s only been a week since you broke a sweat, don\u2019t stress. Whatever your workout history, it\u2019ll take more than seven days for your body to soften. But two weeks? You might not get away with that as easily. One Journal of Applied Physiology<\/em> study<\/a> suggests that easing up on your workouts for just 14 days can significantly reduce your cardiovascular fitness, lean muscle mass, and insulin sensitivity. Meanwhile, it can take two months or longer to see complete losses of your fitness gains, according to Ting.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Are You Crazy for Working Out While Sick?<\/a><\/p>\n

Endurance vs. Strength: Which Will You Lose?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Your body will react differently depending on whether you\u2019re skipping endurance exercise<\/a> versus strength training<\/a>, says exercise physiologist and trainer Marta Montenegro, M.S., C.S.C.S.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because your muscles contain both type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch) muscle fibers. Type I fibers contribute to endurance performance. Type II fibers are more powerful, and their \u201cfast-twitch\u201d capabilities help you power through high-intensity exercise<\/a> or strength training.<\/p>\n

During your day-to-day activities (like walking, talking, sitting at a desk, etc.), your type I fibers are contributing to the bulk of your efforts. But you really have to work to get your type II fibers to switch into gear. So, when you take a break from exercise, your type I fibers are likely still being used, helping to prevent them from breaking down. But some of your type II, fast-twitch fibers may be rarely, if ever used, if you aren\u2019t working out, she says.<\/p>\n

“Taking a break from exercise doesn\u2019t (and shouldn\u2019t) equate to gluing your butt to the couch.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 3 Fat-Blasting HIIT Workouts to Try Now<\/a><\/p>\n

That may explain why type II fibers tend to atrophy more quickly than type I fibers, she says. In other words, your max bench press<\/a> will suffer before your 10K time<\/a> does when you\u2019re slacking. If you\u2019re taking a break from strength work or high-intensity intervals<\/a>, you\u2019ll notice a huge difference when you finally do go back to the gym.<\/p>\n

Endurance athletes aren\u2019t entirely out of the woods, though. When you perform regular cardio<\/a>, your type II muscle fibers gradually change from type IIx to type IIa, Montenegro explains. Type IIa fibers are key to endurance performance: They are powerful, but don\u2019t tucker out as quickly as IIx ones, meaning they can help power your long runs. When you take a break from your long runs and rides, this essentially reverses, and your percentage of type IIa fibers decreases, while your IIx fibers increases, she says. So prepare to tire out way faster.<\/p>\n

\"What
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Breaks Aren\u2019t All Bad<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before we terrify you into heading to the gym right now<\/em>, know that it\u2019s actually good for you to skip workouts from time to time. In fact, if you train hard , taking a break can actually help improve your strength<\/a>, muscle development<\/a> and aerobic fitness, says certified strength and conditioning specialist Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., assistant editor-in-chief of the Strength and Conditioning Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 7 New Recovery Tools You\u2019ll Love to Hate<\/a><\/p>\n

Days off can also improve your mental fitness. \u201cYour body and mind both need time to recover for overall health and in order to achieve optimal performance,\u201d says Ting. \u201cFailing to recognize this and training too hard can lead to fatigue<\/a> and, ironically, underperformance, the so-called overtraining syndrome<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re sore<\/a> more than 72 hours after a workout, you\u2019re feeling ill<\/a>, or your fitness progress is stalling, it may be time to back off. How long should your break last? \u201cThere’s no hard and fast rule for how long a \u2018break\u2019 from exercise should be,\u201d Ting says. \u201cIt may be as short as a few days, but it\u2019s important to realize as well that it can also be up to one to two weeks without any significant detriment or loss in previous fitness gains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just remember that taking a break from exercise doesn\u2019t (and shouldn\u2019t) equate to gluing your butt to the couch and Netflix-binging. \u201cTaking up some light activity that isn’t part of your typical training regimen, such as yoga<\/a> or even a long walk or leisurely bike ride, can all constitute a \u2018break,\u2019\u201d Ting says.<\/p>\n

How to Jump Back Into Your Workouts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Depending on how long you took off \u2014 and lazy you were \u2014 you might not want to jump<\/em> back into your workouts, but rather ease into them. If you\u2019ve taken any more than a couple weeks off, you\u2019ll probably notice some differences. After a month or more, you\u2019ll definitely want to get started with a less-intense version of your regular workout, Ting says.<\/p>\n

“When it comes to getting back into shape, you do have muscle memory working for you.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is to back off a little for the first week,\u201d Schoenfeld says. \u201cChoose a weight<\/a> where you will be able to stop several reps short of failure<\/a> on your sets. The following week you should be able to train at your previous level, assuming the reason for stopping wasn’t an illness or injury.\u201d Meanwhile, if you\u2019re getting back into running<\/a>, start at a pace at which you can run comfortably and are able to speak in short sentences. After a week, try turning up the speed.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Blast Calories, Burn Muscle with Daily Burn’s Power Cardio Program<\/a><\/p>\n

It can be frustrating to exercise at anything less than your max effort, sure, but gradual is the way to go to prevent injury<\/a>. The last thing you want is to walk into the gym after a month off, try to squat your \u201cusual\u201d load, and throw out your back. (Hello, another month off.)<\/p>\n

Luckily, when it comes to getting back into your pre-break shape, you do have muscle memory working for you, Schoenfeld says. There are two aspects to muscle memory. One involves your ability to carry out movements in a coordinated fashion. Wonder why your first rep on the bench press looked so sloppy? It\u2019s because your body was learning which muscle fibers it needed to recruit, and which ones it didn\u2019t, to properly perform the exercise.<\/p>\n

Then second component of muscle memory involves your cells. \u201cMuscles have satellite cells \u2014 basically muscle stem cells \u2014 that help to drive protein synthesis<\/a>. Resistance training increases satellite cells and these changes remain for years,\u201d he explains. \u201cSo even if muscle is lost from taking time away for many years, a person can regain the lost muscle much more quickly after an extended layoff.\u201d Score.<\/p>\n

Exactly how long it takes will vary from person to person, but by and large, you can expect to be back in fighting shape in a few weeks.<\/p>\n

Want a no-excuses workout you can do at home? Try Daily Burn’s total-body Barre Harmony program<\/a> \u2014 free for 30 days! <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n