ABE: Always Be Exercising

We all have lapses when it comes to exercise. No matter how important we know it is, and no matter what we do to try and fit it into our schedules, sometimes we just end up missing a few days. Or sometimes a few weeks. And while we have looked before at what happens to muscle mass after an extended period of inactivity, this article here tells us what happens to multiple aspects of our fitness when we take a break.

And, it turns out, the ones who have the most to lose are those who hit the gym most often.

A mildly healthy individual may take a couple months to experience the severe decline in fitness that an elite athlete experiences after only a week.

There are some fascinating details and numbers in the article, but cutting exercise for only brief periods affects everything from endurance to “aerobic enzymes” linked with mitochondria, a rise in blood sugar and blood pressure and coordination.

There is even a noted potential 10% decline in VO2max after only 12 days, and that is the #1 indicator of someone’s health.

So does that mean every time you skip a day you need to beat yourself up? Of course not. It happens to everyone, even those who are professional trainers. But it does mean that you need to try to keep those days few and far between. If you miss tomorrow, just make sure you don’t miss the rest of the month, too.

 

 

(Photo by Marcolm on FreeDigitalPhotos.net)