If you love to work out, finding the time can be mentally and physically difficult. I like to strength train four days a week and incorporate cardio by boxing or running, so when I’m too sedentary, my body becomes restless, and my focus goes out the window. If I catch a cold or have a lot of busy holiday planning, I feel guilty for delaying my routine for a week or two. But sometimes, slacking off on your fitness can be good for you — and as long as you’re really out of exercise, you won’t lose your hard-earned gains.
Just as it takes time to build your base, it also takes time to lose it. We gain strength and endurance by a principle called progressive overload, which involves adding slight intensity to workouts over time as your body adjusts to the original level. “The beauty of progressive overload is that as we get stronger we can go back and forth as needed to adjust,” says andy sternA personal trainer and co-founder rumble boxing. Each day, you can—and should—tailor your workout to your current needs. Rehabilitating an extremely sore or injury? Just pick up a little lighter; No big deal.
So, we shouldn’t look at our fitness in a two-week period: “Training is playing a long game,” says Stern. Think back to when you were building your base. It may take several weeks or months to make sufficient progress and sometimes even years to notice any changes in your body composition. “When you look at the big picture, missing a week or two due to illness and recovery won’t detract from your progress if you were lifting weights consistently for months prior,” he says. But how long does it really take to lose your strength and stamina?
Strength and aerobic capacity respond differently prevent (interruption of your training), but in general, you can maintain strength for long periods of inactivity. according to a 2020 studyThree weeks of training had no effect on muscle thickness, strength or athletic performance in teenage athletes. According to Jesse Shaw, DO, associate professor of sports medicine at Western States University, this is also typical for the general population: It usually takes three to four weeks to begin to notice a decrease in strength performance with a complete cessation of activity. “The good news is that unless you’re bedridden like astronauts or in a weightless environment, activities of daily living and physical exertion may take a long time to notice any significant reduction,” he explains. Given this, the outlook may be even more optimistic: according to a 2022 reviewIndividuals who had previously trained to their maximum strength maintained their gains even after a 16 to 24 week abstinence period.
However, aerobic capacity declines faster than strength, because it is “more sensitive to short training periods,” says Shaw. nearby two weeks leaveCardiopulmonary function begins to decrease. You may notice that running or cycling feels much harder than before, and your heart rate increases rapidly.
Overall, the time it takes to lose fitness is different for everyone, but the most important factor is how regularly you train. “The more trained you are, the more resistant you are to training,” says Shaw. Age is also a factor: A 2005 study found that older seniors (74 to 86 years) showed significant declines in strength and balance after two weeks of exercise compared to the younger age group (60 to 73 years), which showed no significant change.
