Posted by Winston Salem | Posted in winston salem fitness | Posted on 27-06-2010
Fitness industry experts call the phenomenon you are describing DETRAINING. Basically, if someone trains aerobically or anaerobically (any physical activity), their body produces more enzymes for the muscles to grow and be maintained. When he / she stops working out, nevertheless, these enzymes break down, leading to muscle atrophy.
This can occur as soon as one-and-a-half weeks after a person stops training or being physically active.
Within two weeks, a personal can lose up to 80 percent of her/his gains.
Detraining can be influenced bylevel of fitness, how long and intensely one has been exercising, and the length of inactivity.
Studies conducted on aerobic fitness have shown that fit individuals who exercised consistently for a year and then stopped exercising for three months lost half of their aerobic fitness during their hiatus.
The scientists also found that those who just begun an fitness program, who were exercising for 2 months and then stopped for 2 months, notwithstanding, lost all the cardiovascular gains they had previously made.
Here is the good news – muscle has memory, so when someone resumes their exercise regimen, their muscles will retrain more rapidly! Almost all coaches actually recommend that athletes take 2 to 4 weeks off to detrain.
Detraining aids in muscle recovery by strengthening muscle fibers when retraining begins, so that the body can reach an even higher level of fitness than before the break.
When returning from a period of inactivity, it is important to start at a slower and less intense rate of exercise and to elevate activity gradually. A individuals can also maintainfitness level by not stopping exercise altogether.
If someone is exercising at a certain level, the person can decrease that level and can still keep her/his fitness capacity.
For instance, if someone works out 3 to 4 days each week, the person can decrease her/his exercise regimen to 1 day each week for a few weeks and still maintain the samefitness level.
So, the term “use it or lose it” does truly apply tofitness level. Fortunately, decling the amount of time spent on training can still maintain fitness. And, when a break is taken, returning to a conditioned level can be accomplished relatively rapidly.
