How fast do you lose your fitness?

You were on a roll. In a consistent workout routine. Feeling better, gaining strength and feeling confident in your routine. Then BAM! That little thing called life comes along and forces you out of your routine. Work projects, change in family routines, winter sickness and the list goes on. While this can initially feel quite defeating, the good news is your fitness won’t disappear overnight. 

So what exactly are the effects on your fitness level if you get out of routine and start missing time with your regular workouts? 

On this subject there hasn’t been a ton of studies done, but here is what the research suggests: 

The first thing you lose will be your aerobic fitness (cardio). 

After 10-14 days of inactivity you will lose between 5-15% of your aerobic fitness. 

After about a month you will lose even more fitness around 20-25% 

The good news is the better shape you’re in, the more fitness you will hold onto during longer  periods of inactivity. 

So what about strength? 

The even better news is loss of strength takes even longer than cardio. 

After 4 weeks of inactivity you will lose only about 10% of your strength. 

After about 3 months of not strength training you could lose about 50% of your strength. 

There are many factors however to keep in mind when it comes to either losing or gaining fitness, with some of the most important being your diet, sleep and stress. 

To sum it up, some breaks in our fitness routines can’t be avoided. We can be proactive though. We can keep in mind that its not a day or 2 of missed workouts, but when we let that defeat us and keep us out for much longer.

The best thing we can do is stay consistent with healthy lifestyle habits and by finding a sustainable fitness schedule and activity we can stick to, to help avoid burn out and injury. 

Until next time! 

Coach Chris