Winston Salem Gyms : Fitness – Be Certain To Use It Or Lose It?

June 16th, 2010 by Winston Salem, under winston salem gyms. No Comments

Fitness industry specialists call the phenomenon you are describing DETRAINING. Basically, if someone trains aerobically or anaerobically (any exercise), her/his body produces more enzymes for the muscles to grow and be maintained. When she / he stops working out, nonetheless, 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, an individual can lose up to 80 percent of his/her gains.

Detraining may 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 people who exercised consistently for a year and then stopped exercising for three months lost half of their aerobic fitness during their hiatus.

The researchers also found that those who just begun an exercise program, who were exercising for 2 months and then stopped for 2 months, nevertheless, lost all of 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! A lot of  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’s important to start at a slower and less intense rate of exercise and to raise activity gradually. A person 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 per week, he / she can decrease her/his exercise regimen to 1 day each week for several weeks and still maintain the samefitness level.

So, the term “use it or lose it” does truly apply tofitness level. Fortunately, reducing the period of time spent on training can still maintain fitness. And, if a break is taken, returning to a conditioned level can be accomplished relatively rapidly.

Tags: exercise, Fitness, Fitness Tips