Do you ever stress over that week off of training you took on vacation? Or just deciding you need to step away from structured fitness for a while (1, 2, 3 or even 4 weeks)?! Many people stress over “losing results” when they take a break. So, let’s chat about that.
It’s true that if you wait long enough some fitness may be lost. Fitness, though, pertains to both cardiovascular and muscular fitness. So, let’s dissect them each.
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may notice some decline after 2-4 weeks. After 2-4 weeks (especially if you’re a runner) you may notice a slightly lower VO2 max and running may feel harder overall due to a decline in stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped from the heart per beat) and reduced blood plasma volume. However, this can be recovered fairly quickly, with the general consensus being within 10-14 days.
Strength gains, however, are more resilient and take longer to significantly decline, with noticeable losses occurring after 2-3 months of inactivity. Muscle mass and strength resist degeneration caused by inactivity; it takes several months for losses to occur. Over time, muscle fiber recruitment begins to decrease and muscle mass starts to decline, leading to a reduction in muscle. However, similar to cardiovascular fitness, muscle gain can happen fairly quickly. You can regain lost muscle mass relatively quickly due to “muscle memory,” often taking about half the time it took to initially gain that muscle, with consistent training and proper nutrition.
