When Do You Get Out of Shape?
Almost everyone goes through periods where they train a little less.
But how long does it really take before you start losing fitness or strength?
Rest is important
Are you often tired or feeling low on energy between training sessions? You might be training too hard or too often without giving your body enough time to recover.
Rest is essential — your body needs time to rebuild and get stronger. Make sure to schedule enough rest days or lighter training sessions in your routine.
This applies to both strength training and cardio athletes.
Are you an experienced athlete?
If you’ve been training consistently for years, taking a short break won’t set you back as much as if you’ve just started.
That’s because your muscles and cardiovascular system already have a higher level of adaptation.
Loss of muscle mass and strength
Many athletes start to lose strength after about two to three weeks of rest.
Of course, it depends on why you’re taking time off:
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If you’re sick, muscle loss can happen faster.
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If you’re resting because your body needs recovery (but you’re otherwise healthy), muscle loss often doesn’t really start until after about five weeks.
This is supported by research published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
However, sport-specific muscles can start to weaken within just two weeks.
Loss of cardiovascular fitness
If you do a lot of cardio, your fitness tends to decline faster than with strength training.
One study showed that four weeks of inactivity caused a 20% drop in VO2max (the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during exercise).
The good news? Cardio fitness is generally faster to rebuild than muscle mass!
If you’re new to training
If you’re still relatively new to exercise or not training very consistently, taking a break can have a bigger impact.
It’s important to maintain consistency — it’s the key to building new habits.
Taking time off too early can make it easier to lose the progress you’ve made.
Muscle loss — some good news
The good news is that newly gained muscle doesn’t disappear as quickly as you might think.
Research shows that even six months after completing a four-month training program, up to 50% of muscle gains remained. That’s quite significant!
Another study found that participants who took a three-week break during a 15-week bench press program still achieved the same level of muscle growth as those who trained continuously.
Loss of cardiovascular fitness
For beginners as well, cardio fitness tends to decline faster than muscle mass.
Research shows that VO2max improvements gained over two months can be completely lost after just four weeks of rest.