Jun 12, 2021 09:00:00

How quickly does your body weaken if you stop exercising?

by

Fiore Power

It is no longer common sense that 'exercise is good for your health', and although there are many TV programs and catchphrases that recommend exercise, it is difficult to continue exercising. Associate Professor Dan Gordon, an expert on exercise and cardiopulmonary function, and Associate Professor Justin Roberts, who teaches health and exercise nutrition, explain the changes that occur in the body when you 'quit' the exercise you started once.

How quickly do we become unfit?
https://theconversation.com/how-quickly-do-we-become-unfit-160500

Associate Professor Gordon and his colleagues point out the fact that if you take a break from training, your body will slacken much faster than you can train. It is important to understand this fact that the human body grows by exceeding the 'familiar load' regardless of ability such as cardiopulmonary function and muscle strength. According to Associate Professor Gordon and others, when the human body is overloaded, adaptability works, tolerance is acquired, and it reaches a higher level.

The time required to be healthy depends on various factors such as exercise intensity, age, effort, and environment, but even with just 6 interval trainings , the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2Max) that reflects aerobic exercise capacity is There are also research results showing that it increases and the sugar accumulated in the cells can be efficiently digested. On the other hand, although strength training improves muscle strength in about 2 weeks, it seems that muscle size does not change unless it is continued for 8 to 12 weeks.

Associate Professor Gordon and his colleagues explain the question, 'How does the body change when you stop exercising?', Taking as an example a marathon runner who can run a full marathon in two and a half hours. This marathon runner spends 5-6 days a week training, has a total mileage of about 90km per week, and has been training for 15 years by then.

According to Associate Professor Gordon, if the marathoner quits training altogether, the decline in motor function will begin 'within a few weeks.' A 1986

study showed that VO2max decreased by about 10% in the 4 weeks immediately after quitting training, and although the rate of decrease decreased in the long term, it was '10 in 4 weeks' for a certain period of time. It will continue to decrease at a pace of '%'.

The reason VO2max continues to decline is that blood and

plasma volumes are reduced as the load on the heart and muscles disappears. Studies have shown that blood and plasma volumes decrease by as much as 12% in the 4 weeks immediately after training is stopped, and plasma volume can even decrease by 5% within 48 hours of stopping training. .. However, your blood and plasma volumes will not be lower than when you were not exercising, so you will not be in a situation where you shouldn't have started exercising.

Like the marathon runners in the example, high-level athletes can maintain a high level of VO2max in the end, even though their VO2max drops sharply in the first four weeks. On the other hand, according to a study published in 2021, VO2max of the general public 'returns to the pre-training level within 8 weeks'.

When it comes to muscle strength, the average person has been shown to significantly reduce the weight they can lift without training for about 12 weeks, but it's called 'muscle memory,' which means that you can maintain some strength during training. Muscle training is basically meaningful because the body has functions.

Thanks to 'muscle memory', even muscles that have once weakened recover as soon as they are trained --GIGAZINE

Associate Professor Gordon and his colleagues explained that the reason why muscle strength decreases if you do not exercise for a long time is that 'it is because you do not stress your muscles.' If the muscles continue to be free from intense stress, not only will the number of muscle fibers decrease, but the number of muscle fibers used for exercise will also decrease. It seems that if you do not exercise for a long time, the number of muscle fibers used for exercise will decrease first, and if you do not train for 2 weeks, the muscle mass itself will not decrease, but the number of muscle fibers used during exercise will decrease. It seems that it will decrease by 13%. Associate Professor Gordon and his colleagues describe this phenomenon as 'muscles are lazy.'

In conclusion, Associate Professor Gordon et al. 'Even if you make every effort to be healthy, your cardiovascular capacity and muscle strength will begin to decline within 48 hours of you stop exercising. By then, there is a 2-3 week grace period for the cardiovascular system and a 6-10 week grace period for muscle strength. ' It seems that the length of the period until it declines does not depend on age or gender, but it seems that the longer you continue exercising, the longer it will be.