Every person who has ever visited commercial gyms, such as Koko Fitness, will find themselves in a slump. You will, too, no matter how dedicated you are to physical fitness. You skip one day for one reason, skip the next day for another reason, and the reasons kept piling up.
Before you know it, you find yourself out of shape, out of breath, and out of motivation. But don’t despair yet because your body will appreciate the rest and recovery period, in a way.
Just don’t wallow in it. You have to get back into the gym ASAP because here’s what happens when you skip one too many workouts.
Your Fab Muscles Turn To Flab
The speed with which you fall out of shape depends on several factors including:
- How much time was spent away from the gym
- How fit you were before allowing your workouts to fall by the wayside
- What exercises were performed and how long these were done
The fitter you were before skipping on your workouts, the longer it will take for your fab muscles to turn into flab. Your body will resist the changes in exercises at first, thanks to its constant striving for homeostasis.
You will find that your fab muscles are still in place for, say, a month after you have completely stopped with your exercises. But afterwards, your body will accept the new status quo and start changing its muscle-building processes.
In a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, your body will experience significant reductions in cardiovascular fitness, insulin sensitivity, and lean muscle mass within 14 days. But it will take two months before nearly-complete losses in your fitness gains are experienced.
Your Body Decides Which One Goes First
Which one goes first after skipping workouts: Your cardiovascular endurance or your muscular strength? It depends. Your body will react depending on which types of exercises you’re skipping on.
Keep in mind that muscles contain two types of muscle fibers:
- Type I, the slow twitch type, which contribute to cardiovascular endurance
- Type II, the fast-twitch type, which assists in high-intensity interval training and strength training. These are more powerful for this reason.
Type I muscle fibers are used in daily life activities, such as walking, talking and sitting so these aren’t as demanding in terms of exercise. Type II muscle fibers, in contrast, need to be worked for them to switch into gear.
This means that when you stopped working out, your Type I muscle fibers are still being used so their breakdown can be prevented. But your Type II muscle fibers can largely break down. By the time you get back into the gym, you will see the difference with the first barbell lift.
The bottom line: Rest but get back to the gym ASAP!