5 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Stop Exercising
As much as you may try to consistently work out and be active, more often than not as life fluctuates so does your dedication to your physical fitness. Maybe you started the week with great aspirations only to get hit by extra work at the office, a big life event, or changes to your personal life. When this happens your priorities may have shifted, leaving your body neglected and the gym far from your mind. It’s natural to adapt to changes in your life, but quitting your workout routine has some major and often immediate impacts on your health. Experts call this phenomenon “detraining” and the impacts are greater than a couple pounds gained.
Not yet convinced? Check out the immediate and long-term impacts that quitting your workout routine has on your body and mind.
1. Your blood pressure soars
A man exhausted after a workout | iStock.com
This change is practically immediate as your blood pressure is higher on days you exercise than on days you don’t. When you skip any form of physical exercise your blood vessels quickly adapt, increasing your blood pressure a couple notches after just two weeks of missed gym sessions. Within just one month of neglecting your body, your arteries and veins stiffen, sending your blood pressure reading back to where it would be if you’d never left the couch or started working out in the first place. If you suffer from high blood pressure, a month or two back at the gym will lower your numbers and have your blood vessels functioning efficiently.
2. Loss of strength
Man showing his muscles | iStock.com
Even after three days of skipped physical activity, your body will begin changing. Your muscle mass will start to decrease, fibers will lose their fat burning capabilities, and you’ll begin to lose that strength you took so much time to develop. You won’t be able to immediately look in a mirror and see your body shrinking, but when you finally hit the gym again your muscles will get fatigued faster than before. Muscles that are rarely used in your day-to-day life like your abdomen are the fastest to lose tone, while muscles like your hamstrings which you use to walk around will decline at a slower pace.
3. Body weight and fat gains
An overweight man eating chips | Sean Gallup/Getty Images
If you go from being a gym rat or a doing a strict marathon training program to a completely sedentary lifestyle, you’ll quickly notice increases in body fat. One study found that highly-trained athletes who quit working out suddenly had increases in body fat after five weeks. To avoid weight gain, you’ll need to alter your diet to take into consideration your lack of physical activity. That means saying goodbye to dessert, the bread basket, and those extra high-calorie toppings. By controlling or reducing your calorie intake, you can prevent weight gain with or without the gym.
4. Your blood sugar jumps
A man who’s chosen to stop working out | iStock.com
After just five days of trading the treadmill for your couch, your blood sugar will rise. Typically your blood glucose rises after you eat and then drops down as your muscles and other tissue absorb the sugar they need for energy. If you’ve been skipping the gym, your post-meal blood sugar levels will remain elevated. Continuously increasing blood sugar readings can actually raise your risk of heart disease and diabetes, but after just a week of regular exercise your post-meal blood sugar will drop dramatically.
5. Your mood will shift
Depression setting in after man hasn’t been exercising | iStock.com
Every fitness addict knows the elated feeling post-workout. You feel light, healthy, clean, and strong. Exercise has the ability to improve your mood and actually suppresses chemicals in the brain that cause depression by releasing other chemicals that lessen depression. Not only will you miss that post-workout high, but you are more likely to feel grumpy and self-conscious about your physical appearance as you lose strength and the pounds start adding up.
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