Have you stepped back from your exercise routine recently? If you’re all set to get back into shape and confident you’ll ace it, hold up. It’s crucial to first understand how long it takes to get back on track and the smartest, safest ways to do it, straight from the experts.
Fitness Setbacks After a Week Off
Taking a week off from your workout routine can lead to a decrease in cardiac output, which is the volume of blood your heart pumps per minute, by three to 10 percent. Michele Olson, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama, points out that this short break might actually set your fitness progress back by three weeks.
How Quickly Can You Get Back in Shape
Getting back into shape after taking a week off really varies from person to person, as everyone’s starting point is different. A lot depends on factors like how intense and frequent your workouts were before the break, the kinds of exercises you did, how long you’ve been off, and your future fitness goals.
Two to Four Weeks for Fitness Rebound
On average, you’re looking at about two to four weeks to regain your form, according to Live Strong. Pete McCall, an expert from the American Council on Exercise, likens a motor unit in a muscle to a spark plug, explaining that activating it is what gets the muscles going.
Easing Into Intense Workouts
Despite the urge to jump back into intense workouts immediately after a break for vacation or recovery, Pete McCall advises easing back into your routine. He suggests dedicating four to six workouts, roughly spanning two weeks, to gradually rebuild your previous cardio levels.
Breaking Down Your Workout Return
Start with your first few workouts at half your usual distance and intensity, then amp up to three-quarters for the next set. Moreover, Olson recommends splitting your workouts into segments rather than doing them in one go.
For instance, if a 30-minute run is part of your regular routine, consider breaking it into two 12-minute runs in your first week back, incorporating dynamic stretching and hydration breaks in between.
Why Taking Breaks Can Be Beneficial
The American Council on Exercise suggests taking a break from exercising every six to eight weeks to allow your body time to repair and strengthen muscles between workouts.
Muscle Mass Recovery Time
If you’ve paused your exercise routine for a month, it typically takes about two weeks of consistent workouts, both in time and intensity, to regain the muscle mass lost during the break.
New to Fitness? See Results in Two Weeks
Jamie Logie, a personal trainer and wellness expert, notes that beginners can start to feel the benefits of exercise within just two weeks of starting their routine.
Getting Back In Shape After a Break
According to The Manual, getting back into shape after a break is achievable within a month with disciplined effort and a realistic assessment of your current fitness level and goals. It’s also important to note that, according to pro bodybuilder Jeff Nippard, regaining muscle typically takes half the time you were away from training.
Strength and Cardiovascular Health Decline
When you pause your exercise routine, your muscle strength tends to stay with you a bit longer than your cardiovascular health. However, if you stop training for two to four weeks, you’ll start to notice a decline in strength due to a drop in neuromuscular efficiency, which is essentially how well your brain communicates with your muscles, as explained by Michele Olson.
After this initial period, your muscle cells will start to decrease in size.
Lifting Weights Post-Break
To ease back into lifting, the first four to six sessions—spanning about two weeks—should be focused on gradually returning to the weights you were accustomed to. Pete McCall suggests lifting half your regular weight for the first few workouts, then moving up to three-quarters.
Adjusting Reps and Sets
An alternative way to progress is to reduce the number of reps or sets while using your usual weight. For instance, if you normally do lunges in three to four sets with 15-pound dumbbells, start with a warm-up set using 12-pound dumbbells, followed by two sets with the 15-pound weights, recommends Olson.
Flexibility and Mobility Recovery
For those who love their yoga sessions or mobility drills, here’s a bit of uplifting information: taking a short break from your routine might not set you back as much as you think. The recovery of flexibility and mobility often happens quicker than regaining endurance or strength.
Why Flexibility Comes Back Faster
This is mainly because improving flexibility and mobility involves physically manipulating tissues rather than inducing changes at a cellular level, according to Jacque Crockford, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise.
Moreover, if you stayed active in other ways during your break, you might find your flexibility and mobility bouncing back even faster.
Setbacks from Illness or Injury
On the downside, if your break from the gym lasted one or two weeks due to illness or injury, you might experience significant drops in both mobility and flexibility. Unfortunately, it could take two to four weeks to recover these losses.
So, while the path to regaining flexibility and mobility can be relatively smooth under certain conditions, setbacks from health issues might demand a bit more patience and effort to overcome.
The Challenge of Regaining Power
Power tends to behave differently from other fitness components—it’s the first attribute to decline when you take a break and the hardest to regain once you resume training.
The Cost of Ten Days Off
McCall highlights a striking fact: just 10 days without activity can lead to a setback of four to eight weeks. This is because power heavily relies on the nervous system’s efficiency in activating muscle motor units quickly.
Approaching Power Training Post-Break
Given that power-focused exercises, such as sprints, plyometrics, and Olympic lifting, impose significant stress on the body, it’s crucial to approach your comeback with caution to minimize injury risk.
Power Training Intensity
McCall advises starting with half your usual intensity for the initial three to four weeks post-break. Following this period, you can ramp up to three-quarters of your usual intensity for the next two to four weeks, ensuring that power training does not exceed two days a week. This gradual reintroduction helps safeguard against injuries while slowly rebuilding the lost explosiveness.
Exercise Post-Injury Recovery
If you’ve paused your fitness routine to recover from an injury, it’s crucial to approach your comeback with extra caution. McCall emphasizes the importance of not rushing the process.
The Risk of Rushing Your Recovery
Jumping too quickly back into your workouts could extend the duration of your injury, potentially making it a long-term issue. It’s better to err on the side of caution and give yourself an additional week or two of rest if you’re unsure about your recovery status.
Differentiating Pain from Discomfort
A useful method to determine if you’re ready to resume exercise is to differentiate between pain and discomfort. According to McCall, while exercise can naturally cause some discomfort, it should never result in pain.
When to Pause Your Workout
If you experience sharp or acute pain during your workout, or if something simply feels off, it’s a clear indication from your body that you need to stop and give yourself more time to heal. Paying attention to these signals and allowing for extra rest could save you from prolonged, not-so-fun recovery times.
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Kate Smith, a self-proclaimed word nerd who relishes the power of language to inform, entertain, and inspire. Kate's passion for sharing knowledge and sparking meaningful conversations fuels her every word.