Article Link What happens to your body when you stop working out

[Cafelattee]

http://www.health.com/fitness/stop-exercising-effects

I bookmarked this article as a reminder for those days I really want to skip a workout

[superfit41]

Looks like a very informative article! Thanks for sharing!
Sherry

[Lannette]

Articles like that give me pause because so many people in our "if some is good more is better" society use them as an excuse for overtraining.

THIS is the other side of the coin. It's pretty long but can be scanned quickly.

[bubbles76]

I already know what happens to my body when I stop working out -- I get the opportunity to do workouts I haven't done in awhile I get to "shop" my collection and set new goals. I get to recharge. I have all my life to start and restart. Sometimes it can be a pain, but I'm going to focus on the positive. September severely derailed me with some performance goals I had, but I can either pout about it or pick up a little further back than where I left off.

[Cafelattee]

Originally Posted by Lannette

Articles like that give me pause because so many people in our "if some is good more is better" society use them as an excuse for overtraining.

THIS is the other side of the coin. It's pretty long but can be scanned quickly.

I overtrained/ didn't cross train and running ruin my ankles. I move everyday but somedays it might be a Cathe to the max and others its a 3 mile walk. I also will skip a workout if I haven't had enough sleep. I also consider power yoga a workout and do an hour a week.

So I like the idea its just about moving doing something each day

[Lannette]

Originally Posted by bubbles76

I already know what happens to my body when I stop working out -- I get the opportunity to do workouts I haven't done in awhile I get to "shop" my collection and set new goals. I get to recharge. I have all my life to start and restart. Sometimes it can be a pain, but I'm going to focus on the positive. September severely derailed me with some performance goals I had, but I can either pout about it or pick up a little further back than where I left off.

I love your attitude Bubbles!

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by Lannette

Articles like that give me pause because so many people in our "if some is good more is better" society use them as an excuse for overtraining.

THIS is the other side of the coin. It's pretty long but can be scanned quickly.

Lannette,

Thanks for posting this. It is exactly what I thought of when I read the article posted above. Nothing wrong with sharing that perspective for sure, but MY problem is the opposite. I struggle to take rest days. I know I need them, but am very unhappy when I have to. I get lectures all the time from my fitness buddies about doing too much. Working out is my joy, so not doing it is so hard for me.

[Lannette]

Originally Posted by Cafelattee

I overtrained/ didn't cross train and running ruin my ankles. I move everyday but somedays it might be a Cathe to the max and others its a 3 mile walk. I also will skip a workout if I haven't had enough sleep. I also consider power yoga a workout and do an hour a week.

So I like the idea its just about moving doing something each day

I like to move every day too.

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

Lannette,

Thanks for posting this. It is exactly what I thought of when I read the article posted above. Nothing wrong with sharing that perspective for sure, but MY problem is the opposite. I struggle to take rest days. I know I need them, but am very unhappy when I have to. I get lectures all the time from my fitness buddies about doing too much. Working out is my joy, so not doing it is so hard for me.

Just want to point out that the only reason overtraining is on my radar is because I excelled at it in my younger days. Jeanne Marie, I so understand your struggle. I can definitely be the same way.

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

... MY problem is the opposite. I struggle to take rest days. I know I need them, but am very unhappy when I have to. I get lectures all the time from my fitness buddies about doing too much. Working out is my joy, so not doing it is so hard for me.

Ditto. I have had to learn the hard way that I MUST REST! I move on rest days, but nothing strenuous. There's a big difference between not working out for a few days and still moving around, stretching, etc. and sitting on your bottom all day for years on end. I'd love to see talk of fitness move more fluidly within the spectrum of activity/movement, rather than gravitating to extremes.

[laurajhawk]

I think it's interesting that the effects mentioned in the original article start to be noticeable at 10 days to 2 weeks. This is NOT an argument against rest days or even rest weeks! It's motivation not to let a day become a week become 3 weeks ...

Years ago I was a sporadic exerciser. I'd work out pretty regularly for months and then quit for months. I always journaled my workouts, and one day I decided to analyze the pattern (I'm an engineer). What I discovered was that if I quit for a few days up to about 10 days, I came back and exercised as regularly as ever. If I quit for 2 weeks then I didn't come back (until months went by, I felt fat/lazy/bored/whatever, I made a new resolution & restarted etc.).

That fits with the OP's article because according to that, you're likely to feel a decrease in endurance in about 2 weeks, and that's going to make workouts harder. It's going to increase the dread of even thinking about working out and for me, that leads to a long hiatus. So *for me*, it's key not to let any rest period go that long without doing at least gentle workouts.