Losing fitness is easier than getting it. As with training the different physical qualities, that is, strength, speed, endurance and flexibility, the body adapts positively to the effort produced by regular exercise, the improvements obtained are losing when activity is stopped. It is estimated that this decrease in functionality occurs from the first 8 or 10 days without training and that at 3 months 30% of aerobic capacity has been lost. the summer it is a time of year when training stops often occur.
In the first days after the interruption of exercise the changes are very slight however as the weeks go by the effects gradually increase. The factors of which depends on the speed of loss are: age, type of training, previous physical condition and time spent exercising, as he explains Margarita Alonso, From the clinic Modify Physiotherapy, In Oviedo. “It’s not the same to accumulate years of training to stop doing it alone a month after you started in the gym; in this case the loss will be noticed much sooner.”
It will also influence the lifestyle that is adopted during the time of interruption of exercise. “If during downtime what we do is lie on the couch the loss will be much faster than if you keep a life somehow active, e.g. walking”.
Another factor to consider is the reason for the interruption of the activity. If the cause is an illness or injury the loss will be faster because the effort of the organism was directed fundamentally to the recovery of the principal disease.
Skills that are lost first
The physical qualities that are first lost are strength and aerobic capacity, followed after others such as power, flexibility and coordination, as Alonso points out. “When you stop exercising you lose too much muscle and this space is colonized by fat cells. Cells are created and destroyed based on demand. If we exercise the body creates muscle with power and shape, if we do not ask the body for this function because we do not exercise this space is occupied by fat.
Professional athletes often perceive before the consequences of lack of exercise due to the intensity of the training they carry out. and the degree of control over their capabilities and outcomes. “They work with very tight values with what they immediately perceive a loss of seconds, for example, in a race while the amateur athlete needs more time to be aware of this decline.”
Athletes used to working endurance also take longer to perceive the loss, as is the case, for example, in marathon runners. On the other hand, those who set in motion very impulsive muscle fibers, which intervene for a short time but bear a lot of load, in the case of weightlifting, will become aware much faster, explains this physiotherapist.
José Ramón Bahamonde Nava, degree in Physical Education, doctor in Sciences of the physical activity and the sport and professor in the faculty Father Ossó, of the University of Oviedo, Make it clear that “Fitness is not lost or gained over and over again. It is part of a process of constant change that occurs throughout the practitioner’s training life. We get in shape because we train the right way and we lose shape because it’s a logical thing to do when we stop training. “
Importance of giving rest to the body
Trying to always be in top shape is a utopia. And both Alonso and Bahamonde emphasize the importance of giving the body the rest it needs. “The dynamics of training loads tell us that to progress we must train and rest and there are optimal times where we are interested in being fitter, in which we train with more intensity and less volume with optimal breaks so as not to injure ourselves, and other times where we need to maintain a lower level properly to them without losing all gains , and we will train with more volume and less intensity, “explains Bahamonde.
Recovery of form
The recovery of fitness when returning to training will again influence the starting level of the person and how long he has been without training.
“Years of training mean that people need less and less time to return to previous levels of training when it resumes. In any case, it will not be the same to train the different abilities of strength, endurance, flexibility or even speed, ”Bahamonde explains.
For example, in strength training after two months of work significant changes and improvements of up to 50% can be perceived and if the training persists it continues to increase.
If a long time has passed without training the improvements and adaptations will be slower. “When you leave only a few days or weeks (never more than a month) you return in a few days to the starting levels with the right training. If we go more than a month of total stoppage the losses will be significant and the body will need more time to recover from these previous levels. “
A key issue in any case is “putting yourself in the hands of a physical activity and sports professional who will guide your training more in accordance with each circumstance,” Bahamonde points out.
Keep fit during an injury
In the same vein is pronounced Alonso, who emphasizes that in the event of a break in injury training, it is advisable to go to a physiotherapist who will indicate “how you can stay in shape while recovering from the injury”. And it is that although it is necessary to give rest to a capacity or a part of the body by an injury others can continue working. “For example, it may be the case that running is contraindicated at a given time but the athlete can continue to work the strength. Or in the case of patients who are waiting to have a crossover operation when they come to the clinic. what we do is work the quadriceps muscles very well. “
Muscle has memory
It is often said that the muscle has memory, so a trained person who leaves exercise at a given time for different circumstances, such as fatigue, injury, or illness, will be able to assimilate future training more quickly. “Because your body already knows what happens when you are subjected to physical workloads,” Bahamonde explains. This residual capacity left over from this previous training process is not lost and only needs to be subjected to the appropriate training stimuli again.
On the other hand, a person who has never exercised due to excessive sedentary lifestyle, age, illness or any other circumstance will need an initial adjustment process. “To build a solid foundation on which to build this process of improvement.”
What to do in the summer
Summer is a frequent time to interrupt the usual training routine. Gyms and sports centers often see their influx diminished by the holidays and the good weather. “But it’s also true that more and more people in recent years are changing their indoor routines and moving on to perform outdoor activities and on the occasion of the pandemic of the Covid-19 with more reason, “says Bahamonde.
The advice of specialists is try to keep doing some activity during the holiday season, “even if it is at less intensity, duration and if possible also with activities other than the usual ones. This is motivating and it helps us disconnect from the routine. “
And if we want to maintain an optimal level, not a maximum, “we have to keep training during the summer even if it is at a lower intensity. The key is for each person to find these activities motivating for each moment and to be consistent in the effort. Training should be something that is part of our routine to improve our quality of life. “