What happens to the body when you stop training

What happens to the muscles

If you do not use the potential of the muscles, the body does not waste calories on their service. However, you start to lose muscle mass is not immediately.

Short break up to two weeks

In one studyThe effects of detraining on power athletes. We found that after two weeks of rest the number of fast muscle fibers decreased by 6.4%. Perhaps these changes are related to the amount of glycogen, which binds water and holds it in the muscles, which increasesEffect of glycogen loading on skeletal muscle cross-sectional area and T2 relaxation time. their volume. Due to the lack of training decreases the amount of glycogen and muscle size decreases.

However, another studyResistance training promotes increase in intracellular hydration in men and women. He says that if you start to train again, water supplies and replenish glycogen rapidly.

Well-trained athletes should not fear short breaks. StudyResistance Training-Induced Elevations in Muscular Strength in Trained Men Are Maintained After 2 Weeks of Detraining and Not Differentially Affected by Whey Protein Supplementation.

2017 confirmed that they had not observed the loss of muscle mass in two weeks without training. A short break can even go for a favor. StudyThe effects of detraining on power athletes. It found that after two weeks of inactivity the concentration of growth hormone is increased by 58%, testosterone - by 19.2%, and plasma cortisol levels drop by 21.5%. This creates excellent conditions for muscle growthSo two weeks of rest can have a positive impact on results.

long break

StudyThe effects of detraining on an elite power lifter. A case study. It found that after seven weeks without exercise total atrophy of muscles in powerlifters was 37.1%.

After two months in power sports athletes reduced the number of fast-twitch muscle fibers, and those who train for endurance, it increases. In long-distance runners and cyclists eight weeks after cessation of exercise the amount of fast-twitch muscle fibers increased by 14%. In athletes, endurance athletes, a decrease in muscle mass without exercise is much slower - up to 12 weeks with no changes.

Women lose muscle mass faster. StudyThe effect of training and detraining on the body composition and cardiovascular response of young women to exercise. with the participation of young women showed that gained seven weeks strength training kilogram of muscle mass disappeared after seven weeks without training.

What happens to the force

After two weeks without exercise is stored in trained athletesThe effects of detraining on power athletes.odnopovtorny maximum in the bench press and squat with a weight, there are no changes in isometric force. After four weeks without training has also been observedMuscular characteristics of detraining in humans. major changes in the strength and endurance.

Beginners loss of power performance begins no sooner than three weeks of rest. In one studyEffects of periodic and continued resistance training on muscle CSA and strength in previously untrained men.a group of people who were trained for six weeks, after three weeks break odnopovtorny maximum remained unchanged.

Unlike the trained athletes, beginners loss of strength in the long run rather small. StudyNeuromuscular adaptation during prolonged strength training, detraining and re-strength-training in middle-aged and elderly people. It found that 24 weeks without exercise reduced odnopovtorny a maximum of 6% of participants, and isometric strength - 12%. Athletes sprinters and power rates are reduced by 7-12% after 12 weeks without training, that is twice as fast.

Also on the power loss rate affects the way of training. StudyEffects of detraining following short term resistance training on eccentric and concentric muscle strength. found that athletes whose training included more than eccentric movements lost strength much more slowly than the athletes with predominantly concentric movements in training.

How fast you lose endurance

There are many ways to measure the endurance athletes. One of the most popular - the maximum amount of oxygen per kilogram of weight that you can learn in a minute (VO2max).

When you stop training, VO2max declines fairly rapidly. Beginners, he is reduced to a pre-workout level in four weeks, and in well-trained athletes, this process proceeds more slowly. one studyInterrelationships between skeletal muscle adaptations and performance as studied by detraining and retraining. It showed that in trained runners for the two weeks of inactivity VO2max level is reduced by 4%. Four weeks outDetraining: loss of training-induced physiological and performance adaptations. Part II: Long term insufficient training stimulus. to 6-20%.

In trained athletes endurance decreasesDetraining. to 4-25% in 3-4 weeks of inactivity. However, by this time, it still remains higher than in people who have a little play sports.

StudyDetraining and retention of training-induced adaptations. found that athletes with high intensity training VO2max level remains at 12-17% higher than in untrained people even after 84 days of inactivity.

conclusion

It is possible to draw several conclusions:

1. In the first two weeks without training strength and muscle mass does not change. Depending on the degree of fitness endurance may be reduced by 4-25%, but when you resume training quickly recovered the lost performance.
2. A short break can benefit as two weeks in the body increases the concentration of growth hormone and testosterone.
3. The more eccentric exercises you perform, the longer retain power rates after cessation of employment.
4. The more intense and longer you exercise, the more time you will need to reduce the strength and endurance.