Detraining: Use it or lose it

A common question asked from athletes and or personal training clients is how quickly will I lose my progress if I stop training. The temporary break in exercise frightens most because they feel they will lose all the gains they have made very rapidly and have to start from square one. Another example can be someone who suffered an injury and must be immobilized to protect the healing process. Unfortunately, the answer to this question like many other questions in the realm of training and sport performance is…it depends.

Generally speaking in terms of strength your acquired training level can be maintained for roughly 3-4 weeks, however, muscles mass starts to decrease in as little as 2 weeks. Atrophy as great as 30% may occur in as little as a week with severe lower extremity injuries requiring immobilization. Typically when the question of detraining is asked, it is in reference to ones physical conditioning or endurance. In layman terms will the person be breathing really heavy and feel like they might pass out during any given workout when they get back to it. A highly trained athlete’s Vo2 Max can decrease anywhere from 6-20% at around 4 weeks of detraining. Similar decreases appear in under 2 weeks for novice athletes. What that means is your work capacity will be diminished in response to a lower Vo2 Max and your workouts may be compromised (Tzur, Sci-Fit). The good news about all the information listed above is that the effects are temporary and can be reversed. With hard work and discipline, the previous training level can be attained and passed.

In this instance the phrase ‘Use it or lose it’ is a true statement, but as stated before it is only temporary. Whether you break up your routine for a vacation or an injury comes around, do not get worried or frustrated. Your previous abilities will come back in relatively short order, you just have to remember it will take a bit more hard work.