This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Exercising

Getting in shape is hard work, so who wouldn’t want some down time? But don’t quit moving just yet, because letting all your hard work go down the drain is not your goal. When you stop exercising, your body goes through many physical changes that can be unhealthy for you.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU STOP EXERCISING

A body at rest tends to stay at rest while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Although this is a tenet of physics and momentum, it happens to be true for physical activity as well.

Those who make a healthy habit of exercise reap the rewards of feeling better so they tend to keep up the work. Once you slack off and stop exercising, your body experiences several changes for the worse.

FITNESS LEVEL CHANGES WHEN YOU STOP EXERCISING

For an athlete, the effects of not exercising are more profound than they would be for a recreational exerciser. Stopping a fitness regimen for a regular person might show health decreases over a month or two but an athlete will experience these negative health changes almost immediately.

WHAT HAPPENS TO HEART HEALTH WHEN YOU STOP EXERCISING

Your blood pressure is higher on the days that you don’t workout compared to the days that you do. If you go even longer without exercise, after a month of not exercising your blood pressure will return to where it was prior to starting any fitness routine.

It can take you longer to get back into your routine once you start due to the need to start slowly. When you go from a period where you have stopped exercising to beginning again, you increase your risk of cardiac events, such as heart attack. The Centers for Disease Control recommends starting a fitness program slowly after a period of inactivity to reduce this risk rather than going into an intense cardio workout.

EFFECTS ON YOUR BLOOD WHEN YOU STOP EXERCISING

VO2 Max, or your maximum capacity to carry oxygen in your blood, is one of the most immediate changes that doctors can measure in the body when you stop exercising. Your breathing rate increases as you exercise, increasing your VO2 Max. Without the increase in respiration, your ability to oxygenate your blood decreases.

“There are studies indicating a decline of 7 to 10% of VO2 after 12 days of sudden inactivity, 14 to 15% after 50 days, and 16 to 18% after 80 days, Maximal values for