It doesn’t take long for your body to start showing the effects of your lack of exercise. The day after your last workout, your blood pressure will likely already be higher than it was on the day that you worked out. What happens is that your blood vessels adapt to the lower flow, so after only two weeks, your readings will rise a few notches from the change in lifestyle.
When you are working out regularly, your blood sugar spikes shortly after your meals, but drops fairly soon afterward as your muscles and tissues demand energy. When you are not working out, the blood sugar spike lasts much longer. It only takes about a few days of regular exercise to get it back, however.
If you haven’t been to the gym in two weeks, your cardiovascular endurance takes a substantial hit. You can lose as much 20% of your muscles oxygen efficiency (VO2 max). It works like supply and demand. If you stop exercising, the demand goes down thus impacting various biological systems.
The strength of your muscles does last longer after you stop working out. The first two muscles that you will notice shrinking? Biceps and quadriceps. Additionally, any fast twitch muscles will quickly be converted to more volatile and less endurable muscle fibers. It will also take you longer to rebuild those muscles than it took for you to build them up.
As far as your metabolism goes, it only takes a week for it to slow down as your muscles lose their propensity to burn fat.
Your brain is also affected, as exercise boosts and helps regulate your mood. In more senior adults, regular exercise and movement will assist with memory retention.
It’s not all bad news though, ultimately if you have to take a break from exercise, the better shape that you are in before your break and the shorter the length of your break will make it easier to get back to the level you were in or aspire to be.
On your time off from the gym, it is important to stay active because when you do get back to the gym, it will be easier to get back into your routine than if you largely laid around the house during your time off. Schedule some walks, Yoga, light sports or take care of some outdoor chores around your place to keep moving. Your body and mind will be better off for it when it’s time to get back to your fitness regimen.