E565: What's Happening to Your Body When You STOP EXERCISING
Oct 9, 2024
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Discover how taking a break from exercise impacts your body and the science behind de-training. The hosts explore how quickly adaptations are lost, the significance of VO2 max, and tailored re-entry plans after a hiatus. They also discuss the principles of reduced volume training for maintaining strength and endurance with limited time. Realistic training agreements are emphasized, addressing overtraining and life's unpredictability. Dive into the difference between maintenance and achievement in fitness, highlighting strategies for long-term success.
Detraining significantly affects various fitness attributes, with VO2 max declining rapidly within two weeks, emphasizing the need for timely re-engagement in exercise.
Personalized programming is crucial for clients returning from inactivity, allowing for tailored re-entry based on individual circumstances and previous training history.
Maintaining fitness levels during breaks can be achieved by adjusting training volume while preserving intensity, highlighting the importance of strategic program design.
Deep dives
New Podcast Format
The podcast has adopted a new format, transitioning from three episodes per week to a single episode each week, focusing on in-depth discussions. This change aims to leverage the rich backgrounds of the hosts in clinical practice, athletics, and strength coaching to dissect key topics in fitness and health. The hosts are committed to blending research with practical applications, emphasizing the importance of understanding theoretical concepts and their real-world implications. This restructured format also enables the hosts to bring in valuable insights from their educational journeys as co-founders of Prescript.
Understanding De-Training
De-training is a crucial topic for both fitness enthusiasts and professionals, focusing on what happens when individuals take time away from the gym. The hosts suggest that analyzing the reasons behind a client's absence from training is fundamental to tailoring their return properly. Factors such as the duration of inactivity and the type of activity engaged in during the break are critical for establishing a safe and effective re-entry into workouts. This understanding of individual circumstances allows trainers to create personalized plans for clients after a hiatus.
The Impact of Time Off
When someone takes time off from training, various fitness attributes degrade at different rates, particularly VO2 max, which tends to drop quickly after just two weeks of inactivity. The elderly or elite athletes may experience a reduction in VO2 max ranging from 7% to 25%, indicating the need for targeted maintenance strategies during breaks. Following VO2 max, endurance and muscle hypertrophy start to atrophy around the four-week mark, highlighting the importance of timely re-engagement in physical activities. Strength typically remains more stable for up to six weeks, lending a buffer period before noticeable declines occur.
Maintaining Fitness Gains
It's possible to maintain fitness levels with strategic training adjustments, particularly through reduced volume while keeping intensity high. For strength and hypertrophy, it has been found that cutting training volume down to one-third while maintaining intensity can preserve gains. This approach emphasizes the need for thoughtful program design that accommodates variations in training availability, especially for clients with fluctuating schedules. A focus on sustainable training routines allows individuals to maintain their acquired strength and hypertrophy over time.
Program Design as a Contract
Effective program design must consider potential obstacles and setbacks that clients might encounter, akin to drafting a contract that anticipates worst-case scenarios. Trainers should encourage discussions about clients' personal challenges and long-term goals to establish a program tailored to maintaining progress even during difficult times. By focusing on what individuals can realistically maintain in terms of training volume and intensity, trainers can prevent detrimental lapses in fitness. The hosts argue that understanding and addressing the psychology of training habits is key to fostering a healthy, long-term relationship with fitness.
Shallow and Jiunta break down detraining, covering why time off from training happens and how quickly adaptations are lost. They highlight the role of intensity, VO2 max, and how to adjust for individual needs. Tune in as the guys provide tips on preparing for reduced training and how to reverse engineer programs for long-term success.
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