This week Dave looks at what happens when you fall off the fitness bandwagon, and gives tips on getting back on track to achieve your targets.

EVER wonder what happens when a day skipped at the gym becomes a week, a month, or even a year?

Will you lose all the gains you’ve already made?

What happens to your body after you stop training will largely depend on what you’re doing while you aren’t training, certain changes are nearly universal.

Let’s look at the six changes your body experiences when you take that break or fall off the bandwagon.

Neuromuscular Adaptation Loss

Basically, the connection between your brain and muscles – and the involvement of neural pathways in contributing to strength gains – will weaken, slow, or both.

You’ve likely experienced this before – it’s tied to that ‘off’ feeling you get when you take a week off for vacation, only to come back to the gym and realise that your lifts don’t feel as good as normal.

While it’s fast to go, it’s fast to come back, too. After a few sessions back at the gym, your lifts should feel normal again.

Loss of Muscle Strengt

The degree and speed at which you lose your strength will largely depend on what you do when you are away from the gym.

Are you sitting all day long without much activity, or are you on your feet, moving around?

If it’s the former, expect to experience strength losses at a faster rate. The key to maintaining your muscle strength is making sure that tension is being placed on the muscle, and that you’re still activating the motor units that help to coordinate muscle contractions.

If you’re quite sedentary, expect to see strength declines in as little as two weeks after ditching your gym membership.

The good news is that, unlike cardio training, you can regain lost strength relatively quickly as muscle memory kicks in.

Metabolic Decline

Working out consistently increases both your reliance on fat oxidation (using fat for energy) and your insulin sensitivity, both of which are good things. During periods of de-training, the body turns to carbohydrates for fuel and relies less on the breakdown of stored fat. Two bad things.

The degree of decline you experience depends on how intense your workout sessions were, and how much that level of intensity has since curbed.

Additionally, you may notice a decrease in your metabolism. Since lean mass has the greatest influence on resting metabolic rate, once you start to lose the muscle you worked so hard for, your metabolic rate will taper and you’ll burn fewer calories at rest.

Loss of Cardiovascular Fitness

As your time away from the weights continues, your previous warm-up mile on the treadmill will start to feel like a trek. Cardiovascular fitness is quick to go, and you can expect to see declines after the first two weeks away.

You’ll also find that it takes longer to regain your cardio fitness level than it did to lose it, which is one reason so many people who fall off the bandwagon don’t get back on.

Degraded Insulin Sensitivity

Physical activity increases the action of insulin throughout your body. So when you decide to take an extended vacation away from the gym, your insulin sensitivity will decrease. This can lead to a variety of health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

With the same amount of carbohydrates coming in, less energy being burned off, and a lower overall metabolic rate, you’ve created the perfect scenario for gaining fat.

Increased Irritability

Finally, don’t be surprised if you get kind of grumpy. Not releasing pent-up stress with intense workouts can put you in a bad mood, basically. You might also find you don’t sleep as soundly, or that your mental focus isn’t as sharp.

Looking to take a break from the weight room but still seeking out that stress release? Find other activities you can partake in, such as yoga or team sports.

Dave DM Fitness, personal training and nutritional advice, 07557942877, dm-fitness@hot mail.co.uk.