This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Exercising

Most people believe that muscle tone is the part most affected when you stop exercising, perhaps the only part. However, there are other changes in other areas as well. One of them is the brain.

For example, research published in the journal Frontier in Aging Neuroscience revealed that endurance runners who stopped exercising for 10 days had reduced blood flow in the brain’s hippocampus, a region related to memories and emotions.

This is how your body reacts when you stop exercising:

After two weeks, the resistance starts to deteriorate. Changes in VO2 max (a measure of endurance that considers the maximum oxygen consumption that can be used in one minute of maximal or exhausting exercise) can make normal activities more effortless.

VO2 max can deteriorate by 10% after two weeks without exercise, 15% after four weeks, and 20% after three months.

Also, the blood pressure and glucose benefits of exercise disappear if you stop exercising for too long.

Loss of strength and weight gain are two well-known consequences of giving up physical activity. After two to four weeks without exercise, strength begins to diminish. And after about six to eight weeks, you start to notice weight gain.

Sometimes it's not possible to exercise

After all, there are times when exercise is not advisable. If you are sick, injured, exhausted or in pain, you should avoid strenuous exercise. Instead, you can look for other, more moderate options and, if movement is not indicated, opt for other activities, such as meditation or relaxation.

Why do you stop exercising?

One issue that stands out a lot is how people who have managed to integrate an exercise routine into their daily lives suddenly stop doing it. In these cases, it is convenient to analyze what happened. Was the exercise too strenuous? It was boring? Did that make you feel bad? Didn’t see the results?

There are many ways to exercise. The secret to enjoying its benefits is to find the sport that you like best, that best adapts to your physical capacity and that makes you feel good. If one thing doesn’t work, try another.

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