As we all know fitness is a use it or lose it deal.
Stop exercising and your hard-earned superpowers begin to erode.
But how quickly do they go?
Whilst there will of course be individual variation you can expect to see a drop off in cardiovascular fitness after 5-7 days of inactivity. Typically strength will hang around for a little longer but even so after 3 weeks or so this will also start to fall.
The reversibility of fitness is one reason why sustainability is such an important factor to consider when adopting a new exercise regime.
Is it something you can do a month from now? A year from now? A decade from now?
As I’ve said before, aggressive training schedules work really well until they don’t. Short term gains are quickly wiped out unless you are able to transition into something more sustainable.
“It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It's what we do consistently.” - Tony Robbins
As cliché as it may sound… staying in shape is a lifelong journey!