The benefits of regular exercise are plentiful. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise are proven to help control weight, increase stamina, boost the immune system, and improve mood. The effect of skipping exercise on your body depends on the length of time you have taken off, your current fitness level and your genetic history.
Skipping Infrequently
Skipping exercise infrequently will not negatively effect your health. In fact, taking one or two days off a week allows for muscle recovery and decreases your chance of injury.
Fat Gain
If you continue to eat the same amount, but skip exercise, you will gain body fat. Where you store body fat depends on your genetic history. According to Claude Bouchard, author of "The Genetics of Obesity," you can tell where you will store body fat by where your parents store their body fat. Keep in mind that excess weight around the hips and thighs is less of a health risk than excess belly fat, which is an early predictor of high blood pressure and diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Muscle Loss
Skipping exercise results in muscle loss, but only after two weeks of inactivity. When you exercise regularly, your body produces an excess of key enzymes that help your muscles grow and maintain themselves. When you stop, it takes your brain about two weeks to realize it no longer needs to produce these enzymes. Luckily, it takes half the time to regain muscle as it does to lose it. According to Wayne Westcott, fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, if you stop exercising for two months, it should only take one to get back to where you started.
Psychological Effects
A sudden stop in exercise can lead to extreme psychological changes. If you regularly exercise, you are likely used to the release of chemicals in the brain that promote feelings like happiness and relaxation. When you stop exercising, your brain stops producing these chemicals. As a result, you may feel anxious, irritable, and have trouble sleeping in the week or two after you stop exercise.
References
- The Mayo Clinic: Belly fat in men: why weight loss matters
- "Fitness Magazine": If I stop Exercising, how much strength will I lose?
- "The Genetics of Obesity"; Claude Bouchard, Ph.D; 1994
