Why Do I Lose Fitness so Easily?

Coming back from a two week vacation has me feeling “less fit” because I have not been routinely exercising. But what if I told you that your fitness actually wasn’t lost (yet), it is your technique that is the first to go!

When we routinely workout we are building muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness, maximizing strength, and technique. When we take a break from our routine such as vacation for a couple weeks, or school/work has become very busy it interrupts our routine. Now this interruption if it is around 1-2 weeks long, actually has very minimal effect on our actual cardiovascular and strength (fitness) levels. The first to be “lost” per say is our technique. We have not been practicing our Olympic or power lifts, our gymnastics and other movements that we do in CrossFit. So coming back from a break will feel like we lost fitness, but in reality if it was only 1-2 weeks off we are just a little rusty on our coordination, timing, and balance to perform these movements more than we have lost any strength or cardiovascular health! Isn’t that a relief?!

Coming back to the gym can feel so hard after a break, especially if we are thinking that we have “lost our fitness”, but fear not! Our bodies are very strong and resilient and taking a couple weeks off for the gym (for whatever reason) will not take away from your fitness. It may feel a little clunky, uncoordinated, or a little less smooth when trying to cycle reps, but coming back into a regular training routine will have you feeling smooth once again!

Coach Rachael

*This information was found from Jacob Harden, DC in his course Prehab 101 “Maintaining Capacity”