Wondering what will happen when you stop exercising? For someone who has exercised regularly, this is not a very good idea. Your body's condition can deteriorate significantly after the first few weeks without regular physical training. Check what are the consequences of stopping physical activity!

Regular exercise can do us a lot of good. Thanks to them, we are more smiling, we have more energy and we look better. All thanks to the pro-he alth processes that take place inside the body when we subject it to regular exercise.

Then the condition of our skin improves, the muscles sculpt and the fat burns, the internal organs function better, we age more slowly and we have stronger joints and bones. What happens when we suddenly stop exercising after regular training? Learn the consequences of quitting exercise.

Slows down metabolism

When we give up regular sports, our metabolism slows down even several times. After about two weeks without exercise, you can notice the first effects of slow metabolism - fat gain, muscle relaxation, water retention in the body. Research shows that after about 5 weeks without physical activity, the increase in adipose tissue in our body may increase by up to several percent!

Find out more:

  • What is metabolism? What speeds up and what slows down the metabolism?
  • How to speed up your metabolism to lose weight faster?

The endurance of the body drops

The endurance of the body and physical capacity after the first month without physical activity can drop by up to 7%! So after three months of inactivity, the endurance of our body will drop by over 20%. This will make us tire faster, catch shortness of breath more often, and the body will start to weaken.

This is because regular training dilates blood vessels and increases cell efficiency. In this aspect, cardio activity is particularly important, as it has an excellent effect on the cardiac performance and increases lung capacity. If we do not take care of regular physical activity, we will risk arterial hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias and other diseases related to the cardiovascular system.

Muscle strength and mass decline

No regularWhen practicing sports, our muscles lose strength very quickly. It turns out that the process of losing muscle strength and muscle tone, i.e. tension, can occur after a week without exercise. On the other hand, significant losses of muscle mass may be noticed after two or three weeks.

As you can see, this is a very short period, so our motivation for regular training should remain the same. However, it is worth knowing about the muscle memory that muscles retain when we return to training after a longer period of convalescence. People who used to play sports regularly and want to return to physical activity after a long break will find it easier to return to a he althy lifestyle.

You're starting to gain weight

After a week without exercise, our body begins to store more water. Muscle fibers lose their fat burning potential faster and faster and start to shrink, and the tissues in our body retain more and more amounts of subcutaneous water. After two weeks, we can gain weight even one kilogram!

Even with a proper diet, our body will start to accumulate fat reserves without physical activity. This will happen because our metabolism will slow down significantly, which will translate into lower energy expenditure of the body.

Exercise drives metabolism, so when we train, we can eat more calories without fear that they will be deposited in the form of a belly band. Research shows that if you follow a proper diet after 3 months without exercise, you can gain weight from 3 to 4 kilograms!

He alth deteriorates

When we give up exercise, the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes increases significantly. All because regular training regulates blood pressure and strengthens our heart, thanks to increasing the body's efficiency. Sport acts like medicine on our blood vessels - thanks to it they work much more effectively.

Moreover, after discontinuing regular physical activity, the blood sugar level increases significantly, and we are more prone to its sudden spikes, hence the risk of developing diabetes. When we exercise, sugar is taken from the muscles in the form of muscle glycogen, which prevents it from accumulating in the body.

Regular exercise of sports increases the number of lymphocytes responsible, among others, for good immunity.

The lower immunity of the body is another consequence of giving up physical activity. Regular exercise of sports increases the amount of lymphocytes. When we give up physical activity, our immunity will drop after just two weeks withoutexercise! We are talking about moderate exercise, where the heart rate is 110-140 / min. Intensive and frequent workouts can have the opposite effect.

Read also: Immunity - 9 ways to strengthen the body's immunity

Obesity is a disease caused, among other things, by lack of exercise. Thanks to systematic physical activity, we are able to increase the metabolism up to three times! It is worth knowing that on average every 10 years the metabolic speed drops by 20%. When we do sports at least three times a week, we have a chance to prevent this process.

The risk of depression increases

When we exercise regularly, we maintain a high level of endorphins - the happiness hormones in our body. During exercise, we may not necessarily feel it directly, but after finishing the activity, we feel fulfilled, relaxed and we are simply smiling! It is the beneficial influence of sport on our psyche that makes us feel so well.

When we give up exercise, we don't give ourselves such positive mental stimuli anymore. In addition, regular training regulates the level of the stress hormone, i.e. cortisol, in our body, it also helps to let go of negative emotions and simply regenerate mentally. Physical activity also supports the work of the brain and ensures blood supply to this organ. As a result, we are more focused, have a better memory, and maintain mental acuity.

You start to age faster

Regular training removes toxins from our body, which make all internal organs less functioning. Thanks to exercise, we are better supplied with blood and not only the condition of the skin improves, but also the work of extremely important organs, such as the heart, liver, lungs and kidneys.

What's more, if we give up physical activity, we have to take into account that we are giving up one of the best methods against aging! Regular training supports the fight against free radicals that cause the aging of the body, because physical activity supports the production of antibodies capable of fighting free radicals.

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