Getting into the habit of working out on a daily basis can be easy when you find something that you like, whether that’s running, lifting weights, or just walking on the treadmill before work. Making it even better is the rush of energy that’s often experienced after working out, which can help make the habit easier to keep. However, even with as easy as it is to fall into a workout regimen, it can be even easier to fall out of one. Whether this happens because of a busy schedule, change in work, or just an interruption in life, you may find yourself struggling to pick up and go back to where you last started.

Need reasons to get back into the routine you were once passionate about? By learning about what happens to your body when you stop working out, you may be motivated to do just that. Some of the surprising changes that are most worth learning about are conveniently listed below.

1. You May Experience Withdrawal

While most people associate withdrawal symptoms with quitting an addiction such as smoking or drinking, it’s not only attached to those types of health issues. Withdrawal can also be experienced by those who completely stop working out, especially if they were heavy duty exercisers. Although this may sound odd, a study done by the Counselling & Psychological Services Department at the University of California Santa Cruz proved otherwise. They found that individuals who exercised heavily and stopped completely ended up experiencing withdrawals symptoms such as difficulty to sleep, low energy levels, trouble concentrating, and aches and sores.

2. Your Body Will Store Additional Fat

When you stop working out and develop a sedentary lifestyle, your body will not be as conditioned as it was before. Unfortunately this can lead to a weakened body that is much more likely to store fat that would otherwise be burned through working out. If you are trying to lose weight with diet alone, this could make it incredibly difficult.

3. Loss of Muscle

Muscle is something that requires maintenance in order to keep, which means stopping a workout regimen can result in the loss of strength. This observation was found when a study was done by the Faculty of Sport Sciences at the University of Murcia in Spain. When looking at power and endurance athletes, they found that muscle was lost at a faster rate when they stopped working out completely.

4. Slow Metabolism

Working out helps to ramp up metabolism, which is responsible for the amount of calories you burn in a day. Unfortunately this means that if you stop working out completely, your metabolism is likely to slow down quite a bit. If you don’t adjust your calories accordingly, this could lead to rapid weight gain. This has been seen in countless studies that looked at athletes who stopped working out for a certain length of time. In these studies the majority of athletes had a higher body fat percentage by the time the study ended, largely as a result of decreased activity.

5. Your Mood Will Change

Do you notice that you feel good after you workout? This is largely due to the endorphins that are released when you exercise, which are a type of “feel good” hormones released by the brain. While these are less likely to release when you are not exercising, that’s not the only reason why your mood might change. Without exercise your body also won’t get as much oxygen, which can mean it’s not able to suppress chemicals that can make you feel sad or depressed. Unfortunately this can lead to feeling irritable while being gloomy and tired.

6. Your Blood Pressure Will Rise

As soon as you stop working out, your blood pressure is likely to soar. This is especially true when compared to days that you would otherwise work out. This is because as you become sedentary, your blood vessels get used to a slower flow running through them. Just a month later the arteries and veins will begin to stiffen and go back to where they were before you ever exercised in the first place.

7. You’ll Get Tired Quickly

While you might have been able to run miles without losing your breath, once you stop working out, you might get winded just walking up your stairs. This is the result of the amount of oxygen your muscles using decreasing, which is around 20% just 2 weeks after quitting working out.

8. Blood Sugar Increases

Although it’s common for blood sugar to rise after you eat a meal, it normally drops soon after you’re finished. However, as you become more sedentary, your blood sugar levels will continue staying elevated for much longer. Unfortunately this increases your risk of heart disease as well as diabetes, making it even worse for your health.

9. You Won’t Feel Like Yourself

If you’ve ever noticed you don’t feel like your normal self when you don’t workout, that’s because the connection between your muscles and your brain have likely weakened or diminished. This can leave you feeling “off” and is more formally known as neuromuscular adaptations. The good news is that once you get back to exercising regularly, this feeling should go away completely.

10. Reduced Sensitivity to Insulin

As you continue to stay away from the gym your sensitivity to insulin will likely decrease. While this in itself can mean difficulty losing weight it can also lead to high blood pressure, obesity, and even diabetes. If you have an unhealthy diet in addition to not working out, this can create even more health problems, which is why it’s important to watch what you eat while you’re staying out of the gym.

11. Your Joints May Ache

As your muscles begin to degenerate because you haven’t been working to maintain them, your joints and ligaments are likely to ache. This can make everyday tasks a lot more difficult, such as walking to the grocery stores or just doing everyday cleaning around the house. This is even easier to see in individuals who are older, as their muscle degenerates more quickly which makes it much easier to notice joint problems.

Starting a fitness journey can be filled with excitement and motivation knowing that your health is about to improve. From the brand new gym membership and workout tools to the healthy foods and snacks in your fridge, there are many ways to prepare for this lifestyle change. However, one aspect you might not consider is your ability to actually be more physically active. Most bodies can’t automatically handle an intense change in physical exertion, which is why so many beginners get injured during their first week of exercising.

If you’re ready to start your journey in the safest way possible, then it’s important to take the time to learn how to prepare. All the tips you need to know are listed below to make getting started as simple and easy as possible!

Tip 1: Preparation

• Posture and TechniqueNo matter what type of exercise you’re going to do, it’s important to use the proper posture and techniques. For example, when lifting weights, it’s important to focus on quality rather than quantity. Going too fast, slumping over, or bending the wrong way could all contribute to being injured the first time you work out.
• ShoesWhether running, lifting weights, or dancing, supportive shoes are incredibly important. Take time to find a pair that fits well without being too tight and make sure they are comfortable. It’s recommended to break in every pair you buy by wearing them a few times before using them to work out.
• Warm UpMany beginners pull their muscles and exhaust themselves because they don’t warm up before they workout. This could be something as simple as a couple minutes of stretching followed by a short walk to help the body loosen up and prepare for a more intense workout.
• ClothingWorkout clothing is important because it helps wick away moisture that could cause painful chafing. You don’t have to buy the most expensive clothing brands, but you should have at least one pair of pants/shorts, a top, and a supportive bra (if necessary) to help keep sweat from bothering and harming you during an exercise session.

Tip 2: Get to Know the Gym

There are a lot of ways you can exercise at home, but if you plan on going to the gym, then you should become familiar with it before getting started. Most gym managers will take you through the building when you first get started so you can learn about what different machines do, the rules to use them, and how to avoid injury. However, if you want a more in-depth introduction to the machines and posture needed to use them properly, you should hire a trainer. Even just a day with a professional can teach you a lot of important tips that you can use every time you hit the gym.

Some of the most important things to learn are:

• Posture
• Technique
• Number of reps necessary
• When a spotter is needed
• How to clean machines for safety

Tip 3: Start Slow

The excitement of a new lifestyle can make you want to push yourself, but it’s important to ease into working out so you prevent injury. Create a workout plan that allows your body to adjust to the increase of movement. For example, if you were going to start running, you might want to follow a running plan that incorporates jogging and walking in intervals to make things less intense. This is especially true when working with weights, as adding too much can cause great injury.

Another aspect of starting slow is giving yourself time to rest when you’re sore. This doesn’t mean taking a week off, but it does mean allowing a day of rest after a particularly difficult session. The body does a lot of recovery while your rest, which is where it re-builds torn muscle and restores reserves that will get you through your next workout. Make sure to drink a lot of water and eat protein during this time, nutrients in these will help speed up recovery better than junk foods that could potentially slow that recovery process down.

Tip 4: Change Things Up

Varying your workouts might not seem like it’s necessary if you like what you do, but if you’re using the same muscles day after day, you could easily injure yourself. Just a couple of different workouts throughout the week is all you need to help protect your muscles, even if it’s something as simple as swimming instead of running. This may introduce you to a new form of exercise you like as well, so it can pay off in many ways.

Tip 5: Cooling Down

A cool-down might not seem necessary after you’ve worked hard, but it’s important because it helps get your heart rate down. Just a short walk for a few minutes is needed to do this, so it’s something most people can fit into their exercise regimen.

Tip 6: Treat Injuries

Even with extreme diligence it’s not guaranteed that you won’t get hurt while working out. If you do find yourself injured, then remember RICE. This stands for R(rest), I(ice), C(compression), and E(elevation). By doing these things you’ll reduce swelling, prevent the injury from getting worse, and avoid inflammation as well. Think something deeper is going on? Then take time to go to a doctor so they can do a full evaluation. You may have a torn muscle or even sprain that needs to be addressed before you can safely workout again.

Protecting Your Body

Thousands of injuries occur at the gym every year, whether from negligence or improper use of machines. However, if you prepare, learn about working out, and take time to ease into exercise, then you may be able to avoid any injuries to yourself. All of this effort might not seem like it’s necessary, but it is crucial for keeping your body safe. This is especially true if you’re a little bit older since you last worked out, as the body becomes more prone to injury as it ages.

If you’re ready to workout and get in shape, then get started with the tips above! From the proper shoes to stretching before you workout, everything listed is necessary to have a safe jump start to getting fit.

It is not uncommon in this modern age for many of us to live rather sedentary lifestyles. This is mostly due to the advancements in technology taking away our need to be active. We wake up, sit for our meal, commute to our office, sit at work, commute home again and then spend our evening relaxing after our long day.

The problem is that the human body is essentially designed to be physically active for 12-14 hours of the day. It is this prolonged inactivity that has been linked to many of the common health conditions that we face, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and many types of cancer. This is why incorporating regular exercise into our lifestyle is so important, because keeping our bodies active will not only help prevent disease it will also help keep us independent into our golden years.

It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, or if you consider yourself young or old, the simple fact is that exercise and keeping active, is integral to good health. Yet not all exercises are ideal for everyone and there are some practices that become less beneficial, or even detrimental, as we enter middle age.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that as we age our bodies slowly start to decline in condition. We no longer build and repair our cells, and body tissue at the rate we once did. Our muscles begin to deteriorate more rapidly after disuse, our bones start to lose their density and our joints become more fragile and prone to damage.

This is not to say that we should stop exercising, on the contrary, exercising is exactly what we need to help fight this aging process, however there are some considerations that us woman should keep in mind.

Understanding The Physical Changes

Even though you may still feel 20 at heart, the body just isn’t in the same condition it used to be by the time you enter your 40’s. Fat seems to make itself more comfortable and becomes harder to shift, especially on the midriff, buttocks and thighs. Our skin doesn’t have the same elasticity it once had. Not only that our muscles tend to waste away quicker than before and our bone density begins to deteriorate.

The onset of menopause in women also brings with it many hormonal changes which also impact upon our physical body. During menopause the hormone levels jump all around the place before dropping quite considerably and this can have a huge impact on your energy levels as well as how you feel within yourself. Another symptom most women experience from the falling levels of oestrogen is pain and deterioration in your muscles and joints. Understanding these changes that occur can give us the advantage when it comes to taking care of ourselves, both emotionally and physically.

Know Your Limitations And Progress At A Safe Pace

Unlike in your 20’s, when pushing yourself hard and quickly only left you sore for a day or so, pushing yourself too hard and fast now will not only take you much longer to heal, it can also potentially cause more serious and longer lasting damage to your muscles, joints and skeletal system. Ensuring that you progress at a safe pace that is appropriate for your fitness level, experience and age is very important. So be kind to yourself, it doesn’t mean you have to stop, just proceed with respect and awareness for your body and know your limitations.

Getting The Right Amount Of Sleep

It may not be that shocking to you to learn that you are no longer able to party all night without some physical repercussions for missing a night’s sleep. Yet even though ensuring you get enough sleep is important for people of all ages, it becomes even more important as we reach our 40s. It is during this ‘sleep’ time that our bodies are actually working to build and repair muscle cells. So if you have been exercising to tone and build strength, you need the sleep to complete the job. Remember though that too much sleep will also have a detrimental effect, leaving you feeling lethargic, dazed and possibly even irritable. So try to find the right amount (usually between 7-9 hours) and aim for that each night.

Excessive Cardio Accelerates Aging

Cardio is great way to burning calories and cut the fat, however studies show that as woman reach their 40’s excessive cardio can actually stress the muscles and encourage muscle breakdown which in turn increases the number of free radicals in the body. It is these unpleasant free radicals that have been linked to the acceleration of the aging process.

So try to mix it up and ensure you are balancing your cardio with some strengthening and muscle building exercises, such as Pilates and light weights.

So What Should We Avoid?

• Behind the head pull-downs/pull-ups: These exercises place unnecessary stress on the shoulders and neck area, which can cause injury especially in women over 40.
• Plyometric Training: These explosive energy exercises, such as box jumps, place a huge amount of pressure on the joints and ligaments, so unless your body has been conditioned to this type of movement, they are best to avoid. Step ups and lunges work similar muscles without the jarring strain.
• Heavy weights: Unless you are an experienced weight lifter, or bodybuilder, then avoiding heavy weights is important. You can gain just as much definition using lighter weights and completing more reps.
• Leg Extensions Machine: Knees are something that often begins to weaken in middle age and these exercises place a large amount of pressure on the knee cap area. Even with healthy knees, leg extensions can cause gradual wear and tear in women over 40.
• Overhead Presses: Statistically injuries to the shoulder and rotator cuff are much higher in people 40+, and overhead presses cause tremendous stress in these areas, so they are best to avoid.
• Sprinting: Again, unless your body has been conditioned to sprinting your whole life, then taking up sprinting in your 40’s is unadvisable. Sprinting places a large amount of stress on the hips, knees and ankle joints, so try power walking, swimming or cycling instead.