Let’s say you have been taking some time off from the
gym through the winter. Maybe you reached the end of your 12-week training
cycle and you’re
taking a week off. It’s
possible that one week turns into two or even three or four weeks. Life
happens, you need to attend to some pressing matters, and going to the gym
starts to take a back seat. Before you know it, two or three months have passed
by.
Suddenly, you’re no longer a person who goes to
the gym, but a person who needs to figure out a way to get back to the gym on a
regular basis. “What happened to me?” you wonder. “Where did the time go?” Now you have to actually exert effort to
fit “workout time” into your schedule. You scratch your head and ponder. “I
thought I had this all covered,” you think, not for the first time.
What happened
to you and your well-made plans was entropy, that insidious force in the
universe that turns order into disorder. The basic rule is that any organized
system, left unattended, will immediately begin to break down. As a mundane
example, those piles of papers on your desk keep reaccumulating as a result of
entropy. The weeds in your garden? Entropy. The dust bunnies in your attic and
basement? Entropy. The collapse of your plan for doing regular workouts?
Entropy.
What’s worse, entropy takes a serious toll
on your physical fitness.If you miss enough time from the gym, all your fitness
gains begin to melt away. First, your muscles begin to lose their stores of
energy. Glycogen, the complex sugar that supplies energy for muscle work, is broken down for use elsewhere. Arterioles and capillaries, small blood vessels that were needed to supply nutrients to your growing muscles, are no longer required and rapidly disappear. Muscle fibers that were continually added to support your exercise activities are cannibalized, so that their constituent parts may be used for other physiological processes.
energy. Glycogen, the complex sugar that supplies energy for muscle work, is broken down for use elsewhere. Arterioles and capillaries, small blood vessels that were needed to supply nutrients to your growing muscles, are no longer required and rapidly disappear. Muscle fibers that were continually added to support your exercise activities are cannibalized, so that their constituent parts may be used for other physiological processes.
Entropy
launches a process of randomization that breaks down your carefully built-up
muscular structure. Your body, being very smart, metaphorically swoops in and
moves all those metabolic components to other structures and systems for more
efficient use.
The superficial
result is loss of muscle definition. The deeper result is loss of muscle tone.
Your cardiorespiratory system (heart and lungs), digestive system, and
metabolism are all affected, as these physiologic systems are no longer
required to be functioning at peak to support a regular vigorous exercise
program. Entropy sets in to all these systems, as well. The overall result is a
profound impact on your health and well-being.
The good news
is we can help keep entropy at bay. But doing so requires attention and
determination. We want to attend to our bodies as carefully and regularly as we
attend to the environment of our home, office, and garden. Just as our cars,
motorcycles, and bicycles require periodic maintenance, our bodies require much
more frequent care, care on a daily and weekly basis.
It’s fine to occasionally skip a week
or two, or even a month if needed, of exercise. But we must make sure we get
right back on schedule to ensure benefits to our short-term and long-term health.
Remember…whatever we don't use we lose when it comes to muscle strength and
flexibility.
References:
Barwais FA, et al: Physical
activity, sedentary behavior and total wellness changes among sedentary adults:
a 4-week randomized controlled trial. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2013 Oct
29;11:183. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-11-183
Loprinzi PD, Lee H: Rationale for
promoting physical activity among cancer survivors: literature review and
epidemiologic examination. Oncol Nurs Forum 2014 Mar 1;41(2):117-25. doi:
10.1188/14.ONF.117-125.
Ricci-VItor AL, et al: Influence of
the resistance training on heart rate variability, functional capacity and
muscle strength in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Eur J Phys
Rehabil Med 49(6):793-801, 2013
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