How Just Two Weeks Without Exercise Can Seriously Set You Back

"Use it or lose it" applies perfectly to fitness. If you stop working out for just two weeks, your body’s performance will noticeably decline. Here’s how taking a break from exercise can affect you.

A woman in a white top and purple striped shorts, wearing black sneakers and her hair tied in a ponytail, focuses intently on lifting a dumbbell at a gym. The background reveals other fitness equipment and a mirror reflecting her image, emphasizing the professional and well-equipped setting for her strength training session.

01 Physical Performance Drops by 25%

Many signs of physical decline aren’t immediately visible. However, if you don’t adjust your diet, your muscle mass will decrease while body fat increases. More importantly, your overall physical performance will suffer. A mere 2-3 weeks of inactivity can lead to a 25-30% decline in your speed, endurance, and flexibility.

02 Muscle Fibers Begin to Shrink

A two-week break can cause reductions in muscle mass, capillary size, and density. Becoming a couch potato will also affect your bone density, flexibility, and overall blood circulation. Without regular exercise, your muscle fibers will start storing less glycogen, leading to muscle fiber shrinkage.

Shrinking muscle fibers will need more stimulation to return to their previous state, meaning it will take more effort to regain muscle strength and size.

A blonde woman in a gray tank top and black gloves confidently holds a red dumbbell, smiling as she engages in a workout session at the gym. The background showcases various fitness equipment, including treadmills and other strength training machines, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.

03 VO2 Max Drops by 1% Per Day

Cardiovascular endurance declines faster than muscle strength. Within two weeks of stopping your workouts, your stroke volume decreases, mitochondrial density drops by nearly 50%, and your heart rate increases. Your cardiac output (the volume of blood the heart pumps per minute) decreases, and your VO2 max (the maximum rate of oxygen consumption) will drop by 1% each day.

Your body’s ability to clear lactic acid also diminishes, leading to faster lactic acid buildup during intense exercise. This reduces your endurance and high-intensity performance capabilities.

04 Increased Anxiety Levels

Exercise increases oxygen flow to the brain. After two weeks of inactivity, your brain and body won’t feel as sharp. Exercise boosts the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which supports new brain cell growth and may help prevent conditions like Alzheimer’s and depression. Without regular exercise, your dopamine levels drop, leading to increased anxiety and fatigue, making it harder to motivate yourself to get back into your fitness routine.

Two women collaborate during a fitness training session at the gym. The woman on the left, dressed in a black tank top and gray leggings, assists the woman on the right, wearing blue tights and a black top, by adjusting her foot position on a black-seated strength training machine.

05 Poor Sleep Quality

Regular exercise enhances metabolism and promotes good sleep by aiding in the production of hormones like growth hormone and testosterone that repair muscle tissue during sleep. Without exercise, your deep sleep stages are reduced, leading to restlessness and decreased sleep quality.

Fitness is more than just a routine; it should be an integral part of your daily life to maintain overall well-being.