Use it or lose it.
It may well be something you’ve heard a million times before. But when it comes to your fitness, it’s well worth remembering.
If instant gratification is your thing, exercise can be a drag. It’s not something you do once, then sit back and reap a lifetime of rewards.
Those rewards only come with hard work, consistency and self-discipline.
“You’re only as good as your last training session,” said sports scientist Tony Boutagy.
“In other words, you only get health benefits from a session for up to about 48 hours afterwards.”
And no-one is immune to this deconditioning effect.
Whether you are a marathon runner, a regular gym-goer or someone who only walks a few times a week, you’ll likely lose half your fitness if you don’t train at all for a week, said Nigel Stepto, associate professor in exercise physiology at Victoria University.
“Of course the marathon runner’s fitness would still be greater than someone whose main exercise is walking — they were fitter in the first place,” he said.
“But after a week of no training, both would be half as fit as they were the last time they worked out.”
However: there is some evidence to suggest that those with higher levels of fitness tend to lose it more slowly than newer exercisers.