Can you guys help me?

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
As of tomorrow I have to take at least 2 weeks off from exercise b/c of a medical issue. I thought I'd be fine but I woke up this a.m. in an absolute panic! Will I lose all the strength & muscle I've built over the years? I've made some really awesome gains since spring, will I have to start over?

How much strength will I lose? I'm especially interested in others who've had to take time off for whatever reason. I'm crapping my pants here! :eek:
 
Oh dear god, I hope you won't lose your awesome, hard earned gains after 2 weeks! I've been missing my workouts for 6 weeks (DFIL has been in the hospital all this time and I sit with him for several hours a day), and I had made some awesome gains with my cardio and kettlebell workouts prior to this. I'll be sending some vibes your way, but I really don't think something you've been working on for all this time will disappear in 2 weeks. ;)
 
No worries

LauraMax said:
As of tomorrow I have to take at least 2 weeks off from exercise b/c of a medical issue. I thought I'd be fine but I woke up this a.m. in an absolute panic! Will I lose all the strength & muscle I've built over the years? I've made some really awesome gains since spring, will I have to start over?

How much strength will I lose? I'm especially interested in others who've had to take time off for whatever reason. I'm crapping my pants here! :eek:
Click to expand...

Hi LauraMax,

I took of 6 weeks last year (intentionally) from exercise because I was spent. I didn't even train clients. I stretched, but that was it. I promise you that you will not lose your gains. You won't have to start over. As long as you're not sick (i.e., flu), you can consider this as an awesome opportunity for your body to heal 100% from any lingering pain or tiny/slight injuries. Then, when you come back, it will be in full force.

We've never met, but from the looks of your photos and others' comments about your level of fitness, my sense is that you'll be scratching the walls and then come back even stronger! I'm excited about how enthused you'll be when you can start working out again!!!
 
OMG I cannot thank you guys enough! Laura, I really needed to hear that, it makes me feel so much better. If you took six weeks off & still have that amazing physique I guess I'll be just fine. :)

Truthfully I have been feeling a bit frustrated & discouraged lately. I feel like I've lost the eye of the tiger, know what I mean? I was thinking this would be a good opportunity to take a real break, then I woke up this morning and........well, you know the rest. :eek:

Michelle, I hope your FIL gets well soon & you can get back into it too!
 
LauraMax said:
OMG I cannot thank you guys enough! Laura, I really needed to hear that, it makes me feel so much better. If you took six weeks off & still have that amazing physique I guess I'll be just fine. :)

Truthfully I have been feeling a bit frustrated & discouraged lately. I feel like I've lost the eye of the tiger, know what I mean? I was thinking this would be a good opportunity to take a real break, then I woke up this morning and........well, you know the rest. :eek:

Michelle, I hope your FIL gets well soon & you can get back into it too!
Click to expand...

Laura...

I used to obsess about this as well, and then I started ramping up my workouts when I became a Cathelete, and have learned to appreciate the upcoming 2 week break I'll be getting while in Disney next month.

I don't think you have a thing to worry about!!
 
Laura, two weeks is nothing. Your body will thank you for it and most likely you will come back even stronger.

I always take a week off every 8-12 weeks and there have been times I've taken 2 weeks off. I never notice muscle loss or strength loss and most times I come back a bit stronger. It won't take nothing for your body to "remember" what it was doing.

Don't sweat it. It will be good for you, I promise! :p
 
I injured my back badly on a swimming starting block about 4 years ago and ended up taking 6 weeks off. I just started back easy and in no time at all was back at it hard. 2 weeks will be no problem. The first week back may feel a little hard, but after that you will feel good as new.
 
Laura - All I can say is that you WILL get through it and rebound well! I promise. When I ran cc in college, I had an 8 month injury and I thought I was going to die...I was nuts! But, I was able to do other things in the meantime and kept my fitness. It took one a month to be right back into it...

Since then, I had a 2 week layoff. I lost strength, but being in shape, I rebounded very well! The body (especially those who do Cathe) have tremendous muscle memory and it will want to move again. I did about 50-60% the first week and was back to lifting my normal weights 2 weeks after.

My best advice is DO NOT panic and seize the moment. It will pass. Visualize your muscles healing and your whole body strengthening. You can make it.
 
like others have said, you should be just fine. i have always heard that taking time off is a good thing for your body. i have taken time off before, and when i started back it was hard at first, but then i felt even stronger once my body kicked back into gear.
 
I sent you an email earlier so here I will just say this - enjoy the time off, guilt free, and look forward to getting back into it when your body is ready - you will seriously be surprised at how good you feel and may even come back stronger after the break.
 
meowracer said:
I sent you an email earlier so here I will just say this - enjoy the time off, guilt free, and look forward to getting back into it when your body is ready - you will seriously be surprised at how good you feel and may even come back stronger after the break.
Click to expand...
Agreed! You will be fine, Laura, and you will feel much better when you come back. :) I hope that your health related absence isn't a serious one and that you will be back to normal soon.

Missy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top