Today was a scheduled day off from lifting, but I went in to the gym to ride the bike anyway. Why? Well, one, I cannot seem to stay asleep past 440 am, and two I like to chat to my pregnant friend, Holly. She is quite a trooper. She is 40 weeks along and still working out every day. Her baby is going to be delivered with tennis shoes on and dumbbells in his/her hands!

So, we got to talking today about deconditioning. She was wondering how long she might be out from the gym following her delivery and how long does it take to get out of shape when not working out regularly. I found this today which explains it simply, use it or lose it!

Within as little as two weeks, cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and muscular endurance can be lost. Of course, there are many factors that influence how fast your fitness level will decrease, including how fit you were when you stopped exercising and how long and hard you’ve been training for. A highly trained athlete will take longer than a poorly trained person to become detrained because of their magnitude of initial fitness. It may take months for a competitive athlete, whereas a less fit person can start losing their fitness level within days or weeks. So what can you do if you’re a beginner and have to take a break? If you want to get in shape and stay in shape, don’t take more than two days off between workouts when you’re able to work out regularly, and don’t let your total physical activity cease for more than one week. If you get sick or are injured, try to accomplish the minimum amount of activity that’s feasible for you.

In Holly's case, I would consider her a highly trained marathon runner, so she has a few months at most to consider being out of the gym. However, as highly trained athletes are concerned, I doubt it will be an issue. She will be on the treadmill the next day with her Nike Air's running on clouds since she probably will lose a quick 15 pounds!