What Happens When You Stop Exercising?

Exercise will stimulate your brain to work at an optimum capacity. Exercise also stimulates nerve cells to multiply, as well as strengthening the interconnections of neurons, while protecting them from damage.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has a rejuvenating role. BDNF activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons and also promotes neural health.

Exercise Also:

1. Stimulates the production of nerve-protecting compounds

2. Improves the development and survival of neurons

3. Decreases the risk diseases of the heart and blood vessel

4. Improves your mood, by stimulating the production of; endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, glutamate and GABA

5. Alters the way damaging proteins reside inside your brain, which appears to slow the development of Alzheimer's disease

Here's What Happens if You Stop Exercising:

You probably expect that your muscle tone will take a beating once your workouts stop, but less expected changes will occur throughout your body. One of the first places to experience the repercussions may actually be your brain.

Research published in the journal Frontier in Aging Neuroscience revealed that endurance runners who skipped exercise for 10 days had reductions in blood flow to their brain's hippocampus, which is a region associated with memories and emotions.

After about two weeks, your endurance may suffer, which means you may find yourself slightly more winded if you need to quickly climb a few flights of stairs. This is because of changes to your VO2 max, which is your maximal oxygen intake.

If your workouts take an even longer hiatus, you can expect increasingly noticeable changes to your body, both physically and aesthetically. You may start to notice your strength slipping after about two or four weeks with no activity.

Four weeks of inactivity among endurance cyclists resulted in a 20% decrease in VO2 max. Among those new to exercise, gains in VO2 max completely disappeared after four weeks of inactivity.

After about six to eight weeks, you may start to gain weight.

Newly made gains in strength tend to hold on even after months of inactivity. Previously untrained men who engaged in a 15-week strength-training program, taking a three-week break in the middle had no impact on strength levels at the end of the study.

Long-time exercisers do benefit in the time it takes them to get back in shape after an exercise hiatus, as compared to individuals without a long history of exercise.

Age also plays a role. The older you get, the faster your muscles atrophy if you're not regularly engaging in appropriate exercise. In addition, it will take you longer to get back into shape.

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