Fitness Together Brecksville: Trainer Tuesdays: Will Occasionally Missing a Workout Session Affect My Endurance or Strength?

Trainer Tuesdays

Welcome back to the weekly edition on Trainer Tuesdays. Make sure to check in at our blog every Tuesday evening to learn the expertise of our great staff. Aside from being fantastic exercise coaches, they are also extremely knowledgeable in many aspects of health and fitness; so, it's time that you get to know them a little better! Each week, we will post a frequently asked, or sometimes just a fun fitness related question followed by the answers of each of the trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville.

Will Occasionally Missing a Workout Session Affect My Endurance or Strength?

Kelly Bailey: In a perfect world, we would never miss workouts, but the reality is that life sometimes gets in the way and our fitness gets pushed to the back burner. Work and family commitments, sickness, and injuries all have the potential to derail our best intentions. The good news is that missing the occasional workout is not going to hurt your strength or conditioning gains, especially if you've been consistent in your fitness routine. More often, the mental stress of missing a workout is much worse. We've all been there: we miss one workout and have a "fat day". The key is to be realistic and realize that you will occasionally miss a workout, but that you can get right back to it within the next day or two. The other key is understanding that it's okay to miss workouts occasionally, but missing them more frequently can stall your progress toward your fitness goals. So don't fret about missing one workout, but do make sure you get right back on the wagon as soon as you can.

Taynee Pearson: Missing the occasional workout isn't detrimental to a workout program but too many days missed will have an effect on your overall fitness level. It is good to give your muscles a break from training at least once or twice a week to allow proper recovery.

Steven Madden: Occasionally missing your workout will not have much of an effect on your overall strength or endurance, of course this depends on your definition of occasionally. Missing one day a month or so when working out 3 times a week will not result in a noticeable drop in strength and conditioning. Missing once a month when working out once a week, will undoubtedly be noticeable.

Now frequency not withstanding, there are times where you should miss a day (or a few). First, for medical reasons like pregnancy or giving birth, surgery or your doctor has told you to. Then, if you've just completed a major athletic event or endurance event. Have you ever wondered why athletes have an off season and the a preseason training period? You simply cannot put your body through that much stress constantly. You should also take a day off if you've had chronic problems sleeping. If you are not sleeping properly, your body will not recover from exercise properly.

Now, as long as you are committed to your fitness goals with regularity, missing a day because you are sick or have been active elsewhere is not tantamount to starting all over again.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Trainer Tuesdays: Will Occasionally Missing a Workout Session Affect My Endurance or Strength?

No comments:

Post a Comment