What can I do to stop the erosion of my fitness gains?
Q
I’m a fitness fanatic but I’m desperate. Lockdown has destroyed fitness and strength levels. Is there anything I can do or take to stop this rapid loss of my hard-earned gains?
A
As a “fitness fanatic” one would expect you to be a devotee of exercise, a fitness buff — see what we did there? According to the online Collins Dictionary, a buff is “an expert on or devotee of a given subject”.
As an expert or fitness devotee, you should have answered that question yourself, but from an existential perspective, the Water Cooler is happy you didn’t.
For perspective, the lockdown has done more than destroy the girth of your upper arm. Depending on who of you are brave enough to read, there will be an economic contraction of 10%-20%, and there are claims that it could take about six years to recoup the value destroyed during these unproductive months.
Like the economy, you could be stumbling back to a sense of normality within months, but it will take time before you find your mojo again. Those economic percentages are similar to the percentages thrown about by so-called fitness gurus on the amount of gains you can expect to lose per time period of inactivity.
The measurement of this time period is up for debate, because some say it starts immediately, while others say you have a two-week grace period. But from our SA lockdown experience, we know grace periods don’t exist and just complicate matters.
Your question is at the root of a profound fear for gym and fitness fanatics. Use or lose it, we are told. Your body won’t hold on to more muscle than necessary and your cardiovascular fitness will deteriorate if you don’t exercise. It’s true, but in the real world — for those merely trying to be and stay in shape — it is blown out of proportion.
Stopping exercising and starting to lose gains is called deconditioning. Cardiovascular fitness will decline faster than your strength measurements or muscle size.
Some deconditioning guesstimates we found proclaim a drop of 10%-20% after a month to “up to 5% a day” after a certain layoff. Generalised guesswork pegged on to science, something we have grown accustomed to during this lockdown.
It is not surprising that after 50 days of lockdown you have noticed losses. Those who have done nothing will experience greater losses than those who have been doing what they can.
A number of factors determine the rate of deconditioning. These include your genes, age, how long you have trained, your fitness level, how active you are now and your health. And let’s not forget diet — it makes or breaks gains at the best of times.
How do you prevent or slow down deconditioning? By moving. It is entirely possible that many people will emerge from the lockdown in far better shape than they were at the start. It boils down to what you have been doing, relative to what you were doing before.
If you were putting in huge numbers on the road, you have no doubt taken a knock. Being able to run or cycle again means you can start the journey of building towards your previous level.
If you had high levels of lean muscle mass, it would be difficult to maintain that without sufficient access to weights. However, in moderate ranges, callisthenics would do a good job of building strength or holding onto the muscle and strength you have.
It is much easier to maintain a level of fitness and strength than build up to it in the first place. Doing as much as you can in the circumstances will limit the loss of your “hardearned gains”.
Eat well and train hard but forget about what you “can take”. Do not for a second believe that there is a pill or powder that can replace hard work and a clean diet.