Health: The best way to energy via disruptions to your exercise routine

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Gyms may be closed again because of the pandemic, but a hiatus doesn’t mean all your hard-earned gains will be lost.

Monster Gym equipment is on hold during the first wave of the pandemic June 15, 2020 in Montreal.Monster Gym equipment is on hold during the first wave of the pandemic June 15, 2020 in Montreal. Photo by Allen McInnis /Montreal newspaper

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It looks like we’re going to have to get used to gyms being closed during a pandemic that continues to disrupt our fitness routines. And while we’re all hoping it will be weeks rather than months before the doors reopen, it’s worth asking the question again about how much exercise it takes to retain hard-earned fitness gains.

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Keep in mind that a sudden reduction in exercise alongside a pandemic can occur in a variety of contexts. There are many reasons you might temporarily have less time to exercise — including vacations, recovering from an injury, or family commitments — so understanding how to stay fit despite breaks in your regular exercise schedule is valuable knowledge.

Maintaining fitness isn’t the same as building fitness, but it’s worth mentioning that short-term breaks in training can work in your favour. Recovery is both mentally and physically rejuvenating, so don’t fret about taking a few weeks away from your routine. However, any break that exceeds two to four weeks can result in a significant loss in cardiovascular and muscular fitness, with the decline being more pronounced in elite athletes than in those who only exercise to improve their health and fitness.

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With the current gym closures likely to last longer than two to four weeks, it’s important to adjust your exercise schedule to minimize the impact on your long-term fitness goals.

A recent article in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reviewed several quality studies by different authors aimed at identifying the exact dose of training required to maintain physical capacity during periods when a normal training schedule is disrupted. Most studies began by training a group of moderately active people for a period of time and then significantly reduced their exercise over the next few weeks. The researchers then analyzed the effects of reducing the frequency (number of workouts per week), volume (duration of a workout or number of sets per exercise), or intensity (percentage of maximum heart rate or maximum load) of exercise.

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Given that most of the results from these studies rely on changing one aspect of training while keeping the others the same, it’s helpful to consider which of the variables—frequency, volume, or intensity—are easiest to maintain in your circumstances and which are most likely to change. If you’re stuck at home, you may need to keep your workouts shorter than usual, especially when the kids are out of school. Or maybe you can’t exercise that often. There’s also a chance you don’t have the right equipment to maintain the same intensity as you do in the gym. For example, you could do bodyweight exercises instead of lifting heavy weights. Whatever your situation, there is good scientific evidence to support the premise that it is possible to minimize the effects of putting your training on hold for several weeks.

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“Performance adjustments to endurance and resistance training appear to be relatively well maintained in the general population, as long as exercise intensity is maintained, despite relatively large reductions in exercise frequency (up to 66 percent) and volume (33 to 66 percent). said the authors of the review published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

In particular, experts suggest that for cardiovascular fitness (e.g. swimming, running or cycling), the training frequency can be reduced to two training sessions per week as long as the volume and intensity remain the same. Or, if you prefer, training volume can be reduced by up to 66 percent as long as you maintain frequency and intensity. However, for the best possible results, the intensity should be kept as high as possible during shortened training sessions.

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For those who prefer the weight room, the parameters are slightly different and differ by age. Research suggests that strength can be maintained with just one workout per week and with volume reduced to one set per exercise. Again, intensity remains important. To minimize significant strength loss, your muscles should reach failure (be completely exhausted) on the final rep of the final set.

For those over 60, strength training should be done at least twice a week, with a volume of no less than two to three sets per exercise. And like younger weightlifters, you should aim to hit failure on the last rep of the last set.

Whether you’re trying to maintain aerobic or muscular conditioning, the key is to put the same amount of energy into your workouts as you used to, especially if they’re shorter or less frequent. Pandemic or no pandemic, the measure of a good workout isn’t always its length or frequency, but the effort you put into it.

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