The minute you miss a workout, your body goes into reverse. In other words you start to lose all the benefits that exercise brings. If you miss a week of working out, your muscles start to stiffen up and your heart and lungs lose 5 per cent of their fitness. Your fat levels start to creep up because your metabolism has slowed and lost around 10 per cent of its capacity to use oxygen, which ultimately helps us burn calories.
From there it’s a slippery downhill slope. Every journey begins with one small step, so make sure your steps take you in the right direction (towards the gym!)
Humans are creatures of habit and like to stick to routines. If we get into the habit of going to the gym we tend to stick to it and enjoy the self esteem it brings us. But, if we skip a session, before you know it, a snowball effect occurs. One missed workout becomes two, then three, then four and suddenly you have a new habit....of NOT working out. Self esteem plummets as the realisation dawns that you have fallen off the fitness wagon and it can quickly go downhill from there.
If you start to miss your workouts, you start to lose your competitive edge. When you push yourself to the limit in the gym it’s between you and the treadmill or you and the rowing machine. You then carry those skills with you into everyday life. If you start missing workouts, your ability to compete in life can be diminished. Everyone needs an edge and going to the gym or working out gives us that edge. Without it, we start to lose our focus.
Sleep is affected. Why? Because when you work out, you have more restful sleep.
