Break from running: How long before you lose your ability?

goshnames

I am used to running between 8-12KM daily (sometimes more). I have run off too much weight though and need to gain a few pounds, so I should probably curb my running a bit. I am worried about losing my ability though! I love feeling like I have strong, able legs and lungs!

How long of a break can the average person take before they start to lose their strength in running?

scottb81

One week.

TheBeerRunner

IIRC, it extremely fit individuals will notice a sharp decline in "fitness" within the first 3 weeks. After that it tapers off. I've found that I can get back to what I was doing within a few weeks after I've fallen off the horse for weeks or months at a time.

goshnames

One week.

Oh god. I'm going out right now then. I will just eat like a monster today or something.

Joreanasaurous

I was curious about this too. I'm taking a month vacation and will be unable to run for that whole time. Hopefully it doesn't throw me off too much.

scottb81

Everyone will begin to lose fitness after a week and have a significant decline after about three weeks. However, very aerobically fit people will have a slower decline than those who have been training for a shorter time.

If you have been training a short time, a few months, then the decline will be sharp and fast. If you have been training high volume for years the decline will be much more gradual.

scottb81

If you do need to take a break you can pretty much maintain your fitness level for several months by reducing the runs to 3 times a week with one of those runs being hard (Tempo effort) and the other two easy.

jacksonpt

I am used to running between 8-12KM daily (sometimes more). I have run off too much weight though and need to gain a few pounds, so I should probably curb my running a bit. I am worried about losing my ability though! I love feeling like I have strong, able legs and lungs!

How long of a break can the average person take before they start to lose their strength in running?

Why not just increase your calories? Keep running, but do so while eating a calorie surplus.

RunForChai

Hi,
I've coached many runners---please try pool running until those pounds come down. You wear a vest and run in deep water [your feet don't hit the pool floor]. This is a great exercise and will keep you in running shape until you can hit the trails again. It is also very cool in the summer. Pool running is how many accomplished runners stay in shape when they have an injury that prevents putting weight on a leg.
Try it!
Good luck!

ATT949

I am used to running between 8-12KM daily (sometimes more). I have run off too much weight though and need to gain a few pounds, so I should probably curb my running a bit. I am worried about losing my ability though! I love feeling like I have strong, able legs and lungs!

How long of a break can the average person take before they start to lose their strength in running?

http://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/losing-running-fitness/

http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/how-long-does-it-take-to-lose-your-running-fitness/

__Di__

What really is the issue here, is how fast you can get your fitness back again.

That first run back will be more difficult than normal, the second not so much, thereafter you are back in the swing of things and working your way back to original fitness.

There really is no need to stop running unless you are injured or ill OP, if you find you are losing or have lost too much weight due to the running, you need to eat more so there is no calorie deficit and if you need to put weight ON, you need to eat much more in that you are not using up all your calories.

All you need to do is reverse the weightloss strategy, ie eat MORE calories than you use up.

rybo

Just eat more instead of stopping.

dewsmom78

What if you take a break from running, but still do cardio a few days a week? Would you still lose your fitness from running?

CyberEd312

I am used to running between 8-12KM daily (sometimes more). I have run off too much weight though and need to gain a few pounds, so I should probably curb my running a bit. I am worried about losing my ability though! I love feeling like I have strong, able legs and lungs!

How long of a break can the average person take before they start to lose their strength in running?

Why not just increase your calories? Keep running, but do so while eating a calorie surplus.

QFT Yep this is what I was thinking too...

goshnames

Well, I took about a week off and started again yesterday. I did notice increased difficulty, but hopefully it won't take too long to get back on track. Thanks, ATT949 for those links! At least I know that if I do need to keep cutting down, it won't take as long to build up the same fitness level. I've cut it down to 5k-6k a day this week, but I try to increase my pace a bit more than usual. It just seems like it's not enough and not as fun as running long distance...but eating back that burned energy is a pain in the bum!

I'm just not used to eating over my maintenance calories. It seems like SO much food (and ends up being so much more expensive in terms of groceries)! It actually upsets my stomach. I need to switch my thinking from running to burn calories to running to improve my run = need more fuel.

cwolfman13

I am used to running between 8-12KM daily (sometimes more). I have run off too much weight though and need to gain a few pounds, so I should probably curb my running a bit. I am worried about losing my ability though! I love feeling like I have strong, able legs and lungs!

How long of a break can the average person take before they start to lose their strength in running?

Why not just increase your calories? Keep running, but do so while eating a calorie surplus.

Yeah...sounds like it's time for some ice cream...

goshnames

Yeah...sounds like it's time for some ice cream...

Bahah. Ice cream is a daily staple in my diet, but I will happily double my ice cream intake if needed.

JustJennie1

One week.

:huh:

Sorry. Not buying it.

I have taken a break from running for two weeks to over a month -- the latter was after my half marathon -- and never had any decrease in my strength or ability to run. After the second run I was right back to where I was. It could also be the fact that I still did cardio though.

__Di__

One week.

:huh:

Sorry. Not buying it.

I have taken a break from running for two weeks to over a month -- the latter was after my half marathon -- and never had any decrease in my strength or ability to run. After the second run I was right back to where I was. It could also be the fact that I still did cardio though.

I second this ^ except for me, it is usually around the third training session that I am finally getting back into it all.

Although some running fitness is lost, it is never all lost and it does not take long to gain back.

Hotdawgnothotdog

One week.

Oh god. I'm going out right now then. I will just eat like a monster today or something.

Hotdawgnothotdog

One week.

Oh god. I'm going out right now then. I will just eat like a monster today or something.

I think scottb81 maybe was being sarcastic. I know it's not what you asked, but if you want to continue to run, I'd say you'd be able to do that and gain weight. Once you hit (or pass) your goal weight, your metabolism slows, making it harder to lose. So up your calories, continuing running, if you do this and continue to lose, don't run as much, and good luck!

Capt_Apollo

I am used to running between 8-12KM daily (sometimes more). I have run off too much weight though and need to gain a few pounds, so I should probably curb my running a bit. I am worried about losing my ability though! I love feeling like I have strong, able legs and lungs!

How long of a break can the average person take before they start to lose their strength in running?

Why not just increase your calories? Keep running, but do so while eating a calorie surplus.

this.

or decrease your runs??

MB_Positif

Well, my initial response was to eat more. Then I saw that it upsets your stomach. Is this if you try to stuff yourself? I would suggest just eating more calorie dense foods as opposed to more food.

To be honest, I actually took off about 7 or 8 months from all exercise while I was sidelined with a brain disorder that resulted in surgery. When I started running again I hadn't lost as much of my ability as I thought I would. It's not taking as long to build back up as it did from when I first started running again after many years of not running!

Vansy

Some runners have their best race of their life after taking the month off before a race due to injury.

You really won't lose anything if you take a month off, or just majorly back off for a month. Once you're back running you may hit a week [usually the second week back for me] where you struggle or feel a little more sluggish and tired, but muscle through that week and you'll be right back to normal energy and normal strength and cardio levels.

scottb81

One week.

Oh god. I'm going out right now then. I will just eat like a monster today or something.

I think scottb81 maybe was being sarcastic. I know it's not what you asked, but if you want to continue to run, I'd say you'd be able to do that and gain weight. Once you hit (or pass) your goal weight, your metabolism slows, making it harder to lose. So up your calories, continuing running, if you do this and continue to lose, don't run as much, and good luck!

I wasn't being sarcastic.

You can take a week off without a noticible decline in aerobic fitness. After about a week to 10 days the loss begins to be significant. After 3 to 4 weeks the there will be a large decline in performance.

This is well known by athletes and coaches and the information along with supporting scientific studies is freely available on the web.

JustJennie1

One week.

Oh god. I'm going out right now then. I will just eat like a monster today or something.

I think scottb81 maybe was being sarcastic. I know it's not what you asked, but if you want to continue to run, I'd say you'd be able to do that and gain weight. Once you hit (or pass) your goal weight, your metabolism slows, making it harder to lose. So up your calories, continuing running, if you do this and continue to lose, don't run as much, and good luck!

I wasn't being sarcastic.

You can take a week off without a noticible decline in aerobic fitness. After about a week to 10 days the loss begins to be significant. After 3 to 4 weeks the there will be a large decline in performance.

This is well known by athletes and coaches and the information along with supporting scientific studies is freely available on the web.

Perhaps if they took a long time off of running and did NO cardiovascular activities what so ever. As long as I keep up with doing cardio while on a running hiatus I don't see any significant decline in my performance. In fact I am always prepared for it and pleasantly surprised when it doesn't happen.

scottb81

One week.

Oh god. I'm going out right now then. I will just eat like a monster today or something.

I think scottb81 maybe was being sarcastic. I know it's not what you asked, but if you want to continue to run, I'd say you'd be able to do that and gain weight. Once you hit (or pass) your goal weight, your metabolism slows, making it harder to lose. So up your calories, continuing running, if you do this and continue to lose, don't run as much, and good luck!

I wasn't being sarcastic.

You can take a week off without a noticible decline in aerobic fitness. After about a week to 10 days the loss begins to be significant. After 3 to 4 weeks the there will be a large decline in performance.

This is well known by athletes and coaches and the information along with supporting scientific studies is freely available on the web.

Perhaps if they took a long time off of running and did NO cardiovascular activities what so ever. As long as I keep up with doing cardio while on a running hiatus I don't see any significant decline in my performance. In fact I am always prepared for it and pleasantly surprised when it doesn't happen.

That wouldn't help the OP though; changing one high calorie burning activity to another.

pwnderosa

I like this thread since I live in Phoenix and the heat is reaching 119 this week, it's been very difficult to keep up with my running. I am hoping if I can squeeze one or two short morning runs in a week I won't lose too much of my progress. I also do cardio indoors (dance and stationary bike) so I am hoping to stay strong enough to hit it hard again when things cool down.

To the OP, I would suggest some high calorie drinks if you are having trouble eating enough, I could drink my weight in grape juice if it wouldn't make me gain LOL!

goshnames

To the OP, I would suggest some high calorie drinks if you are having trouble eating enough, I could drink my weight in grape juice if it wouldn't make me gain LOL!

DRINKS! Bahah, you're a genius! I don't know why that hadn't even crossed my mind. I haven't had liquid calories in ages. Juice aisle, here I come!

Deipneus

Some runners have their best race of their life after taking the month off before a race due to injury.

You really won't lose anything if you take a month off, or just majorly back off for a month.

That's what I'm thinking. I run my best times after a layoff. Weightlifters (I do that too) recognize the need for the body to rest and recover, why don't more runners?