So i'm injured right now, how long is it before I begin to lose all cardiovascular fitness rapidly?
So i'm injured right now, how long is it before I begin to lose all cardiovascular fitness rapidly?
I'm no expert on the subject, but I'd estimate that you lose the most in the first 2-3 weeks. After that it slows down a whole lot, as you can maintain a base fitness level for months.
Actually I've heard that you can sit around and do nothing for 2 weeks and lose negligible fitness. I'm no expert either though...
Don't sit around and do nothing though. Can you use the elliptical? The bike? The pool? Music helps with crosstraining...
You lose fitness after a couple days, but if you start training again in the next few weeks or month it will come back very quickly. Remember it's much easier to regain a level of fitness after you've already reached it.
Thanks for the info, and no i cant run, or do pool running, or work on the eliptical right now. Big bummer. Just wanted an estimate of how i would feel if I took ten to twelve days off.I dont want to force an early recovery, I have learned from my mistakes Would anybody else have any more opinions on how I would feel in twelve days, or what shape/ cardiovascular fitness i would be in?
You will feel sluggish for the first couple days then you will feel awesome. Less than two weeks off is nothing, don't worry about it.
That's not a whole lot. Many people take 1-2 weeks off between seasons. You just won't have as strong of a base. What is keeping you from cross training? What's your injury?
Wow, I feel a lot better now. I took it easy the past few days because of a sore hamstring. I took last Friday completely off, Saturday only ran 8 miles when I was supposed to run 16 miles, rode my bike 21 miles on Sunday, rode it again for 25 miles on Monday, then started running again on Tuesday for a mere 4 miles at a slow pace. Today I ran 6 miles and was flying, and it felt great! :-)