Your questions answered
I am a 39-year-old woman who has trained virtually daily for 10 years (sprinting, weight training, etc) and I’m in excellent physical shape. I will be undergoing surgery later this year and unable to train for two or three weeks. I’m worried about the mental and physical effects (depression, weight gain, muscle loss). Any advice?
You are obviously in good shape and your loss of fitness may be less than you perceive. Studies have shown it takes at least two weeks before there is any deterioration in the muscles’ energy-making processes. With three weeks off, any fitness loss should be minimal; more than five weeks and the difference would be noticeable.
When you resume training, your body, though rusty at first, should quickly return to its previous level. If you have never exercised, getting fit is much slower, since the muscles have no memory of the chemical processes necessary to create greater fitness and health. The analogy I often use is that your body’s fitness is like an overgrown wood. If the wood never had any paths, finding and creating them takes time and is hard work; if the wood once had paths, within a short time these can be re-established.
I don’t think you need worry too much about weight gain. You would have to eat an extra 7,000 calories -the equivalent of 88 slices of bread – to gain a pound of fat. Also, studies have shown that if your body mass index (your weight in kilos divided by your height in metres squared) is within a healthy range (18.5-24.9), then 10,000 steps a day is sufficient to keep you within this range.
Once you can start to get moving again, make 10,000 steps the foundation of your recovery process, gradually building in more energetic exercise. Rest and recuperation is a crucial part of the healing process, so look at this as a short sabbatical. Be positive and good luck.
· Joanna Hall is a fitness expert (joannahall.com). Send your exercise questions to: Weekend, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER ([email protected]).
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