This is what happens when you stop exercising

Let’s face it, staying in shape is not an easy task. It needs a lot of effort and above all, a strong determination. The first few days are really inspiring and motivating and you are headstrong to overhaul your faulty lifestyle but once you start shedding extra kilos, that's when most of us start taking things easy. But do you know quitting a workout regime can have the opposite effect, sometimes immediately!

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Apparently, your belly will not pop out overnight, but your fitness levels will definitely decline. This clearly depends on the amount of time and the months you had spent on working out. If you were on a cardiovascular fitness regime, the moment you discontinue it, you will experience a rapid and dramatic decline in the cardiovascular fitness in the initial three weeks of quitting this fitness plan.

For those following high fitness levels, after about 12 weeks of quitting the regime, your fitness levels will start to decline. But for low to moderate fitness levels, you might be able to retain your stamina for a few weeks, but gradually it will start to fall. But whatever fitness regime you were following, you will definitely experience the following changes:

This is the change that you will feel within a week. You plump up, as your muscles do not get potential to burn fat. Your metabolism also slows down, resulting in weight gain.

This is the effect that you will feel instantly. You will notice that the days you are hitting the gym, your blood pressure level remains normal. And the days you don’t work out, your blood pressure is higher. After two weeks, your blood vessels will adapt to the sedentary lifestyle.

People who don’t work out, get winded up fast. So if you quit your workout regime, you will gasp for breath even after climbing a few stairs. This is because you lose the mini-factories of your muscles that convert oxygen into energy.

Apart from the adverse health effects, stopping a strenuous workout routine makes your brain tired and ill-tempered. Exercising regularly can fight depression and also plays a role in lifting your mood.

Once you quit training, your muscles suffer. You may notice that your muscles wither and start to shrink immediately after leaving the workout regime. And remember, it takes a longer period to rebuild that muscle mass again.

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