If you’re used to following a fitness program, the prospect of taking a break over the holidays can feel daunting. Will all that time spent sitting in airport terminals or melting into the couch set you back in your training? Will you return from vacation a slower, weaker athlete?
Let’s start with the good news: A short break from working out can actually be helpful. “As long as you’re staying consistent before then, taking a three- or four-day rest is actually going to be a net positive because you’re giving your body that time to recover,” says Grayson Wickham, a doctor of physical therapy and the founder of Movement Vault, a stretching app and website.
During a break from exercise, cardiovascular capacity typically declines faster than strength, but even that reduction in aerobic fitness takes longer than you may think. A 2024 meta-analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology suggests that it takes at least 12 days of not training before your VO2 max starts to decrease. You have even more leeway when it comes to strength training. The researchers behind a 2024 study published…
