If that New Year’s Resolution has you going full out on exercise this month, read this Men’s Health article on taking a break. Besides avoiding adverse effects of overdoing it, you may not lose those gains you’ve made.
“Going all out, all the time, is a sure path to exhaustion. It can lead to elevated levels of stress hormones and reduced immunity, as well as unduly stressing muscles, tendons and ligaments. Affording yourself time off every now and then will stop your motivation levels tanking, too. Even better, the nuclei (our cells’ control centers) we gain during periods of regular exercise remain in place even when our muscle cells shrink. To get a little sciencey, these residual ‘myonuclei’ allow us to regrow our muscles bigger and faster when we return to training after a break.”
Happy New Year!
– Jet Cannon
