I've been extra busy, so for the last 2 weeks I've been on sort of a hiatus from the gym. Today I made the decision I'm jumping back into my routine.

Well, I did my weights and strength training as I always do, and did awesome! However, when I hit the eliptical it was the exact opposite. I'm usually good for a 20 minute workout on it .. today I hit 4 minutes and thought I was going to pass out. So I stopped.., I've learned to listen to my body after I overworked myself one time and *did* pass out.

I still had the "jello leg" feeling when I left.. usually I love it because I know I worked out good - but I'm so disappointed in myself.

Is this because I took 2 weeks off?? Or am I not getting enough of something in my diet (protien or calories even). I've stayed on the diet for those 2 weeks, and I was under the assumption that wasn't a long enough period to cause a dent in my endurance.

I have the same problem if I take more than a couple of days off from the gym. I also do the elliptical first since it is the hardest for me. Listening to your body is important. I will either cut my time short like you did or drop my intensity (or both) when I am getting back to the gym after a break. If you continue to have trouble, then you might want to make sure your diet has enough calories/protein.

You lose it really quickly when you stop, but it doesn't take quite as long to get those muscles fit again. This is why you change your program every 6-8 weeks, so you are constantly experiencing a challenge!

I have the same problem. And now I haven't been to the gym for 8 weeks. I hate going back and discovering that all my hard work was wasted, sigh.

Hi, Tracy! I know that must have been really frustrating! But I think you'll find that your endurance will come back quickly. From what I've read, it takes six weeks to lose everything you've gained. After two weeks, you do lose some, but as one person said here, you get it back pretty fast. Just be gentle with yourself.

Barb, I always used to do my elliptical first too, because it is hardest for me as well. But my trainer told me that the weights use the energy in your blood. The elliptical will use the energy in your blood and in your fat. So if you do weights first, you use up the energy in your blood so the elliptical is forced to use the energy in your fat. So it's best to do weights first. She also told me that in the past, people believed that cardio was the only way to burn fat but they have found that, in fact, after one half hour of strength training, you burn fat for 12 hours, regardless of what else you are doing. It revs your metabolism. She said it is equal to the amount of fat burnt when you do an aerobics class for an hour! She said cardio is important for heart and lung function, but if you have to choose between weight lifting and cardio (because of time contraints, etc.), go with weights. Interesting!

Laurie, my personal trainer told me to do that also.. I've always done the eliptical first. After I do my strength training I'm my muscles are so tired already (especially my legs as he has me doing almost 50 squats!) But with that more detailed explanation you gave I'll keep doing it last I'm glad I didn't wait more than 2 weeks to jump back into it.. I'd be very depressed if I lost all my endurance.

Barb, thanks for the input! I'll monitor how I feel for the next week, and if I'm not feeling back to normal I'll take a closer look at what I'm eating.

Chick, that's definetly good to know! no matter how busy I get I'll at least try to go 2 days a week - or keep some exercise going when I'm getting busy.

I had never heard that, Laurie. Thanks for the information! I will try switching it around and seeing if it makes a difference.

I have found that whenever I miss more than a week at the gym I lose some of my advancements I've made. It's frustrating, but like others said they quickly come back too. It's also a little incentive to go even one day a week to keep up the progress we've made.

Laurie - thanks for that explanation! I've had the hardest time getting back into weight-lifting and I think you just gave me the reasons I needed to hear!