💤 A Case Study On Taking Long Breaks From Exercise
An extreme rest protocol that actually improved fitness.
I’m currently taking a long MDW, and trying not to beat myself up about missing training.
Rest days aid in recovery, which no fitness professional will tell you at this time of the year.
If you train 6-7 days a week, that’s great, but you might have to listen to your body occasionally and stop the exertion. (This is a reminder to myself, too).
If you’re worried about the ramifications of that, here’s a crazy example of extended rest that will quell your anxiety.
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Newsletter Summary:
How Triathlete Romauld Lepers used a 3-month pause from training to improve his overall fitness
The prerequisites for long-rest protocols
One quote about relaxing to end the week
🛏️ He Rested For HOW LONG?
Romauld Lepers, a French triathlete and “master” racer (in endurance sport, “master” refers to a seasoned athlete over the age of 40), runs a performance lab at the University of Bourgogne in Dijon, and underwent an experiment on himself after completing the SwimRun World Championships in Sweden.
After some tests with his colleagues, Lepers figured he would take some time off.
At 53, he’d never missed more than two weeks in his training career, often putting in 40-50 hour training weeks to keep his endurance high.
But Lepers and his team weren’t convinced, so he engaged in a 3-month experiment to see how much a structured time-off period would decrease his overall endurance and health.
After the age of 30, what is objectively true is that your oxygen uptake/utilization (referred to commonly as “VO2 Max”) and your muscle mass decrease a few percentage points every year (and more dramatically each decade).
Also, there are theories of a “punctuated equilibrium” — the thought that while these drops are gradual, they can also be accelerated by the weakening of our immune system and sick spells like the flu, viruses, or broken bones later in life.
While VO2 Max is far from a perfect measurement for endurance and overall fitness, it does give us a general sense of our aerobic capabilities and capacity to handle a fair amount of physical stress.
So when Lepers took this 12-week break and tested his VO2 max on a treadmill and bike during the break, his VO2 Max dropped by 10%, which is the equivalent of 15 years of aging.
Still, that’s not as sharp of a drop as some previous scientific studies have suggested with such a long time off.
But when Lepers restarted training again, something wild happened.
He restarted training again after 12 weeks and not only did he rebound all of his fitness back; he was actually more fit (about 5% more fit) in his VO2 max measurements than before the break.
How exactly did this happen?
One theory is that Lepers’ body composition changed — he gained fat and lost muscle during his break, but then trimmed down the fat and gained muscle during retraining — and lost 3% of his body fat after the break. That can improve VO2 max modestly, but it wouldn’t fully explain the increase in lung capacity and oxygen processing.
Lepers is, unfortunately, an N=1 experiment example, so don’t start off 2025 by taking three months off thinking it’ll work perfectly for you.
Here are the parameters for long breaks, according to Lepers.
🫀 The prerequisites for extended fitness breaks
Even if you take, say, a 4-week break, this self-conducted study is at least evidence that returning to your previous fitness level is attainable.
But keep in mind, Lepers is an elite triathlete, something very few people venture out to do.
He and his endurance-crazed peers usually take long breaks to let their bodies reset. Three months, though?
That’s pretty long for even a non-triathlete fit person.
Most regular gymgoers who have developed a habit might go crazy going that long without a workout.
So, take intermittent breaks, but use a 4:1 work-rest ratio for your longer breaks if you decide you need them. Here’s what I mean by that:
Since this experiment mainly measured aerobic fitness, here’s how you could scale your breaks.
For someone who engages in 3-6 hours of cardio per week for a month (4 weeks), take 1 week off. This will allow you the relaxation of recovery without getting too bored
For someone who works out 7 days a week (exercise of any kind) for 3 months straight, a month off could be a fun experiment (depending on how forward-looking you are to the rest
Anyone who goes longer or trains than that without an extended break or couch time can try Lepers’ experiment, but don’t come crying to me when you get anxious about your fitness! This is only intended to be informational — I don’t recommend a three-month hiatus from training unless you’ve got something to occupy your time in the meantime.
🔎 One Quote about Resting to start the week
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."
- John Lubbock
Resting can help us decide how to be better for our bodies.
Sometimes, our obsession with movement can become unhealthy, and structured rest helps us step back and realize that life is not all about movement, reps, or weight.
See you all on Friday.