What Happens to Your Body When You Stop Working Out for a Week (or More)

Embrace Your Real

Julie Ledbetter

Health & Fitness, Fitness, Body, Mindset, Movement, Health, Acceptance, Macros, Love, Positivity, Nutrition, Loss, Weight

5 • 965 Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Headed into spring break or just life-ing a little harder than usual and worried about missing your workouts? In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly what happens to your body when you take a week (or more) off from training. Spoiler alert: you're not losing all your progress—and in fact, the break might be exactly what your body needs.

I dive into muscle memory, why rest is part of the process, how often you should actually plan time off, and how to shift your mindset so you don’t spiral into guilt. Plus, I share what a deload week is and how you can use it to come back feeling stronger, not behind.

Whether you're on vacation, dealing with a crazy schedule, or just feeling off, this episode will help you embrace the pause and stay committed to your long-term goals.

What’s Discussed:

Why taking a week off won’t erase your progress
How long it really takes to lose muscle or strength
What muscle memory is and why it’s on your side
The power of planned rest and how often to take it
What a deload week is and how it supports long-term gains
Nutrition tips to help support your body during a break

If you loved this episode, you’ll also love Episode 413: The Importance of a Rest Day: Don’t Let Overexercising Ruin Your Progress

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Labbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real. Let's get it. Let's go.
0:30.3	Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode. I'm so glad that you're here. Today we're going to be
0:35.7	talking about something that I know is hitting home for a lot of you right now, especially with spring break happening, maybe just happened or it's about to happen. Routines have either are going to be flipped upside down or have been flipped upside down. So what actually happens to your body when you stop working out for a week? So many of you guys have messaged me like in the past
0:54.5	week saying, Julie, I have not moved my body in a week or a week and a half. I feel like I'm losing
0:59.9	all of my progress. And I get that spiral. I've been there. I mean, trust me, postpartum life. Hello.
1:05.2	But before you go down that shame and guilt rabbit hole, I want to kind of walk you through the truth because
1:11.6	spoiler alert, your progress is not going to disappear overnight or in one week or in a week
1:16.2	and a half. Before I kind of break it down all for you, I want to share this review. It comes from
1:20.6	My Dog is My BFF. I love this too. My dog is my BFF as well. And she gave a five-star review
1:25.7	and said, Amen, Julie. Finding Julie's
1:28.0	work out podcast and social media has completely changed my life for the better. Not only did she
1:32.9	reconnect my relationship with God, she is helping me become a better woman for the sake of my
1:37.3	daughter. My daughter now has a mom who loves herself, respects herself, and I cannot wait to
1:41.7	teach her everything I've learned from Julie. I'm so thankful for
1:44.5	you. Oh, P.S. username pronounced Annie says hi. I love that so much. Annie says hi. Well, hi, Annie. My dog is also
1:52.0	my BFF. And I'm so grateful that, man, that is such an honor. The fact that you said that I
1:57.4	helped you reconnect your relationship with God. In my opinion, that's the most
2:00.9	important thing in life. And so I just, I feel honored to me alongside of your journey. And I'm also
2:06.0	so incredibly grateful that your daughter now has a mom who loves herself and respects
2:10.4	herself. Like, don't underestimate that. That is so, so amazing. And the fact that you are
2:16.1	putting in the work and your daughter is really going,
2:19.2	not only are you going to reap the benefits, but everybody around you, including your daughter.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Julie Ledbetter, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Julie Ledbetter and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.