Working out over the holidays isn't easy—but don't let your lapse last long. Sports scientists says this much time off could be detrimental.
It might seem like a given, but the consistency of exercise can matter just as much as which physical challenge you choose, especially if your goal is better cardiovascular health. Anything that gets your heart rate pumping for at least 150 minutes per week should put you on the path to success, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Yet far too often—especially around the holidays—we find ourselves straying from our exercise plans for days, weeks, or even months at a time.
While some health experts recommend a pre-planned weekly rest day away from your workout, it’s important not to derail your routine entirely—especially as an upcoming December 2025 study says that lapsing for a particular period of time can have significant effects on body fat, blood pressure, and more.
The meta-analysis study, led by by a group of Chinese sport scientists and set for publication in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, looked at what happens to older adults’ overall health when they stop exercising—a process called “detraining.” The study authors define this as “the partial or complete loss of previously acquired physiological adaptations due to a reduction or cessation of exercise. For example, resistance training has been shown to increase muscle mass in older adults, but muscle size declines significantly after training stops,” they write.
The researchers also wanted to see if the length of time without exercise changed the effects. They searched four databases to include 17 studies with a total of 513 participants, then analyzed the data using statistical software to check for patterns and possible biases. The subjects had an average age of 60, making the findings especially relevant to older adults.
The results showed that stopping exercise has negative effects on several key health measures—many of them crucial to cardiovascular health. When examining details from the included studies’ participants, the research showed that systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and body fat all went up in those individuals when they “detrained.” Meanwhile, good cholesterol (HDL-C) went down for those participants. These changes were worse when people stopped exercising for three months or longer.
But some effects didn’t take long to appear even after shorter breaks. For instance, systolic blood pressure and triglycerides saw the largest increases after three months, but increased no matter how long people stopped exercising. Body weight and BMI didn’t change much, but body fat increased in all groups, with a bigger increase after longer breaks.
The findings remind that even a short hiatus from exercise can cause a ripple effect in the body, especially for older adults. Staying active is about so much more than maintaining muscle mass—though this remains a central part of healthy aging. Rather, consistent physical activity is key to protecting heart and overall health, both now and for the future.
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