Losing fitness after a few weeks?

[cphillygirl]

Hey! So I mainly do yoga (mostly vinyasa/power, a few times a week — in college so things can get busy) with some occasional running, rowing, and lifting mixed in. After ~3 weeks of less activity over the holidays, I feel like I've lost a TON of fitness — both endurance and flexibility. My weight has mostly remained stable/dropped a little, but e.g. my hamstrings are extremely tight and I feel a lot more low-energy.

A few things I think might be at play:

• Burnout?? causing tiredness
• One time in the 3 weeks, I pushed myself a bit too hard lifting (but I usually tend to recover pretty fast when this happens so ??) and found it really hard to walk afterwards LOL
• My protein intake dropped quite a bit over the holidays — went from consuming a lot of protein at every meal to much more carb-heavy meals, so might've had some muscle loss

What I'm currently doing to try and fix:

• Less "hard workouts" (rowing/lifting) and trying to work myself back into yoga with more emphasis on daily stretching
  • Kind of just making myself do things during yoga even though I've seen some capabilities decrease
• Increasing my intake a bit with a bigger focus on protein

Has anyone experienced this + how do I get back into the routine when everything hurts? Would love any advice

If it's at all meaningful, I'm 4'11" and 20F. I'm in college so have def had periods of inactivity/burnout as well but have always been able to bounce back ~easier!

 

[jessicakarli]

@cphillygirl I went back to the gym and running after 4 weeks away for the holidays. My pace is slower and my body hurts … it’s fine. I’m giving myself until February to get back to my pre-holiday non-hurt … until then, I’m being kind to myself (4’10.5”; 108 lbs).

 

[cphillygirl]

@jessicakarli I think being kind to yourself is definitely the move haha. We'll get back into it!!

 

[emilyjack2]

@cphillygirl I ran v regularly last year but fell out of my routine in November. December was so busy so just getting back into it now. My pace has gotten so much slower and the hills I found easy now feel quite challenging! I've had maybe five weeks out.

You'll get back into it really quickly though as you have a great base and exercise is part of your routine !! take it slower than you did before christmas, stretch more, lower weights, slower pace when running etc and you'll be on fire again in two or three weeks.

Edit: just wanted to add that this is just what I'm telling myself. Admittedly I am extremely annoyed with myself for falling out of my routine but life happens !

 

[cphillygirl]

@emilyjack2 Yes this is helpful! Will take the suggestions for stretching more and starting slow to minimize injury risk. Good luck to you getting back into things too

 

[matthew01]

@cphillygirl Sounds like a combination of the three but why not go back to lifting and just go lower weight and focus on form? Lifting always makes me feel stronger and have more endurance immediately.