How soon
after you stop running do you begin to loose fitness?
7-10 Days – almost no change in VO2max in well-trained runners, slightly more in new runners.
14 Days – about a 6% drop in VO2max.
9 Weeks – 19% drop in VO2max.
11 Weeks – 25% drop in VO2max
The good news is that a 6% drop in fitness can be restored in about 2 weeks of good training. A good rule of thumb is that it takes about the same amount of training to return to your previous fitness level as the time you took off.