A common scenario for those who work in the fitness arena: Someone starts out quite dedicated to their regimen for a period of time (say a future bride for example), and POOF after the wedding she never returns as if the only reason to get into shape was for her sacred wedding photos. This is an all too common occurrence and understandable due to family schedules, vacations, illness, work, etc. Many people choose against even starting since there is a good chance that at some point they will undo their hard earned fitness.

It seems that fitness is like a dog chasing its own tail as there is no true "end" if one wants to reap the benefits. However, this grim idea is not necessarily the case. In fact, researchers have consistently found that it takes less work to maintain your level of fitness than it did to get there in the first place. So, when life throws you curveballs and you can't get in your usual level of activity, you can temporarily scale back on your regimen without becoming a slug.

However, don't celebrate by kicking up your heels and popping bon bons. Researchers have also found that after two to three weeks of reduced activity, subjects showed a reduced insulin sensitivity and decreased ability to burn fat.

So, good news and bad news I suppose. The various literature on "detraining" is rather complex because different adaptations to your muscles, heart and metabolism fade away at different rates. But a good general rule is that you retain endurance gains for about two weeks without training but after four weeks, you are near or at baseline. Quite obviously, the drop off happens sooner if you've just started exercising while long term jocks have structural adaptations that will endure for several months such as a stronger heart and more muscle capillaries.

There are some good strategies however to "cheat" your way to preserving your fitness when you are time crunched. Many studies have shown that you can get away with working out fewer times per week and for a shorter period of time. . . .as long as you maintain or increase the intensity. For example, one study showed that subjects who were used to training six times per week were able to maintain fitness with only two high intensity workouts a week. So if you have only 10 or 20 minutes, you can squeeze in a great and high intense workout (think burpees, pushups, squats, lunges) all in your family room!

Take away message, it's much easier to maintain endurance and strength than to rebuild it from scratch, so find the time for at least a few short workouts even when you're busy!