How Your Body Reacts to Exercise After One Month: An Orange County Personal Trainer's Guide

By Kelsey Kennedy

Seeing results is one of the best motivators for people to keep up their exercise routine. Exercise creates positive change, whether it's better-fitting clothes or a fresh burst of vigor to tackle work emails like a champ.

How long does it take to see this change take place from the inside out? Believe it or not, if you ask doctors and fitness experts, as soon as a day.

Here's a look at what transpires after a day, a week, two weeks, and a month of exercise in case you've ever wondered what happens within your body after exercise.

Workout #1 Accomplished

You've just finished a challenging workout, and you're feeling it. Your body is in a severe fight-or-flight response as you get moving after one session, the body releases a range of chemicals and hormones. They speed up reaction times, decision-making, respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and focus. The body immediately returns to normal resting levels after working out in order to recuperate from the stimulation. The body now begins to adjust and restore itself.

You'll probably feel like you just worked out for the first hour or so. Chemicals released in your brain will result in enhanced energy, focus, attention, and positive attitude changes. You might begin to experience soreness as a result of the work out you did a few hours later and most definitely the following day.

On a positive note - You’ve just accomplished your first workout.

One Week Passes

Your body has adjusted after a week of regular exercise. It starts to produce additional structure in order to adapt, including blood cells, which provide oxygen to your muscles, and mitochondrial cells, which produce energy. Every time you repeat an action, your brain and nervous system learn a new way to coordinate your muscles. Also, your resting heart rate may start to drop, which indicates that your heart is becoming stronger and doesn't need to work as hard at rest.

Your mental energy level will start to increase and you'll look forward to going to the gym. You will start to experience the best night's sleep of your life. You'll also start to notice that you'll be more hungry. Make sure to choose foods high in protein and healthy carbs to satisfy your desire.

Achieving the two week mark

There isn't much of a change between weeks one and two in terms of the physical aspect. When you burpee, squat, run, lift, or punch, the same hormones will still be released, but you might have a quicker recovery between Monday and Wednesday. This will result in reduced post-workout discomfort, giving you more drive to advance. There will be gains in performance, such as muscles improving stimulus reaction time or strength increase.

In two weeks, the biggest change is actually in your attitude. Most people will begin to feel the endorphins that are now raging wild, which will inevitably make them happy and better equipped to handle stressful events that may arise.

One Month Down

In four weeks, most people will notice a change in their body composition. The adaptation from the first and second weeks start to accumulate. Muscle growth has increased somewhat, which can be the cause of the current rise in strength. Movement that is repetitious increases bone density, energy levels, and the number and density of muscle fibers.

Overall, you'll feel more prepared to carry out daily tasks with ease. Once you've passed the magic 28-day mark, you've established a habit and made changes that will make it simpler for you to continue working out in the future.

In addition to your shape, most individuals will feel more self-assured, sleep deeper, wake up less fatigued, and have a persistently positive mindset. The most important thing is to select a hobby that suits you personally. You just need to find something you like that will allow you to continue with it for the long run if you want to see speedy effects from working out. It gets tougher to stop once you start seeing results.

Are you ready to get in the best shape of your life? Click the link to schedule a free consultation