Adam C. Stewart
It is obvious that at some point in your training career you will end up running out of time. This article covers strategies for making progress, even if time is running out.
No matter who you are or what your goals are, there will be times when your strength training will have to take a back seat. It could last a week, a month or maybe even a year or more. There will be seasons in life when you will simply have less time and attention to training. It’s not a question of if, but when.
For me, Hayden, becoming a father has significantly changed my concentration. Although training is always important, it is far from being my top priority now. This does not mean that it has completely disappeared from my Radar and that I have leaved the pursuit of progress. It just means that I had to adapt because I couldn’t train like I used to. Things had to change.
For me, Pak, having several jobs, doing research and having a dense travel schedule means that I can’t always stick to a “Plan” or commit to long weight training sessions like I did in my early twenties. But I love lifting and I don’t want to give up on my muscle building and strength goals just because I can’t always optimize my training environment for it.
The purpose of this article is to help you prepare for such moments in your life. Whether it’s a short-term break or a longer-term shift, this article will provide you with practical information and strategies to continue training in a targeted way.
Summary
It is unlikely that a week without training for up to a week will affect your maximum strength. Such situations can be used as a Chance to rest and recover. You don’t have to worry about losing strength.
To maintain strength, high-intensity, very low-volume approaches (for example, little weight, 9 to 9.5 simple RPEs during the training week) or significantly reduced training volume approaches (for example, by 50%) can be effective strategies for at least a few months.
For a minimum dose of effective training to improve maximum strength, a handful of working sets of 1 to 5 repetitions on the main exercises per week with EPR of 7.5 to 9.5 should be enough. If time permits, you can also add a little accessories.
Other strategies can also be used to improve your training efficiency. Consider shorter and more specific warm-ups, plan your rest periods, choose “Bang for Buck” exercises and integrate supersets or circuits.
Taking a short Break?
Normally, we should be much less afraid of the short periods when our strength training has to take a back seat. There is a good reason for this, because usually a few days without training do not have the negative effects that you might expect.
Studies have shown that if you take up to a week of strength training, the maximum strength tends to be maintained well. Travis et al. (2022) found that 19 powerlifting athletes (16 men, 3 women) who had not exercised for three or five days after four weeks of strength training maintained their isometric squat strength. Although the group that had five days off showed a statistically significant reduction (~2%) in their isometric bench press. An earlier crossover study by Pritchard et al. (2018), eight resistance-trained men stopped training for 3.5 or 5.5 days after four weeks of strength training. The maximum strength of the isometric bench press improved after the end of the training compared to the previous training, without a decrease in the lower body strength and without differences between the conditions of 3.5 or 5.5 days. Moreover, if Weiss et al. (2004) If 25 strength-trained men had allocated 2, 3, 4 or 5 days of training interruption after four weeks of strength training, they observed no significant change in upper body strength on the 1-RM bench press or the isokinetic bench press. Therefore, the available literature on resistance-trained athletes shows that a few days without training are unlikely to negatively affect maximum strength performance.
It is important to note that although there are also data (for example, Coleman et al., 2023), which show that a week of rest can negatively affect strength, the set of evidence currently available is more than reassuring with regard to the decrease in strength. In addition, it is very likely that the force lost during a time-out will be recovered very quickly.
Therefore, if you are going on vacation or on a business trip and are unlikely to get to the gym, do not worry. The key is to make sure that you don’t move for too long at a time. If you return to your regular training habits in about a week, just use it as a chance to rest and relax. It is unlikely that your strength will go somewhere.
