You won’t want to coach as typically as you assume to maintain what you bought.
Final up to date on November sixth, 2024
The age-old adage “some is healthier than none” rings true for train advantages, together with bodily transformation. On Oct. 31, 2024, researcher and champion powerlifter Dr. Layne Norton examined a current research concerning whether or not full-body coaching as soon as per week can protect muscle good points. (1)
Within the 2024 research, younger, untrained ladies carried out leg presses twice weekly for 12 weeks. The exercises concerned 4 units of six repetitions at 80 to 85% of energy or one-rep max, with weights rising every week. As anticipated, the leg muscle tissues grew.
After the preliminary part, volunteers had been break up into three teams for an extra 12 weeks:
- Weekly Coaching Group: Lifted as soon as per week
- Bi-weekly Coaching Group: Lifted as soon as each 14 days
- Detrained Group: Ceased coaching fully
Contributors who skilled as soon as per week preserved roughly all muscle good points from the preliminary part.
[Related: Cardio Scientist Says You Should Prioritize Intensity Over Volume]
The bi-weekly group held onto 90-95% of good points, whereas those that stopped coaching misplaced all their muscle progress.
Dr. Norton emphasised preliminary good points got here with little coaching; it’s common that rare periods saved most or all progress. “I’m shocked they didn’t proceed making good points,” he added. Nonetheless, one other research discovered muscle was retained with one-ninth of the coaching quantity and elevated with one-third of effort. (2)
Superior Lifters Keep Coaching As soon as Per Week?
“What it takes to construct muscle is a larger coaching dosage than what it takes to take care of it,” Dr. Norton asserts. However can superior lifters close to or at their genetic potential preserve all their good points with one weekly full-body session? “I type of doubt it,” he says, as proof appears much less obvious.
Although Dr. Norton is skeptical, depth, restoration, genetics, and age could also be key elements. Moreover, the longer you carry muscle mass, the extra possible the physique could retain it through homeostasis. Skilled lifters additionally profit from muscle memory, the place muscle regrows sooner and is less complicated to take care of.
Potential Limitations & Quantity Biking
A limitation of the 2024 research was that it concerned just one train. For a once-weekly regime, full-body exercises are essential, making development tougher.
Dr. Norton recommends volume cycling in its place or prioritizing muscle teams for a particular interval whereas “upkeep dosing” for the others to maximise good points and restoration. Coaching the bigger physique components with compound lifts and isolating smaller muscle tissues additionally works for many individuals.
In any other case, Dr. Norton advises reducing quantity by not less than half for muscle retention and coaching close to failure, although mileage varies. “Watch out [training once per week] as a result of these individuals had been coaching twice per week anyway,” he warns.
Depth is King
Whereas quite a few elements represent efficient coaching, a 2021 research is evident: depth is essential for muscle retention. (3) Reaching this through progressive overload, optimizing method, and superior coaching strategies is essential for shielding your hard-earned good points.
So, whether or not you want a break from a training split, are burned out, or wish to shift life focus, coaching as soon as weekly could seem extra possible.
Extra Newest Analysis
References
- Mpampoulis, T., Stasinaki, A. N., Methenitis, S., Zaras, N., Bogdanis, G. C., & Terzis, G. (2024). Impact of Totally different Lowered Coaching Frequencies after 12 Weeks of Concurrent Resistance and Cardio Coaching on Muscle Energy and Morphology. Sports activities (Basel, Switzerland), 12(7), 198. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12070198
- Bickel, C. S., Cross, J. M., & Bamman, M. M. (2011). Train dosing to retain resistance coaching variations in younger and older adults. Medication and science in sports activities and train, 43(7), 1177–1187. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e318207c15d
Featured picture through Shutterstock/Gerain0812