If you spend every night in the gym in an attempt to get big and strong, you may be playing the fool, studies suggest.
In fact, if you are between the ages of 20 and 35, all you need to maintain your strength and muscle size is a single strength training session each week.
In each session, there is only one set of each weightlifting exercise, experts say. This can include a combination of deadlifts, pull ups and shoulder presses, most effective when done for about an hour total, according to research.
Fitness professionals have now defined what they call a ‘minimum effective dose’ – the smallest amount of exercise needed to cause your muscles to shrink or weaken.
Studies show that exercising just once a week, for about an hour, is enough to maintain your physical strength for at least seven months
This particular metric was first identified by doctors in a 2021 examination in Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research.
Fitness experts have now highlighted the importance of this equation to encourage people to exercise – and not be intimidated by unattainable goals.
“Many people assume that if they put in a ton of work to build their strength, it will take the same amount of effort to maintain their strength,” said fitness expert and powerlifter Greg Nuckols Stylist.
‘Knowing that you can maintain pretty much all the strength you’ve built up with very little time investment can help when people either don’t have the time or motivation to put in long hours in the gym.’
Previous studies have revealed the exact exercises to do to build muscle and keep your heart healthy.
The original study, conducted by researchers from the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, found that the minimum exercise threshold fluctuated based on a number of factors, including age. If you are older than 35, you probably need 2 sessions per week with two to three sets per week. exercise.
Also, they focused mainly on weightlifting for their study, not other forms of exercise, and strength was only maintained for a total of seven months.
The key, the authors said, lies not in the frequency of your workouts, but your intensity.
As long as you maintain the intensity of your workouts—lifting the same weight—the authors found that you should be able to maintain your strength with just one weekly session.
Another survey published in the Journal Frontiers in 2021, found that you could actually get stronger than using a ‘minimum effective’ training dose for six to twelve weeks.
Despite the old adage ‘use it or lose it,’ it actually takes relatively little effort for the body to maintain the muscle mass it has built up, according to Bryant Stamford, a professor of kinesiology and integrative physiology at Hanover College.
He wrote in the Courier Journal: ‘All you have to do is put modest demands on your muscles on a regular basis.
He explained that everyday movements, such as climbing stairs or carrying an object, are often enough to remind the body to maintain its muscle mass.
The biggest downside to this strategy, Nuckols said, is that you may not get the same cardiovascular and metabolic benefits.
Experts agree that maintaining your personal strength will help with your health throughout your life.
Studies show this that strength training is a great way to support bone strength, improve mobility and stave off chronic disease as you age.
“We should all be thinking about how to build a base of strong muscles to prepare for the loss of muscle and strength that we will experience as we age,” said Barb Nicklas, a gerontologist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. . US National Institute of Aging.
So if you have time for daily intense training, that’s great. But the key is to stick to what you can handle, according to Nuckols.