02-07-20 11:45 AM - Post#893861    

I just read about this once-a-week strength training from Marty Gallagher in the other thread (https://www.davedraper.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/37100/)

I checked out the Blog from Marty Gallagher and found this:

https://www.ironcompany.com/blog/once-a-week-stre ngth-training-part-1/

and this:

https://www.ironcompany.com/blog/once-a-week-stre ngth-training-part-2/


Well so far so good. It sounds good and it sounds doable. I am currently in a private situation which doesn't allow me to train as much as I was used to and would like to. So I am very interested in a training that consists one total body gym day. I would still do some KB training and some jogging during the week. But lower in intensity.

Can somebody help me to figure out a plan how to program this? I am only talking about this one gym day per week. Mister Gallagher wrote about an example of sets and reps. But what after those weeks? Restart? Go even lower with the reps? Every input is very welcome and appreciated. Are there plans from Mister Gallagher?

Thanks!

Once-a-week strength training
02-07-20 11:55 AM - Post#893862    

I think the idea would be to work to a 'peak' of sorts over several weeks and then reset a bit higher than you started the first block. If you are getting results you could just keep recycling this way forever. If you have competitive aspirations or just want to push max strength for the fun of it, I think Marty Gallagher just recommends going up to a top single with no backoffs once a week on each lift.

Also, if you are going to do this and go hard and heavy one day a week I would recommend (from experience) NOT doing even light KB work on another day. Just easy walking throughout the week if you have time.

"The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind."~GK Chesterton

Edited by Browser on 02-07-20 12:01 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Once-a-week strength training
02-07-20 12:01 PM - Post#893864    

Years ago, due to time constraints, I just did the the three powerlifts. It was squats on Monday, bench on Wednesday and deadlifts on Friday.

No assistance work except for a "light" back-off set.

Each workout lasted about 30 minutes although some days it was less.

It worked. So naturally after things sorted themselves out I went back to an expanded schedule.

Mark it Zero.

02-07-20 12:28 PM - Post#893866    

I think that the devil is in the details. As Marty has touted on his site, there is a difference between a 150kg deadlift and 350kg deadlift....

02-07-20 01:37 PM - Post#893867    

Way way back (would be pre history on any board than this) I did some whole body HIT on the early Nautilus machines. Started at 3 times a week - couldn't recover after a while so went to twice a week - reached my recovery limit again and went to once a week - which wasn't really enough. This was going to complete eccentric failure work with a partner pushing me. Not much fun but for a short period of time - very very result producing.

02-07-20 01:57 PM - Post#893871    

I can certainly ask Marty, but I am pretty sure it is his basic 12 week program.
8s then 5s then 3s, 2s and 1s. Loads go up every session...

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Once-a-week strength training
02-07-20 06:19 PM - Post#893892    

We should always lean towards less work rather than more work. And quality over quantity

Mark it Zero.

Once-a-week strength training
02-07-20 07:57 PM - Post#893895    

Doing less whilst working harder takes a while to get to a point where the “work” is in the upper limits of your initial capability.

Does that makes sense?

Nice legs-shame about the face

Edited by Andy Mitchell on 02-07-20 07:58 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

02-07-20 09:45 PM - Post#893897    

https://www.ironcompany.com/blog/marty-gallagher- progressive-resistance-tr aining/

02-08-20 04:06 AM - Post#893904    

• Jordan D Said:

Ah well, thank you for this! This explains everything!!

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-08-20 12:17 PM - Post#893911    

• Andy Mitchell Said:

It does. Which all goes back to your earlier comments Andy about getting in shape to get in shape.

For example: There has been a lot of research and a lot of examples of all-out 220 yard/200 meter sprints with a jogging recovery as a tremendous way to increase your fitness level and lean out.

Would you have someone who is out of shape start with that program? Of course not. Would you want them to get in good enough shape to benefit from training like that? Hell yes!

Same thing is true with weights. There is a real Yin/Yang to training. Besides the obvious tangible benefits of training...bigger, faster, stronger, leaner, what-have-you, you are also improving your ability to recover between workouts. Which is sort of the forgotten or maybe overlooked aspect of training.

Mark it Zero.

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-08-20 05:23 PM - Post#893934    

Yes, that’s the trick, one would think that training - whether that be sprinting, lifting, skills training and playing sport that regardless of your level conditioning, a fully rested person will perform these activities most safely and competently .

A bigger muscle needs more time to recover than a smaller...
Your body will recover quicker if you perform a curl as opposed to a 250kg deadlift...

I remember you wrote that whatever the activity recovery comes from the same/one source, this is why doing a split type template as opposed to working the body as one can be real difficult in terms of determining the rest required between workouts .

Nice legs-shame about the face

02-08-20 09:29 PM - Post#893937    

In reality, I actually like four days a week training. An A/B thing training Monday A Tuesday B, then Thursday A Friday B with Wednesday and the weekend for rest and easy cardio.

Mark it Zero.

02-08-20 09:32 PM - Post#893938    

Instead of double the amount of exercises you do half.

Mark it Zero.

02-09-20 06:42 AM - Post#893949    

A friend of mine has sworn by lower-body training on Saturday and upper-body training on Sunday for years. He also does a lot of martial arts during the week. He says it's not a routine that he saw in a book or a magazine, but it's the only thing that works with his lifestyle. As always, for ordinary people with jobs and families, logistics are more important than sports science!

Check out my critical-thinking blog at sharpenyouraxe.substack.com

02-09-20 12:53 PM - Post#893955    

• RupertC Said:

That is a sentiment I have long held, but you just put it beautifully. That could become another forum slogan..

02-09-20 01:36 PM - Post#893956    

• Old Miler Said:

I have had a long-running imaginary argument with Thomas Kurz. This is how I shut up my mental avatar of him!

Check out my critical-thinking blog at sharpenyouraxe.substack.com

Once-a-week strength training
02-10-20 06:03 PM - Post#894014    

Here's an email I received from Jan Dellinger over the weekend. It fits here, and hey, I found it gave me pause for thought AND a big smile!



I noticed the "revival" of the training frequency of one workout a week training as the best road to absolute strength, especially as it pertains to the powerlifts.

Yes, those of us who have trained for decades and decades, and especially if lifting competitions were goals, tended to train way too heavy,way too often and for way too long in keeping with our excessive compulsive selves. In brief, we made this process of getting stronger way more complicated (and perhaps concurrently injurious and frustrating) than it needed to be. Perhaps this was the great lesson to take away from Bill March, Dr. Ziegler and isometrics.

Hence, the one (ball-busting workout)on/six days off idea of a training week has merit in the pursuit of absolute strength. As with everything, though, there are negatives or limits. In the case of the one-on/six off method, there is a grand tradition of doing literally nothing else of a cardio, flexibility or movement nature on the six down days. This is especially true with those who seek absurdly huge numbers in the powerlifting arena.

Allow me to offer a true story to make my point. It goes without saying but the usual disclaimer is in effect--this will be a "fictionalized" account so any resemblance to persons living or dead will be purely coincidental. LOL!

In the last century, there was a mythical land whose global reputation was forged to a great degree on the acquisition of strength & athletic prowess. Of course, this Mythical Kingdom had a Monarch whose legend (and ego) spread as wide as the Montana sky, as did his brand. For the sake of this story, let's refer to his Monarch of Muscle Production as Big Daddy (BD)!

BD's Camelot of Contraction had a loyal (?) army of knights of prodigious strength, although one of whom had a widely known personal inclination to laziness, even when training. It was common practice among the knights to schedule BD to attend their really heavy sessions so as to impress His Lordship sufficiently into throwing a reward in the form of extra shekels their way.

Lazy Knight, himself, was a bit of a novelty in His Lordship's Stud Stable, being a powerlifter of note, as opposed to the more common Olympic lifting champions in residence. Wanting the attention (and windfall) of BD, Lazy Knight lobbied with His Lordship's Head Man Servant, Smithy, to bring the great man to the Foundational Manor where LK lived and worked out (so as to avoid training with the Olympic lifters in the main gym or otherwise not report for work as the rest of the knights).

So, Smithy drove BD to the Foundational Manor to see the Magnificent Brobdingnagian Beast (MBB) workout. MBB did a few repetitions in the squat with 135...and disappeared to the second floor. Fifteen to 20 minutes later,,MBB reappears on the platform and squats with 225 for a few reps, and again disappears upstairs. Another 20 minutes literally goes by and MBB reappears and squats with 315 for a couple of reps and disappears again.

BD starts looking at his watch and realizes that he had been there for an hour or so and had seen nothing to write home about. He dispatches Smithy to find out where MBB keeps wondering off to, thereby wasting BD's valuable time.

Smithy ascends the stairs and find MBB literally laying in his bed where he habitually retreated to so as to conserve energy between very submaximal sets. Lazy Knight/MBB probably expended a great deal of energy going up and down the stairs. Appalled at this blatant waste of his time, BD and Smithy shoved off in a huff. while MBB cooled his heels in the royal dog house for awhile.

I probably should apologize for straining your eyeballs with the above, but it makes a real-life example. Marty Gallagher is right in his point about how little training is really necessary to gain considerable physical strength. In fact, one of Marty's self-acknowledged mentors, powerlifting great Hugh Cassidy, favored two heavy weekly workouts, and that was it. So, the precedence is solid. And it is possible that the consistent extra rest time would diminish or negate the need for heavy PED involvement.

However, the tunnel vision of the typical single-goaled powerlfiter or absolute strength enthusiast is anything but a balanced program & could led to consequential physical "gaps" if this course was followed year-in-year-out right into middle age.

Regards,
Jan

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 02-10-20 07:59 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-11-20 10:26 AM - Post#894035    

My main man Doctor Ken, and oh so missed, was also a devotee of Hugh Cassidy.

Doc was a believer in two-days-a-week training. If you take a step back and say, "I want to get better at the powerlifts. I also want to get bigger and stronger."

Well then, what should you do? I'd start with the three lifts.

What about assistance exercises? I'd work on the three lifts.

What about pre/hab-re/hab work? What about it?

If you were to take a snapshot of the 2020 lifting scene and compare it to the 1970 lifting scene all you would really notice is the explosion of gear, equipment and supplements for sale and all the online retailers dying to rip you off. Before, when it was just Weider and Hoffman and to a lesser extent Dan Lurie and Peary Rader it wasn't as obnoxious.

So this is my bottom line rant: Nobody wants to spend a lot of time on the basics. They want to by-pass hard work and get right to the glory.

Mark it Zero.

02-11-20 10:44 AM - Post#894039    

Wasn't Hugh Cassidy also the 'eat through your sticking points' guy? Because that's an issue I see a lot with younger/newer lifters. They aren't willing to gain weight to get stronger.

"The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind."~GK Chesterton

02-11-20 10:55 AM - Post#894040    

• Browser Said:

Indeed.

Mark it Zero.

02-11-20 02:51 PM - Post#894056    

I'm not a powerlifter and don't really know any - but do they all strive to move up weight categories?

Isn't it perfectly valid, in strength sports as well as sprinting, to pursue power-to-weight ratio?

02-11-20 03:22 PM - Post#894058    

In most cases, though not all, the weight class you start out in will not be the weight class you end up in at your strongest. The only top lifters in my fed this doesn't apply to are very small lifters and very large lifters. It's not that gaining weight is per se the goal, it's just reeeealllly hard to get stronger over a long period of time without eating in a surplus. Which obviously leads to weight gain.

Someone said that weight classes are really height classes and I've found that to be true. There are exceptions of course, but the tallest person in a weight class is rarely the strongest.

"The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind."~GK Chesterton

02-11-20 03:43 PM - Post#894060    

That's so true. I have a picture somewhere of the 110kilo class at the American Open, 1991. I TOWER over most of the guys.

The next spring, I am a "very short man" in the discus group.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Once-a-week strength training
02-11-20 03:56 PM - Post#894061    

The rest thing is interesting here. Not just the rests between workouts, but the rest period between sets. In the past, and of course it's still the same human bodies today, there was that lift big, eat big, rest big philosophy. Yeah, Jan D got a real big laugh outta me when he called it the "Ditillo Lifestyle"

Health-wise, well, not so better if it's carried on for very long.

As far as weight gaining to build "strength" goes, I think that it's very important in the superheavy class. Or for a short period just to take advantage of the improved leverage being a tub of, er, a little heavier and fattier gives you. But once you've taken advantage of it, the wise lifter will strip off the excess and go down in weight while keeping as much of the strength as he can. People who do that just seem to last longer.

This email . . . the part there about the big guy (a 700 squatter] taking 20 minute naps between his light, very light for him warmup sets is hilarious! For this guy 135 is like less than an empty bar for you or I. Does anyone really think that doing a squat set of say 5 reps with an empty bar and then lying down for 20 minutes is even remotely sane? Then another nap after a set with a pair 25s? And so on. Hahaha! Lifters can get pretty strange at times.


Light framed powerlifters who stay at a lower weight use technique and leveraging to the max to demonstrate their "strength" in the three lifts. Some of these men and women take and have taken the geared technique (and the raw as well) levels to real extremes, eh. Usually if you see a beanpole kinda powerlifter there'll be some powerful technique behind his or her numbers, all within the boundaries of current rules. The squat stance widens out, the sumo deadlift, again usually very wide, and the use of a maximum legal bridge and grip width on the bench.

I think some of the more extreme positions can't be attained by the heavier lifters in the same weight class. But hey, you work with what you have I guess.

In the early days, aside from a couple of the "weird body" guys, technique wasn't nearly as advanced and honed as it is now. Of course, the gear makes it necessary to use special technique to get the maximum advantage from it. But there's raw lifters now that have come up with techniques and styles that weren't thought of in the early days.

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

Edited by Neander on 02-11-20 04:13 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

02-11-20 04:00 PM - Post#894062    

The height to weight thing is what drove me out of powerlifting. My height never changed (6'4") but my weight sure did. I started out light in the 198 pound class and ended up as a light 275. I was always at least 5 or 6 inches taller no matter what class I lifted in.

I had had enough. There was no way I was going to reach 300. The only thing that I didn't accomplish in a contest was a 700 deadlift, which would have been cool and all, but I was burned out.

Mark it Zero.

02-11-20 04:16 PM - Post#894063    

Hey, I did not know you were that tall! How tall are you now?

I lost about an inch so far.

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

02-11-20 05:40 PM - Post#894066    

I’m 6’2” and am facing the same dilemma. I looked like Kareem as a 231 and the good 264s are at most 5’10”. I’m up to 270 and hate the sight of food.

A buddy of mine who is 6 feet even said screw it last year and just ate his way to PRs. Went from 260 to 297 and finally squatted over 600 raw in a meet at 42 years old. I don’t know if I hate myself enough to do that (yet).

Man we’ve really hijacked this thread. Sorry, OP.

"The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind."~GK Chesterton

02-11-20 05:45 PM - Post#894067    

• Neander Said:

I'm down an inch.

Mark it Zero.

02-11-20 11:33 PM - Post#894076    

No worries till minus six feet . . . under and out!

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

02-11-20 11:55 PM - Post#894077    

It's an even better idea than this!

https://www.businessinsider.sg/wellness-influencers-p romoting-giving-up-water- fasting-ridiculous-die...

Athletic Club East Strength in numbers

Once-a-week strength training
02-12-20 01:35 PM - Post#894098    

Well, powerlifters that have to cut weight pretty much do that too. Powerlifters are kinda dumb is what I'm really saying. It's not necessarily a healthy mindset, but that is what draws crazies into it in the first place.

"The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind."~GK Chesterton

Edited by Browser on 02-12-20 02:21 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

02-12-20 01:42 PM - Post#894099    

• Kyle Aaron Said:

This article makes me question the survival value of our entire species.

02-12-20 03:10 PM - Post#894100    

Isn't "micro-influencers" sort of an oxymoron?

Once-a-week strength training
02-13-20 10:02 AM - Post#894135    

• Old Miler Said:

With me, it was all about the power-to-weight ratio -- that is, relative over absolute strength, but I wasn't typical. Never understood why so many of my fellow masters lifters would gorge their way up fifteen pounds to put no more than fifty pounds on their three-lift total, knowing they'd add a layer of fat around their midsections and be ranked lower in their new weightclass.

Be strong. Be in shape. Be a man among men, regardless of your age or circumstances.

Edited by AAnnunz on 02-13-20 12:55 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-13-20 10:27 AM - Post#894137    

• AAnnunz Said:

For a lot of guys, and I'm certainly guilty of this, it's just easier to eat more to get stronger than it is to be patient and get better at programming.

"The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind."~GK Chesterton

Edited by Browser on 02-13-20 10:27 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-13-20 01:05 PM - Post#894144    

• Browser Said:

Don't throw out the baby with the bath water, my friend. You're putting up some impressive numbers. My remark was just an anecdotal response to Old Miler's question. Most lifters, especially younger ones, put on mass to get jacked and improve leverages, thereby increasing both absolute and relative strength.

Be strong. Be in shape. Be a man among men, regardless of your age or circumstances.

Edited by AAnnunz on 02-13-20 01:14 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

02-13-20 11:24 PM - Post#894160    

• DanMartin Said:

Dan, How would you split the A and B workouts and would Thursday and Friday be lighter days of Monday and Tuesday or something different?

02-14-20 11:04 AM - Post#894177    

• LeePinac Said:

Lee, for example, this is what I'm trying right now.

Monday/Thursday
Warm-Up
One KB Clean
One KB Press
One KB Front Squat
Switch, repeat
Cool-Down

Tuesday/Friday
Warm-Up
Two-Hand Swing
Suitcase Walk
Cool-Down

Wednesday/Saturday/Sunday
Walk or Echo Bike

Mark it Zero.

02-14-20 04:33 PM - Post#894186    

• DanMartin Said:

Dan, that is one of the coolest signature lines I have ever seen. Short, punchy, true.

I may borrow it (with credit of course) in my business-world signatures, if that's OK?.

02-15-20 11:04 AM - Post#894230    

• Old Miler Said:

Absolutely. But I nicked it from an instructor I've had named Clint Smith.

Mark it Zero.

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-16-20 09:32 PM - Post#894292    

• DanMartin Said:

 

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-16-20 10:21 PM - Post#894294    

• Eric B Said:

 

Re: Once-a-week strength training
02-17-20 06:52 PM - Post#894332    

You're speaking of Rudolf Harbig, who was coached by Gerschler, pretty much the inventor of intervals. Some of his sessions here:

http://www.racingpast.ca/john_contents.php?id=125

I don't know if anyone has ever done better on such low mileage.

02-17-20 08:36 PM - Post#894341    

I was a generalist in high school. I'd compete in three events and a relay every meet. During each meet I'd run an all out 220 and an all out 440. Add to that either a 120 high hurdle or 180 low hurdles. During season we had two meets each week.

Practice was easier than meets but not by much. I really didn't spend a lot of time jogging. This may sound strange but I really didn't know how good of shape I was in until I was playing basketball in a Lutheran church league.

All I can say is this Papist wore those Lutherans out.

Bottom line, there are many ways to get in shape. And half the fun is finding out which works best for you.

Mark it Zero.

02-17-20 08:43 PM - Post#894346    

As an aside, besides being a great way to get in shape, intervals are a great way to overtrain and get injured.

Mark it Zero.

02-18-20 02:48 PM - Post#894390    

• DanMartin Said:

They are definitely icing, atop what should be a pretty solid cake first. Get used to running regularly for as long as possible, then get used to tempos/5k pace, then get used to middle distance intervals, over 4-6 weeks each time - then you can push hard.

Just did 6x150m hard up a hill today, with an utterly inadequate base of basic conditioning. I felt the way kids look when they do 400m untrained. So I 'know' this to be true at every level right now ;-)

02-18-20 04:51 PM - Post#894395    

• Old Miler Said:

Given all that you've been through, that's pretty good!

Mark it Zero.