I strength trained 1x per week and 7x per week for 5 months each

[dawn16]

@iferexo Thanks for the write-up! I think I might gain from a 7x compared to 3-4x right now too. Could you give more info on the routine? The link has just 3 videos, was it just that you did? And was it all bw?

 

[iferexo]

@dawn16 The videos don't tell the whole story, but I think the bullet points do. I used weights for overhead press and a resistance band for rows. The post is a novel so here's the relevant bullet point:

Over the course of one month, I slowly worked up to 7 one leg squats, 7 pull ups (4 wide, then 3 hammer), 14 push ups (2 sets of 7, occasionally combined), 14 resistance band rows, 14 OH presses (15 lbs).

 

[dawn16]

@iferexo Ok yeah I did read the whole thing but didn't think about how your results were your routine Thanks

 

[ron48170]

@iferexo this is great, I always have issues with staying the course with 3x per week. I never though 1x per week is viable.

so with both routines you did these 5 moves?

What kind of warm-up did you do on 1x, i.e. how long did it last?

What kind of weights did you use for OH presses?

Thanks!

 

[anon103]

@iferexo

There are also disadvantages to 7x: generally, it's easier to injure yourself.

What is this statement based on? Were you injured following either program?

 

[pawel]

@anon103 Yeah, my sense is that 7x would make you much less likely to get injured, because there would be so much less fatigue during each session.

 

[anon103]

@pawel I wouldn't expect any significant risk of injury from either, so I'm very curious where this statement comes from.

 

[pawel]

@anon103 Well, OP didn’t do a lot of volume in either routine. But what I’m saying is that if someone were to equalize a more normal amount of volume across both routines, compressing all of it into a single day will mean training with higher levels of fatigue, which means a higher likelihood of injury. Whether you’d consider it “significant” is up to you, I guess.

 

[anon103]

@pawel Fatigue doesn't necessarily mean more injury.

In any case, my question was to OP. If I just wanted speculation, I could do that on my own.

 

[pawel]

@anon103 The connection between fatigue and injury is extremely well established, but ok.

 

[anon103]

@pawel It is, and you don't seem to have a good understanding of it.

 

[iferexo]

@anon103 That's a really good question and deserves more upvotes. I made it sound way more definitive than I should have. I edited the post.

Here's the injury history as I remember it:

With both protocols I experienced the very early warning signs of an injury but nothing more. I had a slight twinge in my shoulder when doing an arc row during a 1x work out. I started taking my shoulders through the full range of motion every day during my light activity and warming up more thoroughly for hard workouts. I had no issues from then on. In fact, I was surprised at how hard I was able to go without feeling any pain whatsoever. This was especially true with the one arm chin up progression. Again, I’m a sample size of one, but I felt like I was limited only by my capacity for discomfort rather than by my tendons. Personality plays a role here because I am a very risk averse person… I’ve never even tried skin the cat because I’m too scared. That’s why I did overhead press instead of HSPU. Less cautious people might need to be careful about doing progressions they can’t handle.

On three different occasions, I tried very slowly adding in an exercise to my 7x workout that caused a slight twinge after about a week. Those exercises were arc rows (elbow issue), ring push-ups (elbow issue), and tuck L pull ups (shoulder twinge). Each time, I took a week off of burnout sessions, did some slow wrist extensions and rice bucket exercises, and had no issues. I still do those exercises in burnout sessions but it seems like some things just shouldn’t be done every day. Personally, it feels easier to prevent injury with 1x because my body stops me from going so hard that I injure it. With 7x, I have to be careful. YMMV

 

[utunamsint]

@iferexo That was fascinating thank you for the detailed report and easy-to-digest write up.

Personally I can associate with the discipline side of your experience. My weekly routine consists of approx. 4 hours of mountain biking and 70 mins of body weight yoga may work per week. I used to do 20 mins of body weight every other day, but now I do 10 mins every day. I may skip a day or two per month but I find 10 mins per day much easier to accomplish than 20 mins every 2nd.

Thanks again for posting

 

[deenephew]

@iferexo What stretching routine do you follow?

 

[iferexo]

@deenephew Light stretching before bed has been a cornerstone habit for me since I was 12 and a track coach said I should do it. The routine has evolved over the years: taking away redundant stretches, researching how to stretch what's tight, and practicing positions I find embarrassingly uncomfortable. I don't remember the names of anything so I'm just adding a video to the post.

 

[brownie]

@iferexo Fascinating.

I was initially attracted to the 7x workout style (low daily volume but high frequency over a week), but realised very quickly that I would more often than not do too much work each day. It is a double edged sword for me: I love to workout and so *need* to do something everyday, but always do too much, causing burnout and injury eventually.

I'd love to be able to workout 1x or 2x a week (going hard on those days). I think its what I need for recovery/adaptation....Any tips of making the mental leap from daily workouts?

 

[iferexo]

@brownie Here are two things that will help with either workout scheme:

1) Think about the worst thing that will happen if you do less than the optimum amount for an entire month. You’ll probably just maintain. Accept that and see the first month or two as an experiment in lowballing it.

2) It’s a natural and healthy habit to “need” to do something every day. Don’t suppress it. Find exercise that is very low intensity and almost certain not to injure you: walking or very easy cardio machine work are great.

 

[brownie]

@iferexo Thanks for your thoughts.

I walk a lot everyday anyway and I like the idea of skill work on 'off' days, but i usually end up doing kettlebell EMOM's or something to smash up my HR and get some conditioning in, which in turn will morph into a warm up for further exercises..... I know I need to be disciplined but its very hard (not to go hard).

 

[qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn]

@iferexo How did you make a post with both text and image??

 

[baberean2]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn The image is a preview from the first link