"Shane, an airline pilot in his late 40s, started training with me in February of 2019. He came in to get stronger and lose some fat. He had not lifted since the 1990s. His intermittent work schedule created a problem to solve..."
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"Shane, an airline pilot in his late 40s, started training with me in February of 2019. He came in to get stronger and lose some fat. He had not lifted since the 1990s. His intermittent work schedule created a problem to solve..."
Read article
Very helpful, article, Coach Lewis. Am I correct in assuming that for a significantly older adult male, the DE-training effect would be increased—in the sense that the older trainee would be more likely to need to go back even further than the last workout—or last workout minus one?
Anecdotally, (I am 74)—after 5 weeks of 2 training days a week doing the program as well as possible without a coach—I had to be away for 18 days. Upon returning, I dropped back 5 workouts—literally half my progress to that point. The result was that I realized I definitely needed the drop-back—but I feel fairly sure I could have made it only 3 weeks.
Thanks again for the article.
Russ
You're welcome. I'm glad you found it helpful.Quote:
Originally Posted by Comancheria
That's my understanding of age's affect on detraining, yes.
Most of what I've learned of training older population is theorhetical and straight from the Barbell Prescription (which you should buy if you have not already).
The oldest person I've ever trained was 56, so if anyone else (Sully, Baker, Beau Bryant, etc) wants to comment, I would trust their actual experience in training more.
If I had even a 30-year-old take 18 days off, I'd probably drop them back pretty far. A five workout reset doesn't seem out of line for that much time off for a novice.
Thanks. And yes, I have the BBP—as well as all the other Aassgard (sp?) publications—and have read most of it.
Also anecdotally, more recently, I had to be away for five days, whereas my usual gaps are 2 days and 3 days. I was very tempted to increase the weights—but decided I would be better off sticking strictly to program principles. And I am glad did—because yesterday—pressing the same weight I had the previous week—my form was on the edge of going to hell, and even though I was able to squeeze out the last set and rep, it was clear that I could not have added even a couple of 1/4 pound micro-plates to the bar. The squat and deadlift felt as though I could have added 5 pounds.
Best regards,
Russ
This is great stuff, thanks for sharing. Im midway through my own NLP program and about to take a week off for a hunting trip, so i will take your advice here. One thing that isnt mentioned that im really curious about is diet during the absence. Did you have him maintain caloric intake or cut back at all?
I'm glad you liked it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ATXNate
We don't count calories for him, but he does try to keep the butter/oil additions to his hotel restaurant food to a minimum.
Other than that, his food intake is somewhat uncontrollable while he's flying, and I want to make sure he gets enough protein.
We noticed he actually makes better progress on the weight loss while he's flying simply as a function of reduced eating.
Why did you not initially simply choose to schedule in alternative lifts for his travel days? Or maybe include variations in addition to the 7 on / 7 off schedule to prevent or lessen detraining? He would have had access to at least bodyweight squats and probably hotel gyms with maybe a leg press machine, dumbells and a place for chins.
How would bodyweight squats have preserved or improved his strength?
I didn't believe that anything in the hotel gym would have prevented detraining.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yngvi
Do we know, for a novice trainee whose squat was below 200lbs for the first 4 months, that it in fact would not have prevented detraining?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
We know that many novice trainees can get slightly stronger by doing just about anything, including whatever their globo gym trainer had them doing or even body weight exercises. Cyclists who never have touched a weight in their lives may be able to squat above 200lbs.
On this premise, I am hypothesizing that, for a novice trainee who is for some reason unable to run the standard program, the stimulus from bodyweight squats, while not enough to optimally or potentially even noticeably drive strength increases, may be enough to prevent the detraining to the extent that it necessitates repeating the weights of the previous session.
The intended purpose of the article appears to be:
1. To demonstrate the effectiveness of running the starting strength program when modified to accommodate regular interruptions to training caused by an abnormal work schedule.
2. To provide an example of an individually modified program.
2b. To further show the value of coaching when applied to the SS method.
The publishing of the case-study article also indicates that there is not necessarily a systematically implementable programming modification that has proven superior for trainees who regularly do not have access to proper training equipment.
