Why use a 7 day week?

[tweakxc03]

I've read that some people use this concept in programming when they are training for a specific sport. I'm sticking with SS right now to establish a foundation, but this is just out of my own curiosity... (This is without my having read practical programming, so bear with me). This is only with regard to more intermediate/advanced/specified training programs.

Why don't more people consider expanding their training cycle past just the 7 day window? If guys are trying to train both conditioning and strength, strength endurance, "power" endurance, or flat out aerobic endurance, then why not expand the training "cycle" to say 10 days?

That way, you could do something like:

Lift: Monday, Thursday, Sunday
Skills/Conditioning/Cardio: Tuesday, Friday, Monday
Rest: Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday of the next week.

Depending on the type of conditioning you are doing and how it impacts your recovery ability, seems like expanding past a week can help break up the workouts mentally. If it's more than a 7 day cycle, you have the freedom to add in rest days or different cardio/conditioning workouts depending on what your goals are.

The only reason I'm really familiar with this is that it's quite popular in some elite running circles (I ran college XC).

[Tiburon]

You can do any cycle you want, as long as you recover between workouts.

Hell, a novice might be able to lift every 18 hours, if they have access to a 24/7 gym and don't have to get up to walk the dog and catch the bus. Wife probably wouldn't like it though.

[tweakxc03]

really... SS seems to be pretty adamant about not working out 2 consecutive days.

My upper body is out of balance with my lower body. My lats/biceps recover very quickly compared to my shoulders and legs.

I've added some chins into the mix after deadlifts to get some extra lat work in. Doesn't seem to have any impact on recovery so far.

[matclone]

Why don't more people consider expanding their training cycle past just the 7 day window?

Probably cause the rest of most people's lives (and not just training) are geared toward a seven day cycle. Secondarily, probably because alternate training cycles are more complicated.

The only reason I'm really familiar with this is that it's quite popular in some elite running circles (I ran college XC).

The primary audience for Starting Strength is not elite athletes, and neither (I suspect) are most of this forum's participants.

really... SS seems to be pretty adamant about not working out 2 consecutive days.

Only for novices.

[tweakxc03]

I agree. I was just throwing the idea out there as a topic for discussion... I guess if you have the time for it and the foundation is there, why not?

Even at the college level, I don't call myself elite... I just happened to know some guys who were much, much faster than me.

Thanks

[matclone]

Also, a couple of principles I've taken from my experience with training in general:

Consistency leads to success.

Part of the sucess of a training schedule or program, comes from being able to understand and follow it.

(My partially failed attempts to follow Jeff Galloway's running program several years ago was key moment for me in drawing these conclusions)

That being said, if one has the desire and finds reasons to use a 10-day cycle, why not?

[gzt]

I've read that some people use this concept in programming when they are training for a specific sport. I'm sticking with SS right now to establish a foundation, but this is just out of my own curiosity... (This is without my having read practical programming, so bear with me). This is only with regard to more intermediate/advanced/specified training programs.

Why don't more people consider expanding their training cycle past just the 7 day window? If guys are trying to train both conditioning and strength, strength endurance, "power" endurance, or flat out aerobic endurance, then why not expand the training "cycle" to say 10 days?

That way, you could do something like:

Lift: Monday, Thursday, Sunday
Skills/Conditioning/Cardio: Tuesday, Friday, Monday
Rest: Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday of the next week.

Depending on the type of conditioning you are doing and how it impacts your recovery ability, seems like expanding past a week can help break up the workouts mentally. If it's more than a 7 day cycle, you have the freedom to add in rest days or different cardio/conditioning workouts depending on what your goals are.

The only reason I'm really familiar with this is that it's quite popular in some elite running circles (I ran college XC).

Have you read Practical Programming for Strength Training? It doesn't go too much into this specific topic because it's mostly written to focus on the "strength" part of "strength and conditioning", but the exact application to any specific situation is left as an exercise for the reader. Anyway, what is described in "Starting Strength" is directed at novice trainees in the first few months of their training careers. Since, ideally, a training career lasts longer than a few months, this is only the beginning. Yes, things change as you get more advanced. It's in the book. It's a pretty good book.

[tweakxc03]

Haven't gotten to Practical Programming yet, but I will as I near the end of my SS program.

I read about fitness and training as a hobby of mine, so I was just throwing this out there as a topic for discussion.

[Charles Staley]

I've been arguing for the idea of metric time for years

100 yrs = Century. OK we already do this, it makes sense. Then:
10 months = 1 year
10 weeks = 1 month
1 days = 1 week
10 hrs = 1 day
10 mins = 1 hr
10 secs = 1 min

I've read that some people use this concept in programming when they are training for a specific sport. I'm sticking with SS right now to establish a foundation, but this is just out of my own curiosity... (This is without my having read practical programming, so bear with me). This is only with regard to more intermediate/advanced/specified training programs.

Why don't more people consider expanding their training cycle past just the 7 day window? If guys are trying to train both conditioning and strength, strength endurance, "power" endurance, or flat out aerobic endurance, then why not expand the training "cycle" to say 10 days?

That way, you could do something like:

Lift: Monday, Thursday, Sunday
Skills/Conditioning/Cardio: Tuesday, Friday, Monday
Rest: Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday of the next week.

Depending on the type of conditioning you are doing and how it impacts your recovery ability, seems like expanding past a week can help break up the workouts mentally. If it's more than a 7 day cycle, you have the freedom to add in rest days or different cardio/conditioning workouts depending on what your goals are.

The only reason I'm really familiar with this is that it's quite popular in some elite running circles (I ran college XC).

[gregandbeaker]

I was doing two days between each strength training working for awhile as I was brand new to it and *really* sore, but it became a hassle after a while as I work a standard M-F gig and having my workouts landing on different days made scheduling a hassle. It actually became more likely that I would miss a day doing it that way. Having a rigid schedule helps me plan my life out a little better.