Strength Maintenance Once Achieved

[Valentin84]

Once a certain strength goal is reached, is it possible to back off training as hard / often as it was to reach that goal, but maintain that approximate strength?

The reason for the question is that I plan on starting a family within the next couple years. Once that happens, I'm wondering if one can maintain that peak strength (with no plan of progression) with about half the amount of workout time, or so.

[Mark Rippetoe]

IOW, can you maintain the accumulated results of a training program by merely exercising? Yeah, probably.

[Karl Schudt]

Once you start a family, you might really need your gym time, if you know what I mean.

[Cody]

I wonder if you really thought about the concepts of adaptation and progressive overload, Valentin.

You start training, and squatting 225x5x3 is hard. You train hard and get to a 405x5x3 squat. To maintain a 405x5x3, you must continue to squat that much weight, and it never gets easier because you are never getting stronger. If you get to 495x5x3, now 405x5x3 is easy.

In other words, if you don't plan on getting stronger, whatever weights you are lifting now will always be heavy, and you will have to lift them in perpetuity to maintain your current strength level. So no, you can't cut your work load in half, you'll detrain.

Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome. Look it up.

[curlrackhog]

Once you start a family, you might really need your gym time, if you know what I mean.

Father of one, closing in on two in January, concurs.

[Mark E. Hurling]

The reason for the question is that I plan on starting a family within the next couple years. Once that happens, I'm wondering if one can maintain that peak strength (with no plan of progression) with about half the amount of workout time, or so.

Not only can you maintain, you can progress. Probably not as fast, but it's possible. I didn't become a parent until age 39, we enjoyed training for the main event during 12 years of marriage leading up to it. I continued to make progress despite hurting myself constantly before I got my form fixed here 22 years later. Parenthood is a milestone, not a terminal finish line. Unless you choose for it to be.

Also, what Karl said. You gotta get some head space away from the alls and the sundries no matter how much you may love them.

[Giri Kotte]

Father of one, closing in on two in January, concurs.

Father of one and I agree. Training is the oxygen of my everyday life.

[I_iz_a_fatass]

Henry Rollins has it right. Lifting and my gym time are sanity when nothing else that day (week, month, whatever) is making any sense.

[tdood]

It's tough to just maintain.. I have a 16 month old and have PR'd every lift since he's been born. You go through periods of trying to maintain, especially when they're not sleeping and your wife is a mess, but then things lighten up and you can really push it and make progress. I haven't been to the gym more than twice a week since he's been born but have made steady intermediate progress. Last contest total was 1410@ 270 31yo.
When you are just trying to maintain, like, I'm going to go and squat 405x5 every week, you'll really see how other factors affect your training without varying the training stimulus. It sucks.

[Frayedknot]

I've got 2 kids and I maintained for 2-3 months after each was born. By maintain, I mean that I got out in the gym (my garage) as often as possible, but with work and a crying newborn my progress (recovery) was minimal. With that said, I've often trained with a sleeping baby in a carrier or exersaucer by the rack. Once my recovery improved, so did my progress.