The John Lewis Advert is out, so move out of the way Michael Bublé let me get to the mic.
Why maintaining what we've already built is a worthwhile temporary training goal when life is full, and what the research tells us…
Too Long; Didn’t Read (TL; DR) If you don't read any further, here's what I want you to take away. It's absolutely OK to adjust your training during particularly full periods of life, and if you read on, I'll share the science that supports this. But the important thing is that these are temporary adaptations to your usual training programme. Stick to the Smart Move programme that's been designed for you wherever possible, because the structure, progression and combination of exercises all matter. If you need to do less for a while, be considered about what you prioritise, and please don't go rogue! Ask me which sessions to prioritise within the programme. Motivation might be below zero, but the aim is to keep honouring the commitment you've made to yourself, remembering your why even when life gets full.
Full article…
December is approaching, and for many of us our usual routines are about to change. Some will have more time to exercise over Christmas, whilst others will have considerably less, depending on work, family commitments, travelling and everything else happening at this time of year.
One of the things I really want women to understand is that there needs to be room for flexibility in how we approach exercise, particularly when life gets full. But I also want us to recognise the importance of being determined to keep going, even when we don't particularly feel like it. We can't rely on motivation to get us exercising consistently, because motivation comes and goes, and there will always be something else competing for our time and attention.
There's a lot to be said for making a commitment to ourselves and honouring it, whilst recognising that how we fulfil that commitment might need to change from one week to the next. If you've planned three strength sessions and can realistically manage two, then do two. If you've got less time available, consider what you can prioritise rather than abandoning your training altogether. There is a difference between allowing ourselves some flexibility and repeatedly putting our own needs at the bottom of the list, and it's important that we can recognise that distinction.
I've found some research that's particularly relevant to this conversation, because the amount of training we need to maintain our strength and fitness can be considerably less than the amount we needed to build it in the first place. This gives us some evidence to draw on when we're working out how to accommodate exercise during particularly full periods like December, whilst recognising that reducing our training is a temporary adjustment rather than a long-term approach.
What does the research tell us?
In 2021, Spiering and colleagues published a review looking at the minimum amount of exercise needed to maintain strength and endurance. They found that people could substantially reduce how often they trained, and how much exercise they did, whilst retaining many of the improvements they'd already made, provided the remaining exercise was still sufficiently challenging.
For younger adults, some studies found that strength and muscle size could be maintained for up to 32 weeks with as little as one strength session per week. Older adults appeared to need more training to preserve muscle size, with two sessions per week and two to three sets per exercise suggested as a more cautious approach.
Another study, by Bickel and colleagues in 2011, found something similar. Participants completed 16 weeks of strength training before substantially reducing how much they exercised over the following 32 weeks. Strength was largely retained, even with significant reductions in training, although older participants needed more exercise to maintain the muscle growth they'd achieved.
This distinction between maintaining strength and maintaining muscle mass matters, particularly as we get older. We can retain strength through adaptations in how our nervous system recruits our muscles, even when muscle size changes. Preserving muscle mass is something I place considerable importance on for women approaching and moving through menopause, and we need to continue challenging our muscles regularly to give ourselves the best opportunity to do that.
The research also looked at cardiovascular fitness, finding that some measures of endurance performance could be maintained with considerably less training, provided the intensity was maintained.
There are limitations to what we can take from these studies. They weren't specifically investigating women during menopause, and the amount of training needed will vary depending on age, training history and individual circumstances. They also don't tell us how little exercise we can do whilst maintaining bone mineral density, which is particularly relevant for women in midlife.
What they do tell us is that reducing our training for a period doesn't automatically mean losing the strength and fitness we've worked hard to build. We may be able to maintain much of what we've achieved with fewer sessions, provided we're still giving our bodies an appropriate training stimulus.
Why I still want you to stick to your training programme
When we're following an exercise programme, we tend to think about progress in terms of lifting heavier weights, increasing repetitions, improving our cardiovascular fitness or being able to do something that previously felt difficult. Progressive overload is an important part of achieving those improvements, and if we want to continue getting stronger, we need to keep challenging our bodies.
I've written previously about why [women deserve more than watered down strength training](INSERT PREVIOUS BLOG LINK), and I stand by everything I said there. Women need access to appropriately challenging, progressive strength training, and that includes all women at every age.
So that's why I said don't go rogue! above. Stick to Smart Move.
I'm really particular about how Smart Move is programmed. The sessions within each training block have been designed to work together, with specific exercises, repetitions, training demands and opportunities for progression. Following that structure consistently matters if we want to achieve the outcomes we're training for.
The strength training, plyometrics and cardiovascular work have all been included for a reason. Having low bone density myself, I'm particularly interested in making sure the exercise I'm doing gives my bones the best opportunity to respond. Maintaining strength doesn't automatically mean we've done enough for our bones, and if we're regularly missing particular elements of the programme, we may be missing some of the training stimulus needed for the outcomes we're working towards.
The research on maintaining strength is reassuring when we need to reduce our training temporarily, but it doesn't change what we know about the importance of progressive strength training, impact exercise and cardiovascular fitness for our longer-term health.
How can we use this research when life gets busy?
If you're currently completing three strength sessions a week and can only manage two for a few weeks, there's good reason to believe you may be able to maintain much of your strength, particularly if the sessions you're doing are still sufficiently challenging.
But please don't start randomly choosing workouts because you fancy one more than another! If you're following Smart Move, ask me which sessions to prioritise so we can make sure you're still getting the most from the time you have available.
There are a few things I'd encourage you to consider:
Keep lifting weights that challenge you. Reducing the number of sessions doesn't automatically mean reducing the weights you're lifting, provided you're feeling well and the exercise remains appropriate for you.
Be considered about which sessions you're doing. If you need to reduce your training, we can work out how to retain an appropriate balance of strength, plyometrics and cardiovascular exercise.
Keep some cardiovascular exercise in your week. Walking, running, cycling or swimming can all contribute to maintaining your cardiovascular fitness.
Remember that this is temporary. A couple of weeks over Christmas is very different from consistently reducing your exercise over several months, particularly when we're considering muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness and bone health.
When you return to your usual training, you might find that your weights feel perfectly manageable, or you might need to reduce them slightly whilst you settle back into your routine. That doesn't necessarily mean you've lost significant strength. If you've had a longer break, particularly through illness or injury, a more gradual return may be appropriate.
Knowing when to progress and when to maintain
I've never wanted the women I work with to feel that exercise only works when they can follow a programme perfectly. There will be months when we have the capacity to train consistently, challenge ourselves and make considerable progress, and others when we're accommodating different demands on our time and energy.
I do want women to understand that following a structured programme consistently matters. The exercise selection, the way sessions are organised, the resistance we're using and the progression over time all contribute to the results we're working towards. If we're constantly changing what we do, missing particular sessions or choosing exercises at random, we're making it harder to achieve those results.
I also don't expect women to automatically know how to make adjustments to their training. We haven't necessarily been taught how to train, how much exercise we need or how to change our training when our circumstances change. Understanding when to push on, when to maintain and how to make those decisions is something I want the women I work with to learn.
For those of you in Smart Move, this is why you have access to me throughout your membership. If you know you're only going to manage one or two sessions a week for a while, please ask me. I can help you decide which sessions to prioritise and how to adjust your training whilst continuing to work towards your longer-term goals.
I want women to have the strength, fitness and confidence to continue moving well for as long as possible. That requires us to challenge our bodies appropriately, follow a programme that has been designed with those outcomes in mind and recognise when we need to make adjustments.
And perhaps most importantly, it means continuing to honour the commitment we've made to ourselves, even when the amount we're able to do changes. If December is a month where you maintain the strength you've spent months/years🎉 (celebrating you!!) building, that is a very worthwhile outcome.
Take what you can, with the energy you have, in the capacity you are able, repeat. Mantra 🤜🤛
Emma x
References and further reading
Spiering BA, Mujika I, Sharp MA, Foulis SA (2021). Maintaining Physical Performance: The Minimal Dose of Exercise Needed to Preserve Endurance and Strength Over Time. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 35(5), 1449–1458.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33629972/
Bickel CS, Cross JM, Bamman MM (2011). Exercise Dosing to Retain Resistance Training Adaptations in Young and Older Adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(7), 1177–1187.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21131862/
This article is intended for general education and isn't individual medical or exercise advice. If you're recovering from illness or injury, or have a medical condition that affects your ability to exercise, seek appropriate professional guidance before changing your training.