When you have limited time for training, how little can you train and still make gains? Or, if you’re a beginner and don’t want to invest a lot of time getting started in the gym, will your efforts be worthwhile if you strength train only once weekly?
In today’s episode, we’re talking about the minimum effective dose for strength training. To kick things off, we have an overview study covering different strategies for minimalist strength training.
After that, we discuss practical takeaways and our recommendations for when you’re short on time but still want to make gains or maintain the muscle mass and strength you already have!
We finish the episode by answering a handful of your questions on this topic.
Timestamps:
- 02:30 – Study breakdown: ”Resistance Exercise Minimal Dose Strategies for Increasing Muscle Strength in the General Population: an Overview.”
- 35:45 – Listener question 1: Give me the sweet spot for time, sets & intensity for muscle growth. Where more only adds a few gains.
- 39:30 – Listener question 2: For experienced lifters who’ve been on a bro-split for a long time, can gains still be made on a minimalistic routine?
- 45:45 – Listener question 3: If strength is my goal, why shouldn’t I do as much as my body can handle?
- 50:30 – Listener question 4: When you’re weak like me, every workout is minimalistic.
- 53:30 – Listener question 5: What do you think about same-muscle supersets, for instance squats followed by sissy squats, for time efficiency?
If you want to ask a question for episode 100, here’s our thread on Reddit for that!
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This is episode 99 of the podcast. Check out the five previous episodes below:
- Episode 98: Warming Up for Better Performance
- Episode 97: Combining Cardio and Strength Training
- Episode 96: Building Muscle after 60 – the Elixir of Youth
- Episode 95: The Key to Losing as Much Fat as Possible
- Episode 94: Should You Load up on Carbs before the Gym?
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You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam.
To discuss the podcast with us, or to leave a question, join our Reddit community at r/strengthlog.
Further Reading
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