Lifting once a week.

[scotty1]

Hi

Jesus, haven't posted on here for ages.

Anway, I remember someone saying it was possible to make gains only lifting once a week, if you do it right.

Well, basically I was thinking 3 or 4 big compound lifts, along with the normal guidelines for my goals.

Am I going to get anywhere?

Cheers

[Ford Prefect]

It'd be very hard to do and make steady progress.

And don't call me Jesus.

[Vash]

For what it's worth, I'd say two full-body workouts a week. I did mine on Monday and Thurs. Had the best gains of my lifting career doing that.

Went from bench 180 to 260 in three months.

Powerclean and Press went from 150 to 185 (woulda been 200,but the bar slipped outta my hands on the press :( )

Didn't squat; patella tracking problem (PT for that)

[Doug]

Hey,

The gentleman above used to write for Flex Magazine (unfortunately, now he's dead). He advocated a program (I forget the name--maybe the Heavy Duty System) where one would work out with the most weight possible, the fewest reps, and least amount of time. Many people subscribed to his idea (Dorian Yates, a former Mr. Olympia, followed this approach). I think it still requires lifting weights more than once a week, but each workout is much quicker (or, at least, less sets are required).

I followed this appraoch. For back, I would do three sets per exercise. I jumped in weight overall. However, one needs to be careful with this philosophy of working out because a lot of stress is placed on the body. One wrong more will really mess someone up.

Doug M

[Samurai Jack]

I've been working out once a week for a couple of months now using heavy compounds scotty, and with good results. My lifts have been increasing in weight and I've been shortening my rest periods between lifts. My bench has gone up about five pounds a week (using dumbbells). Rows about ten pounds a week or so. 'Bout the same for squats.

I don't expect results like these indefinately, but if it's all you've got time for, and you're making progress, don't sweat it. Give it a month and see what happens.

[AndyC]

Yep this deffinately sounds like the mike mentzer type of training. I've got the book and read about 2/3 of it. It seems to me that it's more suited to body builders or people who are looking to increase strength & size. I guess if that's what your wanting to acheive it's all good. However, for more martial arts oriented training i.e. stamina, etc. You may need to change the training plan.

[fa_jing]

I favor frequent lifting myself and make much better gains overall.

[Samurai Jack]

fa_jing, how often do you lift and how long are your sessions? How often do you practice MA? What sort of lifts do you prefer?

I personally haven't had alot of time on my hands as I train Aikido 3 hours a day, four days a week, plus an hour of iaido twice a week. One or two lifting sessions per week are all I can manage, but I'm open to trying other's routines if they offer something I haven't already tried.

Oh, and what kind of gains have you exerienced in the past year or so?

[Vash]

How often do you do non-weight traing? Your martial training?

Unless you're doing some extreme non-weight training, I'd say two full-body workouts a week. Mostly compounds, a few isolations, mainly for the parts not worked well by the compounds.