Is lifting once in a while worth it?

[Sloth the Enduring]

I'm currently doing 20-30 minutes a day of circuit training with sledgehammers and kettlebells. I really like it, it's leaning me down and making me a lot stronger, but it's not making me bigger. Getting bigger isn't important to me, but I wouldn't mind it.

It's a lot more effective than going to the gym and using the weight machines was, so I quit going to the gym. However, I find myself there every couple of weeks or so when I bring my daughter to her tumbling class. Right now I do a few lifts to see if I'm still getting stronger and spend the rest of the time reading The Onion.

Would it be worth the effort to do a basic barbell/dumbell workout every couple of weeks or would it be too irregular to be of any benefit. What I'm hoping is that it would accelerate strength gains.

[spezzy]

It'll help you, absolutely.

But you won't see any linear gains purely because of it. It would more a compliment to your sledgehammer/kettlebell workouts.

I'm all about doing something completely different every few weeks.

You won't get bigger doing it that way though.

[Guest Carjack]

You should hit heavy weights at least once a week if you're on a circuit program.

Even if just deadlift and clean & press, it would improve your kettlebelling, and just a bar with 300 pounds of plates is cheap enough. Cheaper than a gym membership in the long run.

[js290]

I'm currently doing 20-30 minutes a day of circuit training with sledgehammers and kettlebells. I really like it, it's leaning me down and making me a lot stronger, but it's not making me bigger. Getting bigger isn't important to me, but I wouldn't mind it.

It's a lot more effective than going to the gym and using the weight machines was, so I quit going to the gym. However, I find myself there every couple of weeks or so when I bring my daughter to her tumbling class. Right now I do a few lifts to see if I'm still getting stronger and spend the rest of the time reading The Onion.

Would it be worth the effort to do a basic barbell/dumbell workout every couple of weeks or would it be too irregular to be of any benefit. What I'm hoping is that it would accelerate strength gains.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-097X.2011.01031.x/abstract

http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?p=446

[Sloth the Enduring]

Thanks for the advice. I'm at the Y every week or two with my daughter, unless Christmas stuff mucks up the weekend, I'll start lifting on Saturday. I don't have a spotter, so there'll be a lot ofdumbbells.

You should hit heavy weights at least once a week if you're on a circuit program.

Even if just deadlift and clean & press, it would improve your kettlebelling, and just a bar with 300 pounds of plates is cheap enough. Cheaper than a gym membership in the long run.

Carjack, Why isn't circuit training enough? BTW We have a family membership at the Y, it wouldn't save us any money to take me off of it.

Js290, I checked out that site. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll do superslow and spend the rest of the week recovering. I'd prefer something I can do as a daily habit. Is that how you work out?

[Guest Carjack]

Circuit training is usually conducted with a set weight, so past the point where that weight gets easy, you make no further strength gains. Gains in limit strength will increase your muscular endurance at lighter weights, because the lighter weights are moved more easily.

So I think the best training method is one that has both heavy strength training and endurance events. Low rep lifts focusing on limit strength and high rep or density workouts to supplement your cardio.

I'll outline some guys and resources that can help you on strength training and go well with kettlebell training:

Pavel Tsatsouline: He has a few routines that are very minimalist and efficient. In Power to the People he advocates doing a few sets of deadlifts and side or bent presses a few times a week. (If you do either of those lateral presses, check out my bent press thread and do some proper kettlebell windmills first. You can get a lot out of one or two hand overhead presses too.)

Brooks Kubik routines: He has some on his Dinosaur Training blog that are good for beginners and minimalism, and some are done once a week, and his routines use squats more than deadlifts.

Sig Klein: You can get his newsletters and books on sandowplus.co.uk or search up his articles on ditillo2.blogspot.com. He did a mix of barbell, dumbbell, heavy kettlebells and difficult calisthenics, and his methods are pretty good.

Old time strongmen in general.

PS: If you get good at lifting, I predict you'll like it and want to do more and more as your ability improves.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Thanks, that makes sense. I've tried to compensate by trying to finish my sets faster or by trying to get more reps in a given time. I realize that circuit training isn't the most efficient way to gain strength, but in my case it is probably the quickest because it allows me to work out regularly at home, which means I can actually do it. Although, if I bought my own weight set like you suggest, I could lift regularly too...

I've been playing around with my routine, I'll check out those resources and see what I can incorporate.

[js290]

Js290, I checked out that site. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll do superslow and spend the rest of the week recovering. I'd prefer something I can do as a daily habit. Is that how you work out?

If you want your workouts to be effective, it comes down to effort. Effort and duration are inversely proportional. If you want your workouts to be safe, your movements should be slower and more controlled. The study I linked seems to indicate as long as you're training regularly (and properly), the intervals can be up to three weeks without losing any of the muscle gains.

[ironplasma79]

I'm with Spezzy regarding weights as a source of muscle confusion. Given how infrequently you go, you may find it worth while to gauge your gains through doing just a few maxes, which is in and of itself a workout.

[Guest Carjack]

Muscles don't get confused. They only get angry.

[spezzy]

yeah. we don't actually want our muscles confused. we want them to know what they should be doing.

[chammy]

Muscles don't get confused. They only get angry.

I stole this for my signature.. <3

[ironplasma79]

Can muscles at least be a little disoriented?

[js290]

Js290, I checked out that site. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll do superslow and spend the rest of the week recovering. I'd prefer something I can do as a daily habit. Is that how you work out?

http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2011/12/finding-your-sweet-spot-for-muscle-gain.html

[sumdawgtwigg]

Sometimes my muscles get confused. They don't understand why I want them to keep lifting heavy objects. They scream for me to stop....ok, I'm just playing. I think they actually like it quite a bit.

[Relosa]

Here's yesterdays post on MarksDailyApple. He had Doug McGruff from Body By Science do a guest post about beginners and exercising seldomly.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/setting-yourself-up-to-win-a-body-by-science-approach/#axzz1gbz54IlK