As with all my articles please come into this one with an open mind. I want to discuss strength maintenance programs (more so for the everyday gym-goer such as myself, but technically most elements will probably apply to athletes as well).

I know a lot of people in the industry right now (including some very close friends of mine) DO NOT believe in maintenance programs. And to that I say, “It depends”. Let me explain. Most people will say “you’re either progressing or regressing” or “we don’t maintain we always get better”. And to that I once again say, “It depends”.

For me, the traditional “maintenance” program is a watered-down version of a strength training program. Most people play the “minimum effective dose” card, but do you really know what that is? Most likely you do not. I actually think most people (athletes) can handle more volume/intensity than we give them (although volume and intensity for the sake of volume and intensity isn’t right either). In this sense of “maintenance” I actually do agree with everyone that says, “We don’t believe in maintenance here”. Giving athletes an excuse to not work as hard is NEVER a good thing (and giving them a watered-down program and saying it will “maintain their strength” is exactly that – an excuse to not work hard).

However, I DO believe there is such thing as a strength maintenance program. This comes with two big caveats: first and foremost you have to be strong to maintain strength. Not having strength in the first place is a guaranteed way to not actually maintain strength. Second, you have to be working to improve a DIFFERENT quality while preserving (“maintaining”) a certain level of strength.

Everyone wants to talk about residual training effects. “Oh over the quarantine it’s fine because you will be able to maintain maximal strength levels for plus-or-minus 30 days so actually this time isn’t bad for you”. You’re telling this to a 16-year-old kid who weighs 165 and squats 135. The kid doesn’t have strength. Therefore, he can’t maintain strength. Residual training effects are for those who have built up a quality to a high level (usually through concentrated training blocks). This, like many other well-intended concepts in the field, got over-simplified and over-applied to make athletes (again) feel like they are special snowflakes and don’t have to work as hard. Let me give you a real-life example using myself.

When I turned 28 in June of 2020 I decided I did not want to get old (what a goal right?). Anyways, I was walking around between 223-225 (and my peak weight was 228). This was right up through Spring Training of 2020 (essentially into March before we got sent home). I felt my body weight every step I took. I was strong and looked well-built, but I moved slow and my numbers on the force plates weren’t overly-inspiring (I was jumping daily during Spring Training). I’ve always loved Strongman training, but don’t have any real desire to compete. So I decided to take my training a different route. My goal was going to become more athletic (read: “more explosive”) while “maintaining” a certain level of strength.

I did a super-concentrated strength training block in my backyard gym towards the end of quarantine. I went six weeks straight of really solid loading and essentially hit my wall. I genuinely earned a deload as I was getting to the spot I wanted (essentially a planned overreach on the border of overtraining). I spent three weeks in Boston for “Summer Camp” with no real training goal (as our training time was super limited) and reported to Pawtucket for the Alternate Site when Summer Camp was over. I spent the vast majority of my time in Pawtucket alternating between three total body sessions and three cardio/gymnastics sessions per week (Sundays were for soft tissue work and recovery work). I worked through a modified version of the Cube program, but with the GymAware (working up to singles and doubles at .50m/s, which is truthfully not overly heavy). My total body sessions included ankle work, plyos and med balls, sprint work, and a total body lift based on the Tier System from Joe Kenn (basically five total tiers per day). I was doing a MINIMUM of 100 minutes per week of cardio (bike riding mostly) per week (GASP!). I jump tested on the force plates every Wednesday. I cut down on my late-night eating and ended camp at a body weight of 212-215 on any given day (essentially 10 lbs down from Spring Training).

Overall the results were very pleasing. My explosiveness metric on the force plates went up, as well as my overall vertical jump height. I was leaner and moving around way more athletically. Subjectively I felt great. I felt like I was breathing better and was not stuck to the ground. But how about the strength maintenance aspect?

Realistically maintaining 85-90% of your true max is probably a good goal for a “strength maintenance” program while you focus a large majority of your training and adaptation resources to other qualities. My goal was actually to simply stay on the “Strong” category of my “Strength Chart”. I will have more on that in another article, but I basically wanted to keep my everyday maxes (aka no belt, wraps, straps, chalk, hype-up) at: 5 plates for deadlift, 4 plates for squat, 3 plates for bench, and 2 plates for a triple on chin-ups. Regardless of what your “body weight, relative strength” ratios say, anyone who pulls 5 plates from the floor (especially with a barbell and not a trap bar) is “strong enough”. Put the numbers from above together and you have a well-rounded, strong individual (regardless of body weight).

These were all numbers I was able to hit: no extra equipment, no hype-up. Shit I even did them all in a mask (2020 strength standards). Now when you look at this program, what did I accomplish?

1. Improved athleticism and explosiveness (based on force plate testing)
2. Improved overall body composition and well-being
3. Improved heart health and lung capacity
4. MAINTAINED adequate levels of strength

This is why I do actually believe there is such thing as a “Strength Maintenance Program”. As I mentioned the two caveats (being strong to begin with and maintaining an adequate/appropriate level of strength while improving a different quality), must be adhered to. Otherwise you are just giving athletes an excuse to not work hard.