Muscles on maintenance

[Xpiro]

What’s the best way to put a body part on maintenance? I figure less sets is a given, but are you still trying to add reps and weight at suboptimal volume or just repeating everything? Or is it like, if you’re still able to progress, do even less sets?

[TAWS6]

Maintain weight on bar. 2-3 hard sets, twice per week. So if you can bench 275 for a training max you can easily maintain everything by keeping the weight at 225 for 6-8 weeks. You don’t add reps or weight.

[Xpiro]

Sounds good, what about reps? Same?

[TAWS6]

Sounds good, what about reps? Same?

For compounds I always maintained in the 5-8 rep range. Iso lifts 8-12.

[air2fakie]

No exact formula since there’s lots of ways to do it, but while progress can be hard, maintenance is pretty easy. It’s purposely spinning your wheels when you think about it.

[TAWS6]

No exact formula since there’s lots of ways to do it, but while progress can be hard, maintenance is pretty easy. It’s purposely spinning your wheels when you think about it.

Only time I did this was when I was trying to bring up lagging body parts. Put others on maintenance. Meh. Advanced naturals are just pissing into the wind no matter what. Some admit it, some don’t lol.

[Xpiro]

I just wanted to stop trying to progress anything to do with my posterior chain for a bit. Low back/glute/ham pain pissed me off one last time. I’d rather save the recovery capacity from deadlifts/RDLs and wait til my quads catch up since I have glutes and hams for days anyway. Like, that is big stuff to not have to recover like crazy from.

[jamesrobert1997]

When it comes to putting a body part on maintenance, there are a few strategies you can try. First, reducing the number of sets is definitely a good start. You can also try reducing the frequency of training that body part to once or twice a week instead of three or more times a week.

In terms of progression, it's still possible to add reps and weight at suboptimal volume, but you may need to do so at a slower pace than when you were in a growth phase. Alternatively, you can aim to maintain your current level of strength and focus on perfecting your form and technique with lighter weights.

Ultimately, the best approach will depend on your individual goals and current fitness level. If you're still able to progress with less sets, then that may be a good option for you. However, if you find that you're struggling to maintain your strength and performance with fewer sets, then it may be best to focus on maintaining what you already have rather than trying to push for further gains.