Maintenance: Holding What You’ve Built When Life Gets Full

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📚 Read Time: 8 Minutes 

Last week we talked about capacity. How much you can handle. How much stress, volume, and responsibility your system can absorb and recover from without breaking down. Capacity is what allows progress to happen in the first place. 

But capacity alone isn’t enough. 

Because there are moments, like this time of year, when life doesn’t allow you to keep building. Schedules tighten. Travel, family, and obligations stack up. Energy gets pulled in multiple directions at once. And the mistake most people make is assuming that if they cannot push forward, they are somehow falling backward. 

This week’s topic is maintenance. 

Maintenance is what bridges capacity into sustainability. It is the ability to hold your ground when conditions are not ideal. To protect the progress you’ve already earned without forcing growth in a season that doesn’t support it. 

Maintenance does not mean quitting. It does not mean coasting. And it does not mean lowering standards. It means adjusting the demand so your systems stay engaged rather than overwhelmed. 

During the holidays, workouts may be shorter. Nutrition may be less precise. Structure may loosen. That does not erase progress. In many cases, it preserves it. When done well, maintenance keeps habits alive, protects physical adaptations, and prevents the all-or-nothing thinking that leads to burnout every January. 

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What Is Maintenance? 

Maintenance is the intentional act of holding onto the progress you’ve already built. 

In training, it means sustaining strength, aerobic capacity, and movement quality without actively chasing new gains. In life, it means keeping your habits and identity intact during seasons when time, energy, or stress make growth less realistic. 

Maintenance is not passive. It is a strategic choice. 

From a physiological standpoint, the body requires far less stimulus to maintain adaptations than it does to create them. From a psychological standpoint, continued engagement, even at reduced intensity, protects consistency and prevents the all-or-nothing drop-off that leads to burnout. 

At its core, maintenance serves three purposes: 

• Preserve adaptations 

Strength, muscle, and aerobic fitness can be maintained with reduced volume as long as the system still receives a clear signal to adapt. 

• Protect consistency 

Showing up at a lower capacity reinforces habits and identity. You stay connected to the process instead of stepping away from it. 

• Reduce overload during high-stress seasons 

When life stress is high, maintenance allows you to hold ground without stacking excessive demands on already taxed systems. 

Maintenance is not about lowering standards. It is about matching effort to the season you are in so progress remains sustainable. 

You are not falling behind when you maintain. 

You are keeping the door open for future growth.

The Brain and Body on Maintenance

Maintenance works because once adaptations are built, the brain and body only need a minimal, consistent signal to preserve them. Remove the signal entirely, and systems begin to downregulate. Keep it present, even at reduced volume, and progress largely holds. 

🧠 Brain: Mental Maintenance and Stress Regulation 

• Habit continuity preserves cognitive stability 

Maintaining routines, even at lower intensity, keeps the prefrontal cortex engaged, supporting focus, emotional regulation, and decision-making during high-stress periods. 

• Movement stabilizes mood and motivation 

Regular physical activity helps maintain dopamine and serotonin signaling. When training stops completely, increases in irritability, anxiety, and mental fatigue are common despite reduced physical load. 

• Identity is pattern-based 

The brain reinforces identity through repetition, not intensity. Showing up consistently maintains the internal identity of “someone who trains,” which prevents long-term disengagement. 

🩺 Body: Retention of Physical Adaptations 

• Strength and muscle are resilient 

Once built, strength and lean mass can be maintained with significantly reduced training volume, provided intensity and movement quality remain. 

• Aerobic capacity declines only when stimulus disappears 

VO₂ max and mitochondrial function drop fastest with complete inactivity. Short, periodic aerobic sessions are often sufficient to preserve cardiovascular efficiency. 

• Connective tissue benefits from continued loading 

Reduced but consistent stress maintains tendon stiffness and joint integrity, lowering injury risk when training volume increases again. 

Maintenance keeps systems online, not optimized. 

Maintenance by the Numbers 

These numbers show how resilient progress actually is when the signal stays present, and how quickly it erodes when it disappears. 

• 1 session per week 

Strength and muscle mass can be largely maintained with as little as one resistance training session per week, as long as intensity is preserved. Volume can drop sharply without meaningful loss. 

• 2 sessions per week 

Aerobic capacity can be maintained with two moderate sessions per week, or even fewer if one includes higher intensity. Complete inactivity, not reduced volume, drives decline. 

• ~6% VO₂ max loss in 2 weeks 

Aerobic capacity begins to drop within 14 days of complete inactivity. The takeaway: maintenance prevents early losses, stopping entirely accelerates them. 

• Up to 26% VO₂ max loss in ~11 weeks 

Extended inactivity leads to rapid cardiovascular decline. This is why long breaks feel far worse than reduced training. 

• Minimal volume, maintained intensity = retained strength 

Research consistently shows that reducing training volume by 50–80% while keeping intensity high preserves strength far better than reducing intensity. 

• Regular movement improves mental health by ~30% 

Moderate, consistent physical activity is associated with roughly a 25–30% reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression, even without high training loads. 

Tiger Resilience Lens: Maintenance vs Maximizing 

Both have a place. The problem comes when people try to maximize in a time in their life, that many only allow for maintenance. 

The key distinction 

Maximizing is about building more. 

Maintenance is about not losing ground. 

Trying to maximize during high-stress seasons often leads to overload, frustration, or disengagement. Maintenance allows you to stay consistent, protect your identity, and preserve the foundation you have already built. 

The strongest performers are not always pushing forward. 

They know when to hold steady.

Michael’s Training Corner: Training to Maintain, Not Stall 

Maintenance is a skill. Most people either overdo it or disappear entirely. The goal is neither. It is to apply the minimum effective dose that keeps adaptations intact while life is busy. 

Here is what that actually looks like in practice. 

Strength. How Little Is Enough? 

Once strength and muscle are built, they are remarkably resilient. 

Research consistently shows that strength can be maintained with dramatically reduced volume, as long as intensity stays present. 

What works: 

• 1–2 lifting sessions per week 

• 2–4 compound lifts per session 

• 2–3 working sets per lift 

• Moderate to high intensity. Roughly 70–85% of usual working loads 

• No need to train to failure 

The nervous system retains strength efficiently. You are reminding it how to recruit muscle, not trying to force new growth. 

Coaching note: 

If time is tight, keep the big movements. Squat or hinge. Push or pull. That alone preserves most strength adaptations. 

Aerobic Capacity. Keeping the Engine Running 

Aerobic fitness declines quickly only when the stimulus disappears entirely. Maintenance requires far less volume than people think. 

What works: 

• 2 short aerobic sessions per week, or 

• 1 moderate session plus 1 higher-intensity stimulus 

• Sessions can be as short as 20–30 minutes 

Intensity matters more than mileage here. One controlled threshold or interval session can preserve VO₂ max and mitochondrial efficiency for weeks. 

Coaching note: 

This is not the season for chasing pace. It is the season for staying aerobic. Effort controlled. Breathing steady. Signal present. 

The Holiday Framework I Use With Clients 

When life load is high, we shift the goal from progression to preservation. 

That means: 

• Reduce volume before reducing frequency 

• Keep intensity but lower total work 

• Prioritize consistency over perfect execution 

• Protect sleep and nutrition first, training second 

If someone can train at 70 percent for two weeks instead of zero percent, they return in January far stronger than the person who shut it down completely. 

The Mistake to Avoid 

The biggest error people make during busy seasons is thinking maintenance is pointless. 

It is not. 

Maintenance keeps tendons stiff, aerobic systems stimulated, movement patterns clean, and habits alive. It shortens the runway back to full training and prevents the psychological reset that makes restarting so hard. 

You are not training to get better right now. 

You are training to make sure you do not have to start over. 

That is smart coaching. 

And it is exactly what this season calls for.

Real-World Spotlight: Brad Schoenfeld on Why Maintenance Works 

If there’s one person who has helped demystify how much training is actually needed to maintain strength and muscle, it’s Dr. Brad Schoenfeld. 

Schoenfeld has spent years studying resistance training volume, intensity, and frequency. One of the most consistent findings across his work is this. The dose required to build muscle is much higher than the dose required to keep it. 

In a 2016 study examining training volume reductions, Schoenfeld and colleagues showed that once strength and hypertrophy are established, significant reductions in weekly volume did not result in meaningful losses, as long as training intensity was preserved. Similar conclusions showed up again in later reviews and meta-analyses on resistance training dose-response relationships. 

In plain terms. 

You don’t need to train as much as you think to hold onto what you’ve earned. 

Some of the most practical takeaways from Schoenfeld’s work: 

• Cutting volume by half or more can still preserve strength and muscle 

• Intensity and effort matter more than frequency during maintenance phases 

• Muscle tissue is resilient when it continues to receive mechanical tension 

• Consistency, even at low volume, beats sporadic “all-in” weeks 

Schoenfeld has also been vocal outside of the lab about seasonality in training. He regularly emphasizes that intelligent training adjusts to life constraints rather than fighting them. When volume has to come down, the solution is not to quit. It’s to simplify. 

Lift a little. 

Lift with intent. 

Keep the signal alive. 

That mindset (and science) is exactly what maintenance is about. Not lowering standards, but matching the work to reality so progress doesn’t unravel when life gets busy.

Journal Exercise: Defining Your Maintenance Line 

Maintenance is not accidental. It works best when you define it before things get busy. 

Use this exercise to set clear expectations for yourself during this season so consistency stays intact without creating unnecessary pressure. 

1. Define What “Enough” Looks Like Right Now 

Write this honestly, without comparing yourself to peak training weeks. 

What does maintenance mean for me this week? 

Examples: 

• “Two short lifts and one run.” 

• “Three walks and one focused workout.” 

• “Movement most days, no intensity chasing.” 

Write your answer: 

This week, maintenance for me looks like ____________________. 

2. Identify the One Habit You Refuse to Drop 

When everything else loosens, one habit should remain non-negotiable. This is the anchor. 

Ask yourself: 

• What habit keeps me connected to who I am? 

• If I keep only this, I won’t feel like I fell off. 

Write it down: 

My anchor habit this week is ____________________. 

3. Set a Floor, Not a Ceiling 

Maintenance works when you define a minimum, not a goal to exceed. 

Complete this sentence: 

Even on a busy day, I can commit to ____________________. 

This might be: 

• 10 minutes of movement 

• A short walk 

• A few sets of a main lift 

• A consistent bedtime 

This is your floor. Anything above it is a bonus. 

4. Reframe the Narrative 

Finish this prompt in your own words: 

Maintaining is not falling behind. Maintaining is ____________________. 

Read it back to yourself. This is the mindset that carries you through the holidays without guilt or burnout. 

For more structured prompts, daily reflection space, and guided exercises to build confidence and consistency, explore the journal that pairs with our resilience work. 

👉 Awaken the Tiger and Phoenix Self-Esteem Journal 

https://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Tiger-Phoenix-build-Esteem/dp/B0DBRWTGS9

Final Thoughts: Maintenance Through the Five Pillars 

Maintenance is not a pause in progress. It is how progress holds together when life gets full. 

There are seasons that reward pushing forward. There are also seasons that require steadiness. The mistake is treating both the same. Maintenance is the skill of matching effort to reality so the foundation you’ve built doesn’t erode under unnecessary pressure.

Purpose 

Maintenance works when you stay connected to why you train in the first place. Long-term health, performance, and presence don’t require constant escalation. They require continuity. 

Planning 

Maintenance is planned, not improvised. Volume comes down. Structure stays. Clear minimums replace unrealistic expectations. This is how consistency survives busy weeks. 

Practice 

Practice during maintenance looks simpler. Shorter sessions. Fewer sets. Easier efforts. The goal is not to improve right now. The goal is to stay engaged so nothing has to be rebuilt later. 

Perseverance 

Perseverance is not always about pushing harder. Sometimes it is about showing up when motivation is low and conditions are imperfect. Holding steady takes discipline. 

Providence 

Maintenance requires trust. Trust that progress is not fragile. Trust that doing less, intentionally, still counts. Trust that staying connected to your habits keeps the path forward open. 

This season does not require more from you. 

It requires consistency without pressure. 

Hold what you’ve built. 

Stay in the game. 

Stay Resilient, 

Tiger Resilience

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