The Rule of 40

When in doubt, observe "the rule of 40" out. Or something like that. I'll make it stick.

What's the rule of 40?

For me, the rule of 40 is simple. When in doubt of how long to do a certain program, complete 40 sessions, then reassess and decide whether to change anything, something, or everything.

Focus on just 40 training sessions at a time.

This idea came to me years ago when I first started reading about Coach Dan John's "Easy Strength" Program. His program is simple but has a few rules. One of which is to do it for 40 sessions before changing anything about the program. 

I liked it a lot. I still like it a lot. 

So, 40 sessions is the minimum amount of time to do 1 program. 

If it's a 3 day per week program and you never miss a session, that means you'll do the program for 13.3 weeks.

If it's a 4 Day per week program, you'll complete the 40 sessions in around 10 weeks.

If you train 5 days per week, you'd complete your 40th session in 8 weeks.

More importantly, with the goal being: "complete 40 sessions," you don't NEED to stick to a strict schedule. That's not to encourage you to skip sessions. But it's an opportunity for you to not be limited by the 7 day calendar or inflexible training splits. Maybe 1 week you train 3 days, the next you train 5 days, and the next you complete 4 sessions. It doesn't matter. But, in this hypothetical example, over the course of 3 weeks you've completed 12 sessions. Do 28 more sessions, regardless of schedule, before considering a new program.

I say this just to emphasize that you should stick with programs for a while before making any changes. Sometimes you'll complete 40 sessions and realize nothing needs to be changed. That's great. Keep trucking on.

Other times you'll complete 40 sessions and decide to swap an exercise variation out for another.

Once in a while, you'll complete 40 sessions and you'll be so disgusted – so sick of the program – that you want to throw it out and do something completely new. New split, new exercises, new equipment, new gym, etc. That's fine too.

Just complete 40 sessions before making any decisions. You don't really know how beneficial a program really is until you accumulate a fair number of sessions within the program anyway. I think that 40 is a pretty fair number of sessions. 

I find aiming for 40 sessions at a time is beneficial for keeping you on track. Maybe you get sick and miss a few days or go on vacation for a couple weeks. No problem. Just pick back up where you left off and continue accumulating sessions until you reach session number 40. It allows a bit of grace and flexibility. It can also act as a motivator to discourage you from skipping workouts when you shouldn't.

40 session programs are reasonable and effective. Give it a shot.