I re-read parts of some Mike Mentzer bodybuilding books I have. He was a fan of Ayn Rand, which is unfortunate (for a whole list of reasons I can list if anyone cares).
But he makes many reasonable arguments about different aspects of strength training. He describes his trainees working out on a routine that worked chest and arms on day one, shoulders and arms on day four, and legs on day seven, then rest until day ten and start over the next day on day one. He said that most maintained good progress with their legs for long periods but not their upper body. So he changed the routine so that the break between workouts was four days instead of three, and upper body progress still slowed. Then he changed it again to chest/back on day 1, legs on day 5, shoulders and arms on day 9, and legs on day 13, rest until day 17, then start over with day 1, and he said progress was phenomenal for almost all trainees. Some did not excel until the break was five days instead of four.
I've definitely found that my strength can stay the same or grow despite (or maybe because of) a 7 or even 9 day break between workouts. I only did that haphazardly in the past, so now I'm going to try it consistently. I haven't done a full workout since 12/15, so I plan my next one for 12/29. If I make good progress in some exercises, I'll keep trying with 7,9, or even 12 days between workouts (since I have a best opportunity to reach the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays). I did some shoulder presses 12/19, so nine days off should be plenty of time to recharge for the 12/29 workout.
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