Strength training twice a week

[CaT_SPeW]

Due to some work commitments and a new sport im finding it very difficult to train my usual 3-4 times per week. Although i have been lazy lately i used to do the standard squat/press/dead routine 3 x week (mon,wed,fri) with an extra day (sat or sun) if i felt like it that consisted of only squats and some pressing or pull ups. Now that ive taken up a martial art (tues, thur) and i have to work most saturdays im left with little time to weight train, does anyone else only train 2 days with large breaks between sessions and have good gains? Does anyone know of any good strength programs that cater to 2 days a week training?

 

[Oli]

Wendler's 5/3/1 does

Monday
5/3/1 Squat/Deadlift (rotate)
Assistance

Thursday
5/3/1 Bench/Overhead (rotate)
Assistance

Alternatively you could do both on one day.

If you wanted to do something full body 5x5 would work really well in a 2 day format as well, a lot of rugby players do it.

 

[Bench Polkov]

You can do buttloads of programs 2 days a week. WSB and 5/3/1 come to mind straight away and its easy to find templates to follow. You could just do the program you're doing but only twice a week if you want to keep it really simple, maybe add a couple of assistance exercises to your program to make up volume.

5/3/1 and WSB can be broken down like this...

Workout A
Press
Squat
Press Assistance
Squat Assistance
Back
Abs

Workout B
Press
Deadlift
Press Assistance
Deadlift Assistance
Back
Abs

 

[CaT_SPeW]

thanks guys i read somewhere that 5/3/1 came as a 2 day template but i didnt have much luck finding it.

i really like this:

Wendler's 5/3/1 does

Monday
5/3/1 Squat/Deadlift (rotate)
Assistance

Thursday
5/3/1 Bench/Overhead (rotate)
Assistance

but i'd have to do it monday and friday or wednesday and sunday which probably wont make any difference anyway.

 

[PTC]

20 rep squat program was originally a twice a week program, a bit tough for most though David, still the best around seeing as your not contemplating competing in powerlifting, why train like one?

 

[Bench Polkov]

A collection of 20 reps squat program versions...

20 Rep Squats - Starting Strength Wiki

Mark Rippetoe says:

Trust me, if you do an honest 20 rep program, at some point Jesus will talk to you. On the last day of the program, he asked if he could work in.

 

[CaT_SPeW]

20 rep squat program was originally a twice a week program, a bit tough for most though David, still the best around seeing as your not contemplating competing in powerlifting, why train like one?

good point. The 20 rep squat program your referring to, is that the one that has the 20 rep SLDL's and has sets of 2x7 for mp and bench?
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[PTC]

Yep, thats the one

 

[nievs]

good point. The 20 rep squat program your referring to, is that the one that has the 20 rep SLDL's and has sets of 2x7 for mp and bench?
Posted via Mobile Device

good luck

 

[haz]

hmm but the 20 rep may interfere with your martial arts. but its up to you. you may just want to squat on friday or sundays. and maybe do most upperbody and some cleans on the wednesday.

 

[CaT_SPeW]

good luck

thanks, lol that program is hard but i think it would fit well with my time constraints.

hmm but the 20 rep may interfere with your martial arts. but its up to you. you may just want to squat on friday or sundays. and maybe do most upperbody and some cleans on the wednesday.

ive done the 20 rep program previously and have recovered well from it but i was eating a crapload more then and gaining weight. My problem right now is im getting married next year and have been fitted for my suit so gaining weight is not really an option right now, i need to maintain weight but get stronger again. i guess i can only try it out and see