Attn: Iron,El pietro and seven*

[Arhat of Fury]

Hey fellas,

I am starting a new workout program whereas I will only be able to hit the weights 2 times a week and sometimes 3(if Im lucky). I would like to keep on a routine that allows me to kep building muscle undestanding that hittin em' only a couple times a week may make that difficult.
I would obviously like to hit all of my muscles to keep symmetry and strength going, but cant seem to put something together that will enable me to do this without making my workouts over 1.5 hours long.

Do any of you have a plan you can suggest that you have used or heard of that you can suggest. I figure if I get something to start on(building block) I can tweak it later to fit my situation.

Anything helps,

TIF

Arhat

[Arhat of Fury]

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[Qi dup]

Originally posted by Arhat of Fury
I would like to keep on a routine that allows me to kep building muscle undestanding that hittin em' only a couple times a week may make that difficult.


No way man! You can gain all kinds of strength only working the muscles once a week.
Powerlifting! Powerlifting! Powerlifting!* (http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=6228&highlight=my+advice+from+an+expowerlifter)



*Some restrictions aply void where prohibited

[ElPietro]

Two times a week can be more than ample to put on size, strength or whatever your goal is.

2 examples of two day splits:

Routine 1:

Push:
Bench Press
Squats
Military Press
Triceps Extensions
Calf Raise

Pull:
Deadlift or SLDL
Lat Pulldown
Seated Rows
Biceps Curl
Hamstring Curl (ignore if you use SLDL)

That is one example. You can mix up the exercises, but try to keep the compounds in there. Do the compounds heavy for the first set with low volume, and then you can drop some of the weight and do sets in the 6-10 rep range.

Or

Example 2:

Upper Body:
Bench Press
Military Press
Lat Pulldown
Cable Rows
Triceps Extensions
Biceps Curls

Lower Body:
Squat
Leg Press
Hamstring Curl
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise


These are just examples though, I'd say use whatever actual exercises you are comfortable with. But I'll repeat, keeping the compounds in are very important on two day splits. Well they are important no matter what your split is, but more so here. I personally prefer the push/pull split.

Hope that helps.

[Ford Prefect]

This is a basic workout that I nabbed that should have what you are looking for:

Day 1 -

Squats - 1x20
-Romanian Deadlift 1x15

Dumbbell Rows - 1x8, 1x6, 1x4, 1x2, 1xfail (use same weight as first set)

Skull Crushers 50 total reps (max of 10 per set)
superset w/
Hammer curls - setsx12


Day 2-

Goodmornings - 5x5
-Lunge 1x12

Overhead press - 1x8, 1x6, 1x4, 1x2, 1xfail (use same weight as first set)

Weighted Dips - 1 x 10

Weighted chins - 4 x to failure (work to being able to do 3x10 with your bodyweight before adding weight)

Bench press - 5x5

This should only take 45-60 minutes per workout. Keep rest periods short and tailor it to suit your needs. You should be able to gain strength and mass while sticking with this.

Edit: Just saw EP's post. As you can see the routine I posted, follows the same principle as his. Best bet is to use both as a guideline to build your own that you feel best suits your needs.

[Arhat of Fury]

Thanks fellas, These are very good building blocks. I will start with these and then tune it into my regimen. Thanks

Another thing I noticed, as I get older(just had a bday:( ) the easier it is to gain weight and retain it. Im guessing its a metabolism thing. Its kinda strange because im eating leaa than I used to but still retaining the weight. Anybody ever experience this.

Looking at these workouts, they are obviously shorter per muscle than what I used to do(the normal BB work out) and from those I wasnt getting that sore. I read somewhere that you shouldnt judge your gains or the success of your workouts from your soreness. What do you think?

AOF

[SevenStar]

agreed. a couple days a week is plenty. The programs listed sound great. I would do heavier weight and less reps on the squats and deads, though.

[SevenStar]

nah, don't judge from soreness. with proper strength training, you actually may not be sore at all, as you are doing far less sets and reps than you are with a BB type workout.

As for eating less, it's not uncommon for people to gain weight when they eat less. The body needs a certain number of calories per day. When you don't take in that amount, the body eventually says "holy crap, I'm starving" and it goes into a preservation mode. In this mode, the metabolism is slowed and you store more food for later use. eating several times a day keeps your metabolism burning and is the preferred method of weight control (by me, anyway) you don't have to eat huge meals - have breakfast, a mid morning snack - fruit, yogurt, etc., lunch, mid afternoon snack and a small dinner.

It can be easy to eat too much while doing that though, so you will have to watch your portion sizes and what you are eating.

[IronFist]

Hi, I totally missed this thread.

Yeah, your metabolism tends to slow down as you age, so what you said makes sense.

El Pietro and Ford Prefect listed good routines.

20 rep squats are tough as hell.

IronFist

[Arhat of Fury]

I have started the program and it is much more satisfying as far as mentally knowing that I will be able to hit everything in 2 days, the next day I didnt feel quite as swol as I do when I hit 2 muscles in 1 day, but I will give it time.

It just seems hard to beleive that even before when I would do 2 muscles a day it was hard to grow, now doing 5 sets a week on a muscle will let me grow.
I guess i need patience.

AOF