Increasing lifts training twice per week?

[Agilic]

First, here is a link to my log to anyone who is interested:

Lifting More at the Shore

Quick summary for those with time constraints (almost all of us) and do not have the time to check it out:

27/M/6'0"/195

I began SS about 3 months ago after a couple year hiatus from lifting. I am right back at about my usual stalling points and have failed multiple times on every lift other than the bench press.

Due to scheduling constraints, I will now only be able to train on Weds. and Sun. each week. I may try to work in a short HIIT session here and there when possible, otherwise daily walks with my child will have to do. My sole goal is to continue to gain strength while keeping BF% reasonable (started at approx. 25%, now at approx. 20%; have stayed at 195lb)

I hardly have any experience past SS so please point out what is clearly wrong and recommendations for how I can do things better I am not concerned at all with how slow progress might come, but I definitely want to keep pushing my lifts upward. Here is my first idea for a twice per week template to meet my needs:

Weds.
Squat 3x5 PR attempt
Press 3x5 PR attempt, 1xAMRAP at 90% (thought process is extra volume to make up for 1x per week instead of 1.5x per week)
Chin-ups weighted 3x5 (possibly alternate this weekly with bw 3xf?)

Sunday
Squat 3x5 PR attempt (if 10lbs/week won't happen, possibly make this a medium day at 90%?)
Bench 3x5 PR attempt, 1xAMRAP at 90%
Deadlift 5rm attempt (moving to triples with a back off if this won't progress?)

(Notes in parenthesis for some definite questions that I have)

Thanks in advance to any and all who take the time to read and share some of their experience/knowledge. I look forward to the feedback and the discussion!

[Adam Skillin]

You're in luck.

Training on Imperfect Schedules (Part 1): Training Twice Per Week - Baker Strength Coaching

[Agilic]

I read parts 1 and 2 before posting.....great articles and definitely helpful.

Was hoping to get specific into my situation given my lack of experience, and see if I'm on the right track in terms of volume/intensity, or if I'm way off base.

Forgot to say in OP that my current 5rm lifts are:

230 squat (just reset to 205 because Coach Campitelli said I was an inch high, so basically, 205 5rm)
305 dead
167.5 bench (tough but haven't missed any reps yet)
105 press

I definitely feel I should have plenty of room to get stronger despite only being able to lift twice per week.

[Miro]

You are also a bit light for your height. I'm sure you can slowly gain weight while keeping your bodyfat levels reasonable. Check out Jordan's nutrition subforum as well as this article: "To Be A Beast".

[Agilic]

I have read his fantastic article many times, and try to read just about all of his posts in his subforum as well. Starting at around 25% bf, I did not want it to get out of control, and even wanted to reign it in a little before needing to gain. Not to get off-topic though, as this is the programming forum, does anybody have any opinions if my template looks reasonable? I'm thinking that given my subpar recovery (7 month old will do that) the AMRAP back off set on the pressing movements may be too much, but I'm also afraid that just 3x5 once per week will be too little.

[Adam Skillin]

I think the above will work for a while. Once the weights get heavier, you might consider whether you want to do intensity press/bench followed by volume bench/press each day? A little more frequency might be nice for both lifts. Reason you're not power cleaning?

In other words:

Wednesday: Squat 3 x 5, Bench rep-PR (5 or fewer), Press 5 x 5, Power Cleans, chin-ups

Sunday: Squat 3 x 5, Press rep-Pr (<=5), Bench 5 x 5, deadlift

[Agilic]

Very good idea. I will definitely give that a try once progress stalls out on the presses. That's why I enlisted the help of some experts

My lame reason for not doing power cleans are that when I did them in the past for a few weeks, my elbow would hurt almost every time I did them. That was years ago, and I've been intending to relearn them, and just haven't found the time. My sessions are almost always super rushed.