Training Twice A Week Due to Chronic Lack of Sleep

[jfallon9]

I was browsing through the forums, and I came across a thread suggesting 2x/week training for those whose responsibilities/life gets in the way of their sleep. This has to do with the extra number of sleeping hours you get between sessions when training 2x as opposed to 3x/week. I have a question regarding this matter. Would it be beneficial to my recovery to “train” 3x/week instead, with Wednesday being a light day (similar to Advanced Novice programming, but a bit lighter with upper body lifts as well), just to get blood flowing into the muscle? Or would it be better to add some kind of conditioning on Wednesdays to get the blood pumping? This is probably a stupid question, but I just wanted to get some thoughts on this.

Currently, during the week, I get 5-6 hours of sleep per night because of school and life responsibilities. On the weekends I get 8 hours of sleep, but I can’t get access to all the food that I can eat during the week.

I’m 5’9”, 185 lbs. up from 170-ish when I started the program a month ago.

Just in case this helps, my current stats are:

Squat: 275 x 5 (I recently stalled on Squats on the fourth rep of second set, am attempting the same weight tomorrow)
Bench: 165 x 5 x 3
Deadlift: 295 x 5 (originally hit 305 x 5, deloaded back to 275 and worked back up to 295 to work on form)
Press: 115 x 5 (took a deload, back down to 105 and am going to microload, as I stalled here twice on the fourth rep of the second set)
Power Clean: 135 x 3 x 5 (these are easy)

[Brent Carter]

How old are you?

[Frankie]

5-6 hours is a day is a luxury for some people. Do the program as written anyway (yes 3 times a week) and try and manage your time better - I bet you could have done a session in the time it took you to write this post or 'browse' for more excuses not to lift. And if you don't want to lift then don't.

[jfallon9]

15. I don’t get enough sleep, and it’s something I can’t control. In order to move along on my strength training journey, I need to work around the fact that I don’t and won’t get enough sleep ever.

[Brent Carter]

I'm going to have to agree with Frankie here. If you were another 30 years older I would say, "Fine, train twice a week". You are young use that to your advantage or risk pissing the rest of the older dudes off.

[jfallon9]

Gotcha. Sorry older people.

[Particle]

You don't have to detail your life to the Internet, but when you state that you're 15 and only get 5-6 hours of sleep, it does beg the question: why? Are the remaning 18 hours beyond any of your reasonable control? Perhaps, but think carefully about how your time is spent. School, sports, hanging out with friends, family, girlfirend, watching the news, reading, browsing the Internet? Perhaps you are viewing some of the things you do as out of your control, while in reality, they are priorities much like everything else? The fact is that there are only 24 hours each day, and you can't do everything. So think about what is important to you and invest your time accordingly. After a day at work and then taking care of my kids, I've got a couple of hours before I need to go to bed. Then it's a question of training OR being with my wife OR making sure the house is decently cleaned for the next day. I get out probably less than once a month, but those are my priorities.

[Buff DrinkLots]

I'm going to have to agree with Frankie here. If you were another 30 years older I would say, "Fine, train twice a week". You are young use that to your advantage or risk pissing the rest of the older dudes off.

Hello:
I am one of those older dudes; 45 years old. And at times, I only get as little as 2 hours of sleep(for various reason). I still try to work through it though and do the program, regardless; but there are days that even the idea of putting a bar on my back fries by CNS... So, how often do you think a lifter can get away with just doing the program(the basic Starting Strength program - Squat/Press/PC and Squat/Bench/Deads) twice a week? Is that something that can be answered?

45 years old
235 lbs
I have been lifting for 3 years; but I am revisiting the program because my other attempts got derailed due to other life events and/or thinking it was time to move on.

[Brent Carter]

Hello:
I am one of those older dudes; 45 years old. And at times, I only get as little as 2 hours of sleep(for various reason). I still try to work through it though and do the program, regardless; but there are days that even the idea of putting a bar on my back fries by CNS... So, how often do you think a lifter can get away with just doing the program(the basic Starting Strength program - Squat/Press/PC and Squat/Bench/Deads) twice a week? Is that something that can be answered?

45 years old
235 lbs
I have been lifting for 3 years; but I am revisiting the program because my other attempts got derailed due to other life events and/or thinking it was time to move on.

Hard to say. I think if you can manage the 3/wk you do that and if there is a week or two when you can only get in twice go ahead and do that. You said at times so it seems like this doesn't happen every single time. Basically you follow the program as much as life will allow.

[Buff DrinkLots]

Hard to say. I think if you can manage the 3/wk you do that and if there is a week or two when you can only get in twice go ahead and do that. You said at times so it seems like this doesn't happen every single time. Basically you follow the program as much as life will allow.

Thank you. You're answer was what I was hoping to hear. And it is basically how it been working out - i get about 3 weeks of 3 sessions/week then usually hit a rough spot and get only 2 in.

Thank you again!