Twins Arriving July 15th - mitigate strength loss

[Precious Snowflake]

Hi Guys,

I have twins arriving mid july, and also a 2.5 year old. So it's safe to say I am going to miss some opticmal Gym time.

Basically I am looking for advice on how to mitigate de-training as much as possible(Is there a jus

I am looking at doing one major lift a day. I can always add assistance exercises in if I have more time, but am gambling on having not a lot of it. Also, I am sure my motivation to spend in the gym will also be severely be hampered, in addtion to the actual lack of time.

Something like the below schedule(taken straight from the book):

Mon - Press
Tues - Squat
Thurs - Bench
Fri - light squat, Deadlift

Is there any consideration outside of the books example where it has the exercises cycling from 5x5/5x3/5x1?

[Jason Donaldson]

Congratulations on the babies, PS!

It would help to know what your current state looks like - how long have you been training, are you still on NLP or not, are you lifting at home or having to go elsewhere, ht/wt/lifts, etc.

[Satch12879]

Don’t worry about training. Pick it up again when the kids and your wife needs less help.

[Maybach]

The old saw that if you aren't getting stronger, you are getting weaker comes to mind. But you can do a pretty good "maintenance" if you just go in and do one set of five of each lift on a different day each week. If you notice yourself "slipping" (that is, a set that has been going suddenly doesn't), then you can add volume back in. But you probably won't.

[Precious Snowflake]

Nlp since January. Generally very athletic guy all around since I was a kid

5’8 202lb

Squat I just recently reset to correct some real bad sets due to form. Considering going to back to NLP(for squat) for a week or two to get it back up. Currently at 305 x5x3. though i was around 340x4 and then back off sets at 90%, but after some of these terrible sets maybe I had myself tricked.
Bench 285x3x3
Press 172.5x5x3
Deadlift 400x3

I have my own rack and weight set up at home complete with power rack, dumbbells , weighted pull up belt, and an ez curl bar.

[Bill Anders]

Forget NLP for those first few weeks after the twins are born. Heck, for the first few months.

It's not ideal, but run one set of Intensity for each lift during your 4-Day Split, like Maybach said. Run the x5s, then when you can't get those, then the x3's, then the x1s. Reset to a manageable x5, then run those out again. The most important thing is that you keep running your numbers up and making the one set stressful. If you have time or energy, add in a couple of backoff sets (90% for the presses, 80% for the squats). Deadlifts should progress as normal (forget those light squats you have listed on Friday, unless you're using a few as warmups for your DLs).

I run a similar program during the winter months when my focus switches to the mountains. Intensity maintenance works well. You'll have to reset back to x5s, then x3s, then x1s, rinse/repeat, but you will minimize your losses until you can start running a good LP again. You'll no longer be a novice, but the LP is always a good start to get your body used to more volume again.

Whatever you do, the most important thing is to keep as consistent as possible.

[Jason Donaldson]

Nice - you have good numbers, and you're well equipped at home. You're well positioned to spend time exercising over training. Have a little fun with it when you can, for your mental benefit, and you'll keep more strength than you probably expect. Don't push hard - just enjoy it.

You've been through this with the first child, so you know that you only get to go through this phase once with them. Having the second child is different in many ways - some good and some bad - I'm sure that having second + third at once is even more so. Let your lifting serve your life, and accept that it's just for fun and mental health now, and you'll do okay. You've invested in a good strength fund so far, so you have enough to make withdrawals for a while. Be there for your wife and all your kids. This season of life is the kind of thing that you've built the fund for, so enjoy it and let it serve you well.

[TommyGun]

Congratulations! I raised twins.
Good luck. It's going to be insanely busy and hectic.
I wasn't able to juggle work, kids....and lifting, so something had to give for a while.
But it is not forever.

But since you have your own setup, maybe train once everyone goes to bed, but you will be damn tired also by that point.
Do what you can and don't beat yourself up for not training. Focus the babies and it will be all good.

[Precious Snowflake]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. One question and/or clarification: more than one person has referenced doing sets of 5 then 3 then down to 1. Are these single sets, or 3 sets of 5 then 3 sets of 3 then 3 sets of 1 if I have the juice and time to perform 3 sets?

[Jason Donaldson]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. One question and/or clarification: more than one person has referenced doing sets of 5 then 3 then down to 1. Are these single sets, or 3 sets of 5 then 3 sets of 3 then 3 sets of 1 if I have the juice and time to perform 3 sets?

Why not play around with it and find out? Someone else's answer may not be yours, at any rate.