Training twice a week

[BigNaz42]

Hey Rip,

I have been on the program since September and my strength has made dramatic improvements.

Current numbers:

S:390x5x3
D:425x5
P:185x3x5
B:300x5x3
C:185x3x5
Bodyweight:250 at 5'10

I am about to enter the fire program of my EMT/Fire combo in April. Because of the nature and demand of fire school I'll have to temporarily modify my training to twice a week on Saturdays and Sundays. Though not optimal, it's better than nothing, and I would only be doing this for the length of fire school (about 3 months). In the gray book there is nothing stated about training twice a week for a lifter like myself, but I have found an interesting article on the website written by Nick talking about training Chase during his football season. It's pretty brief but I was going to use it as a loose template to base my training off of. What do you recommend? I'd love to hear your input.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Well, you need a job, so this is not optional. Just do the best you can with it and try to maintain your current numbers. It would be a lot better if you could separate the two workouts by 2-3 days.

[Johnsonville]

Paul horns book gives an example of a 2 day a week training program for a novice, although the sessions are separated by a few days

[BigNaz42]

Well, you need a job, so this is not optional. Just do the best you can with it and try to maintain your current numbers. It would be a lot better if you could separate the two workouts by 2-3 days.

I work at the hospital on weekends. I go to the gym at night.

[Joseph Rodriguez]

Under your circumstances I would squat heavy, bench, and power clean on Saturday or Sunday. Squat light, press, and deadlift sometime during the week. It isn't optimal, but if you are going to choose to be a firefighter you need to get used to programming around the circumstances of an abnormal work schedule and the sub-optimal recovery that results from that schedule.

For what it's worth, I get my best results from training every third day either at the station or on my second day off. I have been a firefighter for 12 years working 24 on / 48 off. Training Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or on a 4 day split would be optimal if I were sleeping undisturbed in my own bed every night, but the toll on my recovery ability from making runs after midnight when on shift and having young children at home has to be taken into account when it comes programming for strength training.