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Thread: How many days a week?

  1. #1
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    Default How many days a week?

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    Hi guys,

    I am wondering if I should step up my workout days. I am currently working out 3 days a week, but only one of those days am I able to do proper, heavy/taxing barbell training. The other two days I am in a hotel gym that doesn't really offer a lot. I do what I can in there on Monday and Friday and kill the barbell on Wednesdays.

    My question is this:
    Because I am only really needing a recovery from Wednesday, would it be overall beneficial to my "fitness" to work out say Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, and Wed and rest the other two days.

    The workouts would look something like this

    Fri, Sun:
    smith front squats, dumb bench, deadlifts, pullups

    Sat, Mon:
    Power Clean, OHPress, Deadlifts, pullups

    Wed
    LBBS, Bench, Deadlifts, pullups, dips

    Remembering that Fri-Mon are not heavily taxing and the dl's would be done at 120kg instead of my regular 315lb work set

    Any advice here would be great, Thanks fellas
    Last edited by drewcarroll2; 07-31-2010 at 08:02 AM. Reason: added pullups and dips to workout scheme

  2. #2
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    please be specific about what you have and dont on that other gym.

    you can power clean, OHP and deadlift on that "other gym" but how come you say you cant hit the barbells heavy?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonsky View Post
    please be specific about what you have and dont on that other gym.

    you can power clean, OHP and deadlift on that "other gym" but how come you say you cant hit the barbells heavy?
    The hotel gym offers:

    A 5' straight bar
    6 20kg plates
    4 10 kg plates
    2 5's
    2 2.5's
    2 1.25's
    No rack
    dumbbells in 2kg increments up to 22kg, then 30kg, 40 kg, 50 kg
    2 skinny flat benches that you feel like you are going to fall off of
    a smith machine
    A cable stand with a pullup bar that I use for pullups

    treadmills, bikes, elipticals and your typical nautilous machines.

    smith.jpg

    gymfriend.jpg

    dumbbells.jpg

    cablerackdumbbells.jpg

    The base gym is g2g.

  4. #4
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    I'd think about making one or more of the "light" days a speed day(s).

    And for fuck's sake there's no reason to ever do a smith front squat. Squat with dumbbells before you do something that stupid.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by toddmr View Post
    I'd think about making one or more of the "light" days a speed day(s).

    And for fuck's sake there's no reason to ever do a smith front squat. Squat with dumbbells before you do something that stupid.
    How would one make a speed day?

    LOL @ the smith front squat. This is why I'm here, to get good advices on how to make the most of my training!

  6. #6
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    A typical speed day for me, on the deadlifts, would be 6 sets of doubles at 50% of your 1 RM.

    The essence is the speed, not the weight. Better to start low and build up, like taking 5% jumps when you can maintain speed for all the sets. You'll never get above 65-70%.

    I started on a program that had me doing speed deadlifts at about 70% and after one or two of them it was clear to me that was too heavy to start with. Rather than "speed deads" they were "not quite as slow deads". I backed off to about 50% of 1RM.

    What you're trying to do is produce maximum force by accelerating the bar.

    There are those who would say not to fuck around with speed work until you've exhausted linear gains, but in your case, this is a good type of workout given the available equipment. Any kind of 5 foot bar can't be great for doing the olympic lifts or power versions.

    Read SS:BBT2 pp170-2 for a good discussion of the relationship between speed at higher speeds and strength at lower speed.

    My issue with the use of PCs for DL is that my weakness is off the floor and the fast part of the PC doesn't start until you're past the knees. So to improve my power off the floor, speed deads make sense to me.

    Though I do snatch and clean 4x per week.

  7. #7
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    Thank you sir. Tonight I shall be gyming it up.

  8. #8
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    speed work is a good idea. thats what i do with my squats and deads when i am on a crappy gym.

    as someone who is power cleaning 200 and have gone through the pages of the stupid gym thread...you;; be fine...just dont be all stupid and workout everyday thinking that since it is not as heavy you wont overtrain yourself.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonsky View Post
    speed work is a good idea. thats what i do with my squats and deads when i am on a crappy gym.

    as someone who is power cleaning 200 and have gone through the pages of the stupid gym thread...you;; be fine...just dont be all stupid and workout everyday thinking that since it is not as heavy you wont overtrain yourself.
    That is exactly what I did last night, and it was a horrid fucking idea. I am going back to 3 days a week and just walking for "cardio" on my off days. I lifted like an ass last night, Everything felt heavy, it was bullshit. Now today my injury shoulder feels like shit. I should have fucking known better.

    A side note:
    The A Team is on TV and it is an episode with Hulk Hogan. He is walking around in a lifting belt and fingerless gloves, LOL. For no reason, they were in an alley, getting out of a car, looking to fight someone, LMFAO!

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