lifting twice a week?

[valan]

Just a general question about only lifting twice a week. How feasible is it to do this and still make gains on LP?

I've been doing SS for 10 weeks and while I'm much stronger, i'm also in a lot of pain. I'm clearly not recovering well enough which may be due to eating/sleep. I'm trying to fix this, but seems like I can't get enough control around this. So I'm wondering if I can just lift twice a week to give me more time to recover. Clearly, my total gains for the time period will be less but it seems to me like this would work and still allow me to continue linear progression.

Have any of you done something similar? If so, any special considerations I should take into account?

[Ryan Dell Whitley]

Yes...it will work. When I train with new guys, most of them are military and spend a lot of time running and doing other similar activities that decrease recovery. We do something like this:

Monday:
Squat
Press
Powerclean
Pullups

Thursday:
Squat
Bench
Deadlift
Pullups

After doing this for awhile I'll move them to something a little more complex. But this is a good place to start.

[ColoWayno]

Depending on how close you are to being a complete novice it might work pretty well. If you are truly a novice you should be able to make gains at 2x a week (but not as fast, as you already know).
You probably won't get as much out of novice progression as you would with 3 days, but it'll be a whole lot better than nothing.
Are you planning on squatting 2x/week?

[valan]

Thanks for the replies. This is what I was thinking, quite similar to Ryan's program:

Tuesday;
Squat
Bench
Deadlift

Thursday:
Squat
Press
Power Clean

Optional assistance work as possible. Likely rotating between chin ups, back extensions, sit ups, etc Also, i might add 1-2 *light* conditioning days a week (5k jog or 10 mins kettle bell swings, etc)

Now, prior to 10 weeks ago I'd never lifted a barbell (former distance runner) and given that the definition of the Novice phase continual linear progression, what difference would this make? I would kind of expect this to just go on longer before I hit the end of novice progression. Does that make any sense?

[Jonathon Sullivan]

My work (long shifts, life-and-death stuff, stressful), age (50), and other activities (Krav/MMA) limit my lifts to 2x/week. So for my novice progression, I designed a 2-day "staggered" program, which looks like this:

WEEK A:
Mon: Squat, Bench, Deads, Chins
Sat: Squat, Press, Cleans, Pullups

WEEK B:
Mon: Squat, Press, Deads, Pullups
Sat: Squat, Bench, Cleans, Chins

This program has me squatting every workout, and doing deads and cleans once a week each. (In truth, I will often do an extra set of cleans right after MMA on Wed, but that's because I'm new to cleans, need the practice, am still at relatively low weights, and just kinda dig doing them.) This program switches out the benches and presses in a way that staggers the recovery times for the two exercises: one week, there's a short recovery for one and a long recovery for the other, and it flips the following week.

I realize that this is not The Program, but it seemed the best compromise for a harried Geezer with limited recovery potential. So far, by using this program, going slow (2-5 lb jumps only after the third week), and jacking up my caloric intake by about 20%, I've managed to progress for 12 weeks without getting stuck. YMMV.

[peacerenity]

I've also heard good things about keeping it at 3x a week but decreasing the sets from 3 to 1.

[matclone]

My two cents:

Progress can be made on 2x week. Rip said as much in a thread to lagirl on his thread today.

However, my best gains by far have been made when I followed a program and was entirely consistent with it, i.e., did not miss any workouts. My consistency was aided, I believe, by working out (at the time) 4x week. Workouts must be a habit. Rip mentions this in a way in PPST2 (I believe) when he talks about Monday being the busiest day in the gym, and Friday (presumably) missed by a lot of lifters.

When you go to 2x week, it is less of a habit, and if you do miss a workout, for whatever reason, there is a greater chance of blowing the programming and having to reset. It depends on the person, but personally, I think it's harder to do just 2x week. Of course, we all have busy lives, and sometimes other athletic endeavors, and 2x is way better than one or none, and progress can be made on it.

[valan]

Thanks everyone.
I may try the 2x week thing, seems like progress is possible.
One of the things that was not that clear to me at the start of the program (being full-fledged novice) was the fact that progress will be slower if you don't have a coach. And the only way to get the full program as promised it do it precisely. I'm 10 weeks into it and really glad I started. In the beginning I had 2-3 weeks of good progress, then realized my form sucked and had to fix that. Another week or two, then food/sleep got messed up, so missed a few lifts. Get back on track and then find another form problem and reset again. I'd be surprised how many people have it all smooth sailing the first 3 months without a coach handy to fix the little problems and keep them on track. I'm at the point now where I'm getting a lot of pain in quads and lower back after switching my form (got some coaching), so I guess I have holes in my strength that need to be fixed. I can't pick up a penny off the ground without wincing - I must not be recovering properly. So instead of fooling myself into believing that I can get the reported gains without really "doing the program" I might as well find a way to lift and get stronger in a way that is sustainable for me.

For some of you "older guys" with more experience at this than me - does the soreness every go away? I expected more mobility and functionality from this, not less. Or is this part of the process? (i.e. a few months of reduced performance/mobility/happiness before starting to see some good results?)

Thanks

[MikeC1]

Yeah, there are always false starts, missteps, etc when you are trying to figure it out on your own without a qualified coach to help along the way. What is your age/height/weight again? I'm a younger guy, but here's some advice from figuring things out the hard way: listen to your body, especially your lower back. Squatting heavy 3 times a week, always heavier each time, is for underweight guys eating enough to steadily gain weight and getting 8-9 hours of sleep each night. If you don't fall into that demographic, then expecting to get the same results will just beat up your body unnecessarily. Don't hesitate to incorporate light days into your training, they are an invaluable recovery tool. Use assistance exercises for your lower back with high(ish) reps. Lumbar muscles are primarily postural, so they don't get as much blood flow through them. I personally recommend round back goodmornings done very deep. Soreness problems eventually will subside as you establish a regular training history.

[Rezart Erindi]

My two cents:

Progress can be made on 2x week. Rip said as much in a thread to lagirl on his thread today.

However, my best gains by far have been made when I followed a program and was entirely consistent with it, i.e., did not miss any workouts. My consistency was aided, I believe, by working out (at the time) 4x week. Workouts must be a habit. Rip mentions this in a way in PPST2 (I believe) when he talks about Monday being the busiest day in the gym, and Friday (presumably) missed by a lot of lifters.

When you go to 2x week, it is less of a habit, and if you do miss a workout, for whatever reason, there is a greater chance of blowing the programming and having to reset. It depends on the person, but personally, I think it's harder to do just 2x week. Of course, we all have busy lives, and sometimes other athletic endeavors, and 2x is way better than one or none, and progress can be made on it.

I have a different experience on this. I started a second job, and am currently studying for a charter, and after 2 months of layoff I restarted SS with a big deload to go to my previous PRs, and I find it much easier to not miss any workout now that I train 2x a week, compared to 2x a week. Now if I can't train on a specific day, I just go the following day. Obviously for a guy who just started SS, progress will be slower, but I think it will work.