training only 1 or 2 times per week

[homer317]

Anyone on here with a busy schedule/life that either often or sometimes finds that they can only train one or two times per week. If so i'm interested in hearing on how you maximize your training while on a limited time frame. I find myself in this position often and average about two training sessions per week, sometimes I get to train only one day a week; even having a decent setup at home as well.

 

[OutToLunch]

Full body training

 

[NEMSZ]

How long does it take you to train and what are your goals?

I’ve persoanlly taken the route of functional fitness lately with hopes of freeing up enough of my schedule to get back into Muay Thai/martial arts so LOTS of stretching when I can (while watching tv or reading etc) and body weight/bands (power tower is awesome for this stuff) and I’ve got some kettle bells...

Let me tell you; 15 minutes of an “Intermediate” kettle bell workout I found online and not only was I dying during my workout but I felt like I got hit by a truck the next day, I was surprised at how intense it actually was..

15-20 minutes intense should be easy to fit in any schedule, but of course I’ve got no idea what you do.. lol

 

[homer317]

my training varies throughout the year, kind of in blocks. At some points I do alot of conditioning/functional fitness like you mentioned above. Kettlebell workouts, circuits etc... I also do BJJ, which I typically get to train once per week, I'm lucky if I get two or more sessions per week. I also train quite a bit of PL'ing or general strength training i.e. alot of 5x5 and 5/3/1 type of training. This is usually the bulk of my training during the winter. However, for the majority of the past year my goal has been cutting/recomp. I cut from the 275-280 range down to 235-240. This is still my goal. I have been doing alot of upper/lower split or just full body training. Alot more volume, reps in the 8-12 range, and supersets/tri-sets and cardio.... much more of they typical BB style rather than the typical low rep PL type of routine that i do. I was wondering if anyone who is in this predicament would rather train on an upper/lower split or just do full body workouts. I have found that even on such a limited schedule, that if my diet is on point; I have made pretty decent progress, especially at my age (I'll be 40 this year).

 

[homer317]

forgot to add to your ?. If I am powerlifting the routine may take up to 2 hours, due to longer rest periods, etc... However my current training only takes around 1 hr-1.5 hr even with shorter rest periods and supersetting/tri setting almost everything. I may be trying to cram too many things in lol. But since i'm on limited time; I try to make the most of it. I have found that training for strength on only 2 days per week actually works out pretty well, especially if I rotate heavy squats and deads on alternate weeks. Squatting and heavy deads same session is brutal and I just can't recover; especially my lower back. I can barely get out of bed the day after if I train both heavy on the same day.

 

[Designbuilt]

Me

I take months off at a time, when I do train, I go maybe 2-3 times a week 45 minutes tops... Even when I did my last show in 2017, I only had time to train 3-4 times a week...


This year, same deal, after summer, I was hardly training at all, but when I did discover is that I look pretty damn good! It's because I'm keeping my diet clean, almost pre-contest clean, with a few cheat meals or days added in here and there, but I get right back on my diet and I have abs showing right now and am not that far off from my summer shape...

Everyone at the gym asked if I came in at different times... When I told them that I wasn't coming in at all, they asked how I stayed so lean, and so I figured out that it's all about the diet with me...

Oh one major difference, is that I only eat 3 meals when i'm not training... I think it also helps spare my kidneys a bit... my doc said that my kidneys looked great after my last blood work...

 

[NEMSZ]

Well you’re a big fella for sure lol but sounds like you’re used to longer training sessions.. Is it that you only have an hour or 2 once or twice a week or that you feel you need that long to workout so anything less seems pointless to you?

Not sure what your endurance is like but being a bigger guy it seems like you said you gravitate more towards strength training and PLing as you said..

Would it be possible to make 20-30 min of time 3-4x a week?

I’d hate to sound pushy about the kettlebells/full body explosive routines, although not great for being huge and strength it’s great for explosiveness and it’s great depending on your intensity for cardio and just overall fitness and you do hold/build muscle with these workouts as well but seems like you’ve built quite a bit already lol not to mention it’s excellent for the joints and ligaments, not sure how attached you are to being really strong?

I think if you hit some good kettlebell/full body explosive routines 3-4x per week at least 20-30 minutes (but give it all you’ve got) you’d be surprised at the results..

Here, if you scroll to the bottom you can see the different kettlebell routines, maybe you can put something together you like;

https://www.onnit.com/onnit-kettlebells/

I tried the “Full Quart Press” routine and couldn’t finish lol

 

[VaginaBoob89]

Remember Stan Efferding made his total WR training twice a week only... He was pretty lean/jacked still at 290ish and was training bench once a week and either DL or Squat once a week.

A lot of bbers really underestimate just how much increasing your 1-5rms on the basics with some assistance will pack on muscle.

 

[johnjuanb1]

RamboStallone does full body training 2-3 times a week and he looks Great/keeps growing.

 

[concreter]

All Summer. Once a week for an 1 1/2 hours. Normally a Saturday morning in a Hurry to jump on the Boat by Noon!!
Chest, delts, trize and bize.
If it Rains I get a bonus day!!!
Keeps me at 250lbs in Pretty Good Shape. lol

 

[brutus69]

All Summer. Once a week for an 1 1/2 hours. Normally a Saturday morning in a Hurry to jump on the Boat by Noon!!
Chest, delts, trize and bize.
If it Rains I get a bonus day!!!
Keeps me at 250lbs in Pretty Good Shape. lol

you're an anomaly. rare breed. if i had yr genetics i wouldnt even go to a gym,

 

[Dancho]

while not optimal you can get very far. in the beginning i was training 2 times a week and got upto 20" arms. you will have plenty of time to recover, have some hard sets in there and there wont be any problems to maintain and even grow.

 

[NEMSZ]

All Summer. Once a week for an 1 1/2 hours. Normally a Saturday morning in a Hurry to jump on the Boat by Noon!!
Chest, delts, trize and bize.
If it Rains I get a bonus day!!!
Keeps me at 250lbs in Pretty Good Shape. lol

Yea but for better explanation and to be fair don’t you work a SUPER physical job as well? Lol it’s not like you’re sitting at home on a computer and look like that

 

[SOUR DIESEL]

^^^carved out of granite :headbang: brother you'r unreal ..a genetic freak!!!!!

always modest too ..def one of my fav bros on these boards


how old are you now? .....wait .....don't answer that


.

 

[concreter]

Super Physical Job 7 months a year....Repetition after repetition!
Cardio at its Finest! I'll tell Ya at 50!, this Shit aint getting any easier but still well Worth It!
Top of the Hill.....

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Looks like I'm gonna go against the grain here and say that 1-2 times will be OK for maintenance. But if you wanna grow or make progress, it'll be very tough. I do think full body routines will be your best friend though.

1-2 full body workouts works when you are basically starving yourself (PSMF style) I know Lyle used to recommend 1-2 training days a week on that diet.
I understand the demands of life....but I also understand that we as humans will always make time for what we are motivated by/for. And motivation wanes. Some months your kids will have too much shit going on...and your only option is getting up at 4:30am. If you dont wanna do that, that's fine. But that IS an option.

just my 2 cents.

 

[homer317]

Thanks for the replies guys! Haha Concreter. He is ridiculous. He is actually the one the got me to post this question actually. I remember just a few days ago reading a post of his on an IGF thread saying he only got to train 1 day per week. Concreter, what do you do on this day; I would be greatly interested to see what you do. From reading some of your other posts it also sounds as if this is in conjunction with Lr3 as well. Are you using more volume and training the whole body? As to the other advice. Yes I do blocks of conditioning and love Kbells. I used to train solely just conditioning and endurance... alot of metcon type workouts (no crossfit) bag work and bjj. I have a pair of 50's 35's and 20's on the rack in my garage gym. I like onnit some great smoker routines on there. Check out Art of Strength by Anthony Diluglio. He has some great routines combining conditioning with strength work. Right now i've just been focusing on hypertrophy/volume work so to speak in order for more cut/recomp. And yes.... when I was working during day shift hours; I would get up early to hit it when I could to split the body up more; especially in the summer when I can just walk out to the garage. I am now working a graveyard schedule so trying to find that comfort zone to train more days, but keep getting stuck with only 2. Will take all things into consideration. thanks again!

 

[Dens228]

All Summer. Once a week for an 1 1/2 hours. Normally a Saturday morning in a Hurry to jump on the Boat by Noon!!
Chest, delts, trize and bize.
If it Rains I get a bonus day!!!
Keeps me at 250lbs in Pretty Good Shape. lol

Maybe this summer we'll be at the same place at the same time. I'll buy you a beer.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[dale338]

My cousin is a long haul, over the road trucker. He’s out driving three weeks at a time. Never knows exactly where he stops each day, so can’t always hit a gym. He usually averages 2-3 days a week. Does cardio the other days when he stops. Anyhow, he stays in incredible “amature” BB shape. And keep in mind, he sitting 14 hours a day or so, driving. Plus he has to diet hard as most truckers aren’t known for eating good. Lol

You be day a week might be tough, but at 2, proper diet and making those two days really count, you’d be ok!

 

[D2]

check out super squat by Randall J. Strossen or google John McCallum's 20rep squat program:headbang: