I definitely suffered, for sure. They are pretty unpleasant, but I dislike arm training at the best of times
Hey man, totally missed this log.
Iām in, been browsing through, great lifting.
You talked about ab work and how shity it was getting it done.
I did some Brian Alsruhe work last year and learned the giant set he does.
Iām now doing them with my warmup sets.
You could just do it as a superset.
main work-ab work rest. 3-4 sets of warm up then main work sets. Boom ab work done.
Do you find it impacts your lifts? Iāve definitely had my main lifts impacted with sore abs, not sure how fatigued abs would affect the lift. I guess thatās more of an ego blow than anything really.
Iām literally just about to plan out my next cycle, based off of feedback from another thread, so I can definitely mix that in.
I wonāt speak for Mort, but as another guy in the same strength ballpark as you fellas, all of my recent PRs have come while following Brians programming and including core work in the giant sets.
I think itās the repetitive practice of bracing the core while fatigued thatās been the biggest help.
Bracing is definitely not a strength of mine. I just suck at it.
I donāt think it impacts my lifts at all.
3-4 sets of crunches, leg raises, planks or something else during the ramping should be doable.
On lower body I work the 6 pack and on upper body lift I work the obliques.
Iāll definitely factor it in. Iāve literally never trained abs consistently, ever. And I think it probably shows.
Same man, but forcing myself to do things like ab wheel and palloff presses has made a noticeable difference in my ability to maintain the brace for a set.
Iāll try and program them in. I feel like people are likely to start calling me on it if I go too much longer without doing the things I said I need to do.
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Agreed haha. Every time I wrap up a program I tell myself I need to cut out the cute shit and stick to a handful of money movements and just press go, weāll see if I follow my own advice.
Yep. Every cycle I get distracted by something shiny, even if my current approach is working well. This year Iāve kept my bench and squat 531 sets consistent though, no matter what else changes, so at least Iām kind of learning.
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Yeah, I guess we canāt learn if we donāt try new stuff though right? Kind of a double edged sword.
True.
Iām adding new stuff to my toolkit all the time, largely thanks to the logs on this site. Patching those tools together into a balanced, workable program in 2 sessions a week is the problem.
Yeah Iām lucky to have less constraints on how often I can lift. @TX_iron has been a 2 day/week lifter for a little while now. Maybe heās got some value to add for ya.
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Heās already made a recommendation on another thread, but thanks for the suggestion. The community support around here is fantastic, even for someone like me who isnāt big into social media.
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Thanks for the shout @mr.v3lv3t.
@dagill2 in addition to the ws4sb, Jim W himself posted this a few days agoā¦ since youāre a 531 guy
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To add to the 2 times a week Iāll call in @simo74
He does 2 days a week, and has some good progression.
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I have been only training 2 days a week since my return to lifting 3 years ago. Work, wife, three young kids means I donāt have enough time to do more days. On the odd occasion that I do find time for a third or fourth session for the week they are always short conditioning sessions.
When I came back to lifting I did full body 2 days a week, simple straight progression. 6 exercises, 3 sets of each, 8-10 reps a set. I started with an empty bar and added weight each week until I couldnāt add anymore. Simple old school but effective.
I switched from that to 531 doing squat and bench together one day and deadlift and OH press on day two. I mixed up the supplemental, Did BBB, FSL, PR set with widow maker and probably a couple of flavours I can remember. I liked 531 but always felt there was too much ability for me to change the program (my issue not a problem with the system itself).
Towards the end of 2017 a friend of mine asked if I wants him to start programing for me and this was a revelation.
The training blocks are still 2 days a week, still a squat bench day and a deadlift and press day (press can be OH or more bench).
The blocks change between hypertrophy, volume and intensity.
They are simple % based, with volume and weight ramping up over a 4-12 week period. We then deload and start again. Blocks always have the big 3 (squat, bench and deads) and then the accessories work on weaknesses, technique or support areas.
Once you get over the stigma of training 2 days a week, youāll find you can make really good progress and with the additional recovery your injury chances are reduced.
The other thing to think about is that you have 5 other days a week to still do something. 100 push ups a day or 200 bodyweight squats, 50 pull ups. 200 Ab somethingās, recovery work like foam rolling. 15 mins a day is all any of these things take. All of it adds up though.
Sorry I just realised I went on a rant without thinking what you wanted to know. Hopefully this is useful but feel free to ask any questions.
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@TX_iron @simo74 thanks guys, plenty for me to look over. You guys are definitely showing that what I want is possible in 2 day a weeks, Iāve just got to put the work in.
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A pleasure mate. I think the thing with training 2 days is to keep it simple. Work really hard as a few things for 8-12 weeks. Then just change 1 or 2 and go again. It doesnāt matter about the program what always works is hard work and consistency and being smart.
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