Does any one have any ideas on lifting twice in a day. I know that for football we do two a days so i figured u could also lift twice a day and get twice the benfit . Does this sound like a good idea? please soem ideas/advice would be helpfull thanks.
This would be a great idea, a lot of bodybuilders train twice per day so why not. Remember if you train the same bodypart twice in one day, do your heavy training in the morning and slightly lighter in the afternoon.
I’ve just started work on an article that covers several variations of twice a day weight training. I used it a few weeks ago during a “bulking” diet with really good results. General rules- Keep both workouts short, around 40 minutes or so. Get post-workout nutrition both times. Do it for no longer than two weeks at a time or you’ll likely end up overtrained. More details and ideas in the upcoming article.
slaine, a lot of bodyduilder are also doing 5+grams of juice a week +hgh,no other job,igf-1, insulin, ect… gee why not work out 4x’s a day for 4x’s the results? sorry, it just won’t work unless you can afford no job, tons of gear, tons of food,ect…
I’m an olympic weightlifter who competes at the national level. During a preperatory mesocycle of it is not uncommon for me to do 11 short workouts a week. some of these workouts are only 25 min. and some are easier than others.
One of the things to remember when doing this type of training is too make sure that you are not just doing superfluous work. If you are going to start adding extra workout make sure they have a specific purpose. use the extra work to bring up weak points. Look into training models such as concentrated loading. I’ll be honest though. I see more application of multiple daily training in performance sports, than to bodybuilding, though you will see increases in size. It’s a lot of work though for a litle extra size. If you have any other questions about multiple daily training just post here.
Oh yeah, eat like hell if you’re going to train twice daily. Good luck.
i currently am trainin two times a day for football, i just started so i don’t have results yet but i am only goin to do it for 2 or three weeks,
i try and space the workouts 4-6 hour apart like poloquin says, but i don’t train the same body part, like yo said every workout has a purpose…
DAY1A: chest/back (poloquin’s 5x5)
1B rotator cuff, forearms (my wrist sometimes gives out first on db presses) light tri extensions (like elbows out from tate’s big bad bench article)
Day2a HAMStrings, calves
2b abs and core
day3a sleep (i try and sleep the time i would be training)
3b active recovery (ie swimming)
day4a shoulders/back
4b tri/bis
Day 5a quads and calves
5b abs and core
everything except abs are trained following poloquins 5x5, abs are still trained heavy… i am 16 have no job and eat like a ox (massive eating) so i recovery really well.
On days 1 and 5 before the first session i have a light team practice just running plays and what not, i also have summer lacrosse games on some nights, so i won’t be doin any cardio durin it but after the 2 or 3 weeks my split will change and the second session will became a sports specific session like sprint work or endurance training
i hope this helps
To start with I would split your current training in two. A read a study a while back which said this type of training produced better results. I can try to dig it up if you’re interested.
I follow the Westside system and always do extra workouts for my weak points. For example: AM- Bench workout PM- Front raise sled pulling, band pushdowns, abs
With the front raise pulling I follow the 60% rule outlined in Dave Tate’s dragging article.
These extra workouts will bring up your weak points fast and if you follow the 60% rule your recovery won’t suffer a bit.
-Tony
Thanks for the replys guys . Tony i would like to see that study if u have the time to get it. Chris i was planning on having post workout nutrition would also be taking Alpha lipoic acid,fish oil for insulin sensitivity, i was thinking of taking tribex but im only 18 and dont know if this would be beneficial or not. Any other suggestions on supplementation and diet. Oh I was also going to use the massive eating principals if that is possible.
Yo, good point. I think this is a better way to train for most athletes rather than bodybuilders, simply because athletes have more aspects to their training they need to accomplish besides just building hypertrophy. For example… speed work in the A.M., hypetrophy/limit in the P.M., or weights in the A.M. and skills work in the P.M., or core lifts in the A.M. and assistance work in the P.M. I think it works particularly well if you split your workload up, say, 40% of your volume in the morning and 60% in the evening (as compared to 100% in the evening). By the way, there are some guys out there that do 3 sessions per day with good results, but again it’s probably not any more volume than you’d use in one session, it’s just broken up into smaller parts.
There were some good points brought up here. I always thought of training multiple times a day as a way to add more volume. I have done it on occassion. But not for everything at once. Usually when I have done it I did legs. Quads in the morn, and Hams in the evening. I think doing it for extra volume with every body part will lead to overtraining if done for more than a few weeks at a time.
However, this is idea of breaking up your workouts sounds pretty interesting to me. Particularly if you are doing a workout of very high volume, you can split it up into two shorter workouts. This would, IMHO, lead to better recovery. In fact, I think that you might even be able to do a slightly higher volume with two workouts a day vs. one, due to that better recovery. Think about it, wouldn’t that give you time to A) replenish your glycogen/creatine supplies in your muscles and B) give you time for your T levels to come back up to normal. I think this would prove quite an effective way to workout with a higher volume. However, if you aren’t training with a high volume I can’t see much benfit to splitting a 40 minute workout in half. Though there very well could be, don’t know till ya try. Certainly all of this is worth studying and investigating further.
If you are going for size, I recommend you forget the prospect of training twice daily. In the real world, I do not personally know any large guys(bodybuilders) who have utilised this technique to attain their size. However, if you want strength in particular movements, are doing something technical, and have no job and eat perfectly(and maybe shoot juice), then it has a real valid place, but otherwise, forget it IMHO.
The other place two a day training can have is if you are intending to create an energy deficit to allow supercompensation after the event. You would gradually ramp up your trianing volume over a specified amount of time, then taper off. The idea is, you drive yourself into an acute overtraining condition, then back off with the volume. The contrast between the high adaptive energies in your body, and the lowered volume, results in hypertrophy. In theory. Remember, this type of training has to really be tailored to the individual to realise a benefit.
I believe that this is the correct study:
Hakkinen, K., and Pakarinen, A. 1991.
Serum hormones in male strength athletes during intensive short term strength training. European Journal of Applied Physiology 63:194-99.
In this study it is important to note that the strength gains weren’t realized until after a week of reduced training volume.
Hope this helps.
-Tony
Sorry to hijack the thread, everyone, but Yo: I’m really interested in learning how to do the olympic lifts and their variations. I live in Sherman Oaks, CA. Do you know of a way I can get in touch with an olympic weightlifting coach in my area, someone with whom I can work to learn the lifts? Thanks much, Zev
zev-to,
I don’t live in the states so I can’t say what would be in your area. But, go to lifttilyadie dot com and this has a link to weighlifting clubs in the U.S… It also has a link the regulating body for weightlifting in the U.S… Another option would be to go to the International Weightlifting Federation home page, I think they have links to member governing bodies. Good luck.
Check out Poliquin’s “Question of Strength” in issue 45; it tells you all you need to know.