Had to cut back to 2x week

joseph63

New Member
After two cycles using A & B workouts 3 x per week as described, I was dealing with too many aches & pains, especially in the pecs & lats, to keep it going.
Assuming it was the frequency of training each body part, I've split the workouts into Legs/Back/Bi & Chest/Shoulder/Tri, training each twice per week.
Original workout:
Alternating A & B, M, W & F
A:
squat
bench
rows
dumbell shldr press
lying tri extensions
curls
B:
deadlift
dips
pulldowns
military
overhead tri extension (1 dumbell)
alt dbell curls
I'm using the same exercises, but now it's:
M, T, Th, F with M & Th using the Leg/Back/Bi exercises from the above list, and T & F using the Chest/Shoulder/Tri exercises.
I'm trying to keep the frequency sufficient, and would appreciate your thoughts around this idea. Two weeks into the new 2x per week & I'm noticeably less achy.
 
I did cut back to 1 set occasionally, but I didn't feel like I was getting enough work. So I'd go back to 2 sets, and by mid cycle, usually 2nd weeks of 10's, I was feeling pretty beat up most of the time.

Do u think the 2x per week still provides some of the frequency benefits?
 
Well obviously you WERE getting enough work, or you wouldn't feel like you have to cut back to two times a week. Remember, what you feel doesn't necessary mean anything, otherwise we'd all just be trying to achieve DOMS and pumps all the time and forget about progressive load, frequency, etc. Oh, and we wouldn't grow much.

Two times a week provides some benefits when compared to once a week type splits, but really... 3 times a week would be better. Why don't you just cut back on some exercises to one set? What lifts are you using anyway? Smaller muscle groups for instance don't need multiple sets, while larger groups can withstand more.
 
Perhaps I'll try another complete HST cycle again at 3 x per, dropping the sets to 1 per exercise as I get into the 10's and beyond.

Thanks for the input.

Oh yeah, I listed my workouts in the original post. Sticking to big compound moves, and I dropped the bi's and tri's when I got to neg's.

maybe I'm just getting old!
 
Hey josheph. I would advise you to workout 3 times per week. Frequency should come before volume in your routine. Personally, I only do one set and have increased the frequency up to every day-never getting sore!- with excellent results!

Take care :D
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (joseph63 @ Feb. 12 2006,5:01)]Oh yeah, I listed my workouts in the original post. Sticking to big compound moves, and I dropped the bi's and tri's when I got to neg's.
maybe I'm just getting old!
Oops. Sorry, I was just up when I wrote that, so wasn't paying attention I guess. Are you doing two sets per lift or more? You could probably drop the tricep work, or cut it down to just one set, and only do that one on the A workout, then only do biceps on the B workout and again, only one set.
I think you could get away with two sets for all the other lifts, but if you still feel it is too much, then you could drop down to one set for each.

What about diet? I find that my joints start to hurt if I cut back the fats too much in my diet. Fish oil seems to help a bit.

Two times a week frequency won't be totally useless, you should still get satisfactory results assuming diet is up to par.
 
I have to agree with the other guys. Try to increase your frequency to 3x (or even more if you like) and then adjust your volume accordingly. If you feel you are doing too much, you can drop some isolation work, concentrating on the basic moves. And yeah, nutrition really helps...
 
I guess the concensus is 3 x per week is preferred. While I agree based on the science behind it, I was pretty uncomfortable most of the time. Maybe it was the volume, although at just 2 sets per exercise, I didn't feel like I was doing too much.
But by 8 or 9 PM I was feeling like I'd been beat up! Have any of you dealt with that type of heavy fatigued feeling? Not DOMS per say, as I rarely get that kind of soreness from my HST workouts. More just an overall achy, fatigued feeling, usually at the end of the day. That's what I was trying to avoid by cutting back to 2x per week.
Do you believe cutting back to 1 set of each exercise, using the MWF full body routine in my original post will:
a) be enough work to get results
b) cut back the heavy fatigue and aches and pains I was dealing with the last 2 cycles

By the way, I really appreciate the input
 
Oh man when I first started I was definitely beat by 8 or 9pm... but you get used to it.

Eat more
Drink more (water)

-Colby
 
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