Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Several readers have asked about two times per
week training versus three time per week
training.
"Which is better?" they ask.
Well, like most things in the Iron Game, it
depends.
It depends on your age -- on how fast you
recover from a workout -- on how heavy you
train -- on the exercises you do -- and on
how demanding your job is -- and on how much
other stress you have in your life. And it
also depends on whether you use total body
workouts or divided workouts -- and on
whether you use the Light, Medium and Heavy
system or some other system that lets you
alternate heavy sessions with workouts that
are not as heavy.
But here are some general guidelines:
1. Most beginners will do fine on three times
per week total body training.
2. Older beginners may do better on two total
body workouts per week -- or may do better on
two divided workouts per week.
2A. The key for older lifters is recovery and
recuperation!
3. If your job is super demanding or you are
under lots of stress for any reason, two
workouts per week may be best. Or you may do
two strength training workouts and some easy
cardio training on one, two or three other
days of the week.
3A. Sometimes it works well to do bodyweight
workouts during the work week (two or three
days) and hit the iron on Sat or Sun when you
have more time and energy. See Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training for some great bodyweight
workouts:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
4. If you do total body workouts, and you're
an intermediate or advanced trainee, it's
going to be tough to do three heavy sessions
per week. So try the Light, Medium and Heavy
system.
4A. Note that you can use the Light, Medium
and Heavy system with two workouts per week.
5. If you use divided workouts, try three
sessions per week -- and if you make good
progress, stick to it. If your gains slow
down, try two times per week.
6. At some point -- perhaps in your fifties --
two strength training workouts per week might
work better than three -- regardless of how
you train and regardless of whether you use
total body workouts or divided workouts.
7. Note that you can always train three times
one week and two times the next.
7A. You can even create five different workouts,
and use them over a two week period. Three
different workouts in week one, and two
different workouts in week two -- and then
repeat.
As I said, these are some general guidelines.
Your job, as always, is to fine-tune them to
work best for YOU. But in doing so, always
remember that it is usually better to do LESS
training than to do more training. If in doubt,
try doing LESS, not more!
As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. My new John Grimek training course is getting
rave reviews. You can order your copy right here:
http://brookskubik.com/johngrimek_course.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and my
Dinosaur training DVD's -- are right here at
Dinosaur Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "If in doubt, try
doing less exercise rather than more. If less
works well for you, why do more than you need?"
-- Brooks Kubik
