honeybunch1
Cathlete
FROM THE FITNESS MESSAGE BOARD AT MENSHEALTH.COM
Q: I've been trying to work my upper body and lower body each 2 days a week, but due to frequent business travel, I'm having trouble getting in all four workouts. Should I try to do two workouts on the day before I leave town, to make up for the days that I can't exercise?
A: If you can't get in four workouts a week, I'd suggest that you simply adjust your plan to allow for two or three sessions instead. That's because two or three planned workouts that hit your entire body will be more effective than only getting in three out of a possible four workouts -- since you're skipping one day of upper or lower body entirely -- or trying to do two workouts in the same day. Two-a-day workouts are appropriate sometimes, but they need to be planned and recovery needs to be taken into account prior to undertaking them, instead of just doing them occasionally when you have a busy schedule. I believe that 90 percent of all people can achieve all of their physique goals with three one-hour, total-body workouts per week.
Another option is to perform a "rolling split". That is, train four workouts in an 8-to-10-day period. After all, there's no scientific basis for a 7-day training schedule -- it's just an easy way to segment your workouts. So maybe this week you perform both a quadriceps and back workout. On the weekend you work your hamstrings, and next week starts with a chest workout. By the middle of the week, you work your quadriceps again, so that you're basically performing the same workout every 8 to 10 days. Using this system, you can do a low-repetition, heavy squat workout once every 10 days to build strength, and do a couple of high-repetitions sets with a light weight on a separate day to improve your recovery. It takes a bit more planning, but it's very effective and probably superior to a 7-day training cycle.
--Alwyn Cosgrove, M.S., C.S.C.S.
Just Do It!
Q: I've been trying to work my upper body and lower body each 2 days a week, but due to frequent business travel, I'm having trouble getting in all four workouts. Should I try to do two workouts on the day before I leave town, to make up for the days that I can't exercise?
A: If you can't get in four workouts a week, I'd suggest that you simply adjust your plan to allow for two or three sessions instead. That's because two or three planned workouts that hit your entire body will be more effective than only getting in three out of a possible four workouts -- since you're skipping one day of upper or lower body entirely -- or trying to do two workouts in the same day. Two-a-day workouts are appropriate sometimes, but they need to be planned and recovery needs to be taken into account prior to undertaking them, instead of just doing them occasionally when you have a busy schedule. I believe that 90 percent of all people can achieve all of their physique goals with three one-hour, total-body workouts per week.
Another option is to perform a "rolling split". That is, train four workouts in an 8-to-10-day period. After all, there's no scientific basis for a 7-day training schedule -- it's just an easy way to segment your workouts. So maybe this week you perform both a quadriceps and back workout. On the weekend you work your hamstrings, and next week starts with a chest workout. By the middle of the week, you work your quadriceps again, so that you're basically performing the same workout every 8 to 10 days. Using this system, you can do a low-repetition, heavy squat workout once every 10 days to build strength, and do a couple of high-repetitions sets with a light weight on a separate day to improve your recovery. It takes a bit more planning, but it's very effective and probably superior to a 7-day training cycle.
--Alwyn Cosgrove, M.S., C.S.C.S.
Just Do It!