Two Days a Week Bodybuilding Program
Building muscle over 40. Two days a week training program
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A lot of people think it would be impossible to make progress by training only two days a week, but I did, and in the first year I lifted weights, I made incredible progress in both strength and muscle gain. It was many years ago now, so I can't remember the exact amount of weight I gained, but it was a very successful lean bulking phase, and I could deadlift 180kg (400lbs) by the end of the year. Since then, I have had many periods of training, only two days a week, while I was more advanced and always made progress. Now I'm 43 years old, and building loads of extra muscle isn't my main priority, but I'm running and doing yoga more, and lifting weights twice a week has still worked very well.
I'm not the biggest and strongest, but I've gained 30kg in my adult life. At 43 years old, I'm a lean 90kg (198.4lbs) at 5'11, I've done a 230kg squat, have good cardio and flexibility, and no aches and pains at all. Lots of clients have made great progress when it comes to building muscle training twice a week. |
Why would someone only train twice a week?
- If they have a busy busy schedule, or their lifestyle eats into their recovery (newborn baby, stressful job, etc)
- The gym isn't their main hobby, but still wants to be stronger and healthier.
- If you compete in a sport and have other training commitments that are their priority, and only strength train to help improve their performance in their sport, so they can't spend an excessive amount of time lifting weights.
- People who have not been able to stick to a routine and want to get into the habit of training
- For a short time, when life is too busy. The key to making progress is doing this consistently over a long period of time. No matter how busy life is, I can always train two days a week and continue make progress. You can always add more training days.
Key points to make two days a week training work.
- Train with intensity. You have to push the sets close to failure to make this work. Training two days a week limits the amount of exercises and volume you can do. For hypertrophy to happen, you have to train hard and get used to being uncomfortable towards the end of the sets.
- Train the full body in each session. This allows you to get 2 x a week training for each muscle.
- Ideally, you should spread the sessions out so they're not close to each other, so you're fully recovered for each session. For example, Monday-Thursday or Wednesday - Saturday.
How I set up for two days a week of training
A |
B |
Squat variation |
Hip Hinge |
Flat or Incline Press |
Overhead Press (Could also be a second flat or incline press or dip) |
Back |
Back |
Hamstring Isolation |
Quad Isolation |
Delts Isolation |
Chest Isolation |
Triceps and/or Biceps |
Biceps and/or Triceps |
Optional extra exercise to fill in any gaps |
Optional extra exercise to fill in any gaps |
Optional extra exercise to fill in any gaps |
Optional extra exercise to fill in any gaps |
Session A
My arms were always a weak point (but have improved in recent years), so I do two arm exercises per session. I would add extra back work to what's suggested above, plus calf raises and forearm work.
- Squat variation
- Flat or incline press
- Hamstring exercise
- Back exercise (horizontal row)
- Delts isolation
- Arm work
- Hinge variation
- Overhead press (or a second flat/incline press or dips)
- Quad exercise
- Back exercise (vertical pull)
- Chest isolation
- Arm work
My arms were always a weak point (but have improved in recent years), so I do two arm exercises per session. I would add extra back work to what's suggested above, plus calf raises and forearm work.
Flat or Incline Press |
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Squat Variation |
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Overhead Press |
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Hip Hinge |
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Back |
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Chest Isolation |
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Shoulder Isolation |
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Triceps |
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Biceps |
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Extra Exercises to Fill in Gaps |
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Can the barbell lifts be included?
Of course. I have another article about training twice a week where the barbell lifts are the priority here.
Of course. I have another article about training twice a week where the barbell lifts are the priority here.
Progression schemes
Top set with a back off set: We'll work up to a top set and aim for 8 reps.
An example of what it looks like, Workout 1
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Rep Goal: With the rep goal system, you’ll set a rep goal for all the sets and increase the weight on one set when you’ve hit the rep goal Examples are,
In this example, we'll aim for 20 reps over 2 sets, Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
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Rest-Pause Sets: With rest-pause sets, you go to failure on 5 sets with 30 seconds rest between each set. For example
Rest-pause training saves time, which is useful when only training twice a week. |
A |
B |
Hack Squat Top Set (6-8) - Back Off Set (10-12) |
RDL Top Set (6-8) - Back Off Set (10-12) |
Life Fitness Incline Press Rep Goal: 25 reps over 2 sets |
Dips Rep Goal: 20 reps over 2 sets |
Seated Leg Curl Rep Goal: 25 reps over 2 sets |
Leg Extension Rep Goal: 25 reps over 2 sets |
High Row Top set (8-10 - Back Off Set (12-15 |
T-Bar Row Top set (8-10 - Back Off Set (12-15) |
Back Extension Top set (8-12) - Back Off Set (12-15) |
Lat Pulldown Rep Goal: 20 reps over 2 sets |
Dumbbell Lateral Raise Rep Goal 25 reps over 3 sets |
Pec Dec Rep Goal: 30 reps over 3 sets |
Poliquin Push Downs Rep Goal: 25 reps over 2 sets |
DB Curl Rep Goal: 25 reps over 2 sets |
Cable Curls Rest Pause x 5 |
Overhead Extensions Rest Pause: x 5 |
Standing Calf Raise |
Standing Calf Raise Rep Goal: 30 reps over 3 sets |
This is how I started. I made adjustments as I went. My joints feel better with slightly higher reps
What were the main benefits of training two days a week?
- My joints feel amazing. I've always had senstive joints, but as i've gotten a bit older I have noticed my joints can't handle as much as they could before. I always felt great having extra rest days.
- It gave me time to work on my cardio and mobilty. I had neglected my mobility, so it was something I needed to focus on. The older I get the more I think about heart health. Training for health feels much more important now than it did in my twenties. I feel much better for it for improving both my cardio and mobility and I feel like I'm in my twenties again instead of just looking like I'm in good shape.
- Motivation for the gym went up. It didn't feel like something I had to sqeeze into my life anymore and I was excited to train every session
Two days a week training- 43 years old
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Two days a week training.
43 years old
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