Barbell Making the most of 2 days worth of gym equipment to build mass: programming?

[Smau6785]

Hi all, I'm looking at a little bit of advice / ideas.
Context: I'm about to finish a run of kettlebell based BtS4/3 (3 days a week, 100% of the workouts done at home) and I've thoroughly enjoyed it (thanks @Fabio Zonin !!!!). Sadly had to drop the overhead pressing due to a silly injury, so now just doing some very light GTG presses through the day a few times a week.

With my fiancee, we have purchased a gym membership for a leisure centre that has a swimming pool and we started swimming twice a week, Tuesday and Friday. On Fridays, waking up at 5, going through BtS and then going for a 50' swim session is really taxing on my body so been thinking about having 2 non-negotiable weights days + 1/2 extra optional ones
Something along the lines of:

Monday: weights
Tuesday: swim
Wednesday: rest/stretch/optional light practice
Thursday: weights
Friday: swim
Saturday: rest/stretch/optional light practice
Sunday: mow the lawn and shoo pidgeons away from the garden

For the light practices, Q&D plan 015 (swings + pushups) / AXE / ABC all work well.

Monday/Thursday, I don't really know what to do. I purchased the SFApp subscription to get more ideas, and here's what I'm thinking as far as options go:

- PTTP - Russian bear : squat, bench, chins
- Simply Strong from the APP
- EDT from the APP (although a bit confused, as the description talks about 2 days per week but then there's 3 sessions)
- Some self-made program based around chins, dips and squats
- 5/3/1 2x2x2, although I don't really care for deadlifts that much (unless somebody can make the case for DLs being something that will grow my legs exponentially, then I'll back off into my hole)

I don't have barbells at home, so I'm keen to stay away from kettlebells for a bit, and carry on with some high-ish volume based sessions, especially for squats as my legs still look like toothpicks while my back seem to blow in no time.

I like the idea of the Russian Bear of "lots of sets of 5 till you can't do any more sets of 5", which is similar to that KettleBear program I've always been drawn to (150 overhead press + 80 front squats)

Thanks all!

Sorry, long post / long ramble

 

[dfanelli83]

If you haven't done any barbell training in a a while I'd use the two gym days to do some basic linear progression lower volume focusing on weight progression. Something like 5x3 one day and 5x5 or 3x8 the other day. Hit whatever big barbell lifts you can with your shoulder limitations and then get some "bodybuilding" work in with machines, cables or dumbells. If you want to you could then also do another day or two at home in the home gym, giving you 3-4x a week frequency.

Also, for the shoulder, I don't think you provided info on whats going on with it, but check out land mine presses to see if you are able to do those.

 

[Mark Limbaga]

What I've done in the past since I train mostly at home then get gym access when I train my students:

Do PTTP/easy strength type sessions when you're in the gym

 

[John K]

I do not think Easy Strength or PTTP is a good option for building mass. EDT would work fine if you structured it right.

I would suggest something very simple, doing two whole body days focused on dumbbells, using a double progression method of 3x8-12 then increase weight when you can get all three sets of 12. I've eliminated all overhead work, but ideally you would also being doing overhead presses and pull-ups.

A1. Dumbbell Bench Press
A2. Dumbbell Row
B1. Dumbbell Lunge
B2. Dumbbell RDL or Single-leg deadlift
C1. Lateral Raise (until you can do presses)
C2. Band Pull-aparts (until you can do pull-ups)

If you do a set every 2 minutes (Bench @ 0:00, Row @ 2:00, Bench @ 4:00, Row @ 6:00, etc), you'll be done with each block in 18 minutes, and total workout will take around an hour.

Let each lift progress at its own pace - so you might need 2 sets of dumbbells.

For the C exercises, instead of 3x8-12 do the lateral raises 3 sets of 12-15 reps and the pull-aparts find a challenging tension/band to get sets of 15-25, emphasizing a nice big squeeze in the upper back at full-extension and a slow/resisted release back to the middle.

If you don't have a band, you can do Face pulls on a cable machine with a rope attachment, reverse dumbell flys (same rep range as lateral raises), or something similar.

Bench can be flat or incline, row can also be an incline bench row or some kind of chest supported row if you can take up multiple pieces of equipment (e.g. the gym is dead).

If you don't like lateral raises, do a very high incline seated press and see if your shoulder likes it.

 

[silveraw]

I'd probably keep it simple. If you haven't loaded up on heavy barbells, you probably don't need much nuance.
Monday is squat day. work up to a 12RM week 1, next week do 10, week after 8, then 5, 3, 2
After your main squat do 8/3 of a front squat
After your front squats do 8/3 of RDLs
after your RDLs do 10-15/2 of knee extensions.

Try to finish everything within an hour. Make your assistance work within 1-2 reps of technical failure.

Thursday is bench. Same rep schemes main move cycling down to a double, assistance compounds at 8/3, and isolation at 10-15/2
Bench
Wide Grip bench
Narrow grip bench
barbell rows
pec flys

Note: DOMS will be a factor and this really isn't a long term program as it has a ton of balance issues. And frankly is just throwing volume at a mass goal. it's about as sophisticated as a rock. But you get 9-12 heavy sets per workout, so works.

 

[Greg H]

Why not do BTS3 2 days a week with a horizontal press instead of a vertical press? You could either eliminate the light day (only doing heavy and medium days) or do heavy, medium and light over 2 weeks.
Monday: Heavy
Thursday: Light
Following Monday: Medium
and so on....

I run BTS3 this way with Axe and it's been fantastic. The only difference is I run Day 1:BTS3, Day2: AXE, one or two off days, repeat......

 

[Hung]

I suggest heavy, low rep, close to failure using machines.
Something like sets of 6 with leg press/chest press/hyperextension/pull down/cable row, with one or two back off sets at higher rep range

 

[Smau6785]

Why not do BTS3 2 days a week with a horizontal press instead of a vertical press? You could either eliminate the light day (only doing heavy and medium days) or do heavy, medium and light over 2 weeks.
Monday: Heavy
Thursday: Light
Following Monday: Medium
and so on....

I run BTS3 this way with Axe and it's been fantastic. The only difference is I run Day 1:BTS3, Day2: AXE, one or two off days, repeat......

This is also what I was thinking yes, BTS3/4 again, just stretching it out to more weeks (12 rather than 8 for 3 and 18 rather than 12 for 4, if math is correct)

 

[Antti]

On your first two days, establish a rough rep max of 8-10 reps with the overhead press, bench press, back squat and deadlift. One big lift for lower body a day, one upper.

Start doing 5*5 for those weekly. Go up in load every week. Use 500g plates for presses if possible, 1,25kg plates for lower body.

Do two sets to failure on hamstring curls, leg extensions, lat pulldowns, bicep curls and triceps pushdowns each day, in the 8-20 range, varying the load and handles as you feel like.

 

[watchnerd]

I cannot make a recommendation until learn more about type of barbells they have.

 

[mar2safety]

I do not think Easy Strength or PTTP is a good option for building mass.

PTTP - the Russian Bear option will work for mass building. You drop another 10% off the bar after the drop off set and you keep doing sets of 5 OTM or OT90s until fatigue. I ran this for four weeks with overhead presses and zercher squats and my quads and shoulders definitely blew up.

 

[John K]

PTTP - the Russian Bear option will work for mass building. You drop another 10% off the bar after the drop off set and you keep doing sets of 5 OTM or OT90s until fatigue. I ran this for four weeks with overhead presses and zercher squats and my quads and shoulders definitely blew up.

I am happy it worked for you. I would not recommend it.

 

[LukeV]

Some good ideas above from @John K and @Hung

I’m a bear of little brain. My go to mass program is simple.

A small number of exercises for the whole body - focus on compounds, push/pull/legs. Three exercises is fine.

Five hard sets close to failure.

Keep the reps high-ish, whatever. Keep the rest periods at whatever works for you.

Add one high rep set close to failure of isolation work for triceps and biceps. I use pushdowns and curls. (Recently on here some unkind person in effect called me a p@#$y for doing pushdowns, which hurt my feelings. You could choose overhead tricep extensions if you want to avoid this kind of unwarranted criticism.)

Eat a lot, more protein.

Sleep a lot.

This works fine twice weekly.

 

[Chris Hall]

The best two day per week results I ever got was from ‘the bear’, with deadlift/bench.

I actually modified it by accident (misunderstood the instructions) and alternated the two exercises. No idea if this made things better or worse overall, but the ‘rest’ of doing the other exercise meant that I could do more total volume in a session.

 

[Hung]

(Recently on here some unkind person in effect called me a p@#$y for doing pushdowns

so do skull crusher is better cause it sounds manlier heh?

 

[John K]

so do skull crusher is better cause it sounds manlier heh?

Sounds like something Conan the Barbarian would do, so it must be manlier.

 

[watchnerd]

some unkind person in effect called me a p@#$y for doing pushdowns, which hurt my feelings. You could choose overhead tricep extensions if you want to avoid this kind of unwarranted criticism.)

*kisses*

 

[Ege]

Some good ideas above from @John K and @Hung

I’m a bear of little brain. My go to mass program is simple.

A small number of exercises for the whole body - focus on compounds, push/pull/legs. Three exercises is fine.

Five hard sets close to failure.

Keep the reps high-ish, whatever. Keep the rest periods at whatever works for you.

Add one high rep set close to failure of isolation work for triceps and biceps. I use pushdowns and curls. (Recently on here some unkind person in effect called me a p@#$y for doing pushdowns, which hurt my feelings. You could choose overhead tricep extensions if you want to avoid this kind of unwarranted criticism.)

Eat a lot, more protein.

Sleep a lot.

This works fine twice weekly.

Sir, you have just killed all the fun of hypertrophy related: optimization, frequency, range of motion, Tonka Ali, body fat percentage etc etc discussions …

 

[Ege]

This is also what I was thinking yes, BTS3/4 again, just stretching it out to more weeks (12 rather than 8 for 3 and 18 rather than 12 for 4, if math is correct)

One could select the “tough” option to up the volume a bit to compensate for the “lost” volume. An option to consider if you can handle “extra” load generated in those two sessions.

An other alternative could be to select the “easy” option and try to keep three sessions in… I did not look in detail but the volume might not be too off in between these two ways….

 

[watchnerd]

Some good ideas above from @John K and @Hung

I’m a bear of little brain. My go to mass program is simple.

A small number of exercises for the whole body - focus on compounds, push/pull/legs. Three exercises is fine.

Five hard sets close to failure.

Keep the reps high-ish, whatever. Keep the rest periods at whatever works for you.

Add one high rep set close to failure of isolation work for triceps and biceps. I use pushdowns and curls. (Recently on here some unkind person in effect called me a p@#$y for doing pushdowns, which hurt my feelings. You could choose overhead tricep extensions if you want to avoid this kind of unwarranted criticism.)

Eat a lot, more protein.

Sleep a lot.

This works fine twice weekly.

Yep.

This works well up until you hit 2 / 3 / 4 plates on the Big Three.

After that, you'll probably need to readjust to add more volume, but most people never even get there.