Bodyweight Possible to Make Strength Gains Working Out Twice Weekly?

[offwidth]

It all depends upon what results a person is seeking. In some cases 2 days/week would be fine. In other cases absolutely not.

 

[jef]

Frankly, it really depends on your goals, your schedule, your recovery ability!

I suppose what I am asking, is would it be possible to make respectable gains on a program of 2 super abbreviated, super intense workouts per week? Has anyone experienced significant progress on a routine of less than 3 days per week?

anyone's thoughts on twice weekly workouts would be appreciated, although it doesn't seem to be most people's preference on this forum

not looking for a "will this routine work for me" answer, just looking for the pros and cons of twice weekly training, based on your experience

thanks everybody

With 2 sessions per week, I don't think they should be abbreviated.
I usually don't put people on less than 3 sessions per week, but everyone is different.

I had a few years ago a 40+ guy who kyte surf almost every weekend. No weight training on weekend, then!
We had to manage with two sessions in the week. With his busy life, we did a heavy -light splits for squats, and classic linear progression (bench, presses, deadlifts, pullups added to the mix). He made good progress, but he was also a novice and sessions were more like 45-60 min, not 20 min. Barbells, not bodyweight.

Interestingly, a few years forward (now), he started to train again with me. This time, he insists to manage three sessions per week, despite being in his late 40s. He confirmed he feels a lot better when he trains three times than twice.

So can it work? Yes.
Is it optimal? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Machete]

About 3 years ago I did Wendler 5/3/1 for a year and a half. I developed some shoulder issues after about 6 months that kept me from continuing with the bench and overhead press but for the last year I did nothing but backsquat and deadlift once a week each. 3 warmup sets and 3 work sets would take 20-25 minutes. The other 5 days of the week I pretty much did nothing but eat and sleep. I became stronger than I had ever been in my life at 57 years of age with a 2x+ bw DL and a 1.5 bw backsquat.

I did this as well; no assistance work, just the main lifts. Also Dan John's minimalist training. Both worked pretty well. I've never tried it with bodyweight exercises though.