Q: The Size Surge program is very motivating, and I want to start. I’m very skinny. My problem is that I can only make it to the gym two days a week. Can I make any progress doing that? Can you suggest how to alter the program for two workouts a week instead of three?
A: Yes, you can make progress on 2 workouts a week. In fact, our colleague, Stuart McRobert, who is a hardgainer expert, often suggests that high-strung “skinny” types (ectomorphs) train ONLY two days a week for best results. More than that, he says, can deplete too much recovery ability and slow or halt muscle gains.
So how should you structure the workouts? Before we answer, here’s how phase 1 is set up for three-days-per-week training:
Monday: legs, chest, back, delts
Wednesday: deadlifts, biceps, triceps, abs
Friday: legs, chest, back, delts
Each workout only takes about an hour, and this is a fantastic mass-building split, so we won’t alter that—we’ll just shuffle the order somewhat. Legs and torso at one workout and deadlifts and arms at another creates tremendous anabolic acceleration…
So to change the above to a two-days-per-week program, we suggest doing the Wednesday deadlift/arms/abs workout every third session, like this:
Monday: legs, chest, back, delts
Thursday: legs, chest, back, delts
Monday: deadlifts, biceps, triceps, abs
Thursday: legs, chest, back, delts
Monday: legs, chest, back, delts
Thursday: deadlifts, biceps, triceps, abs
And so on, with workout 3 always being deadlifts/arms/abs. Remember, your arms are getting lots of indirect work during chest, back and delt training—that will keep them growing steadily. And deadlifts are so taxing to many muscles that training it every 10 days or so should be fine, especially if you work your legs hard at your other two workouts.
One other consideration: In the original Size Surge program Jonathan used phase 1 for five weeks of all-out training, then continued it for one back-off week, stopping every set two reps short of muscular failure. We call that a downshift phase for complete recovery. Because you’re only training two days a week, you can extend the all-out-training phase for eight weeks—then take a downshift week to recover and add more mass to your physique.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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