Rules are made to be broken

One interesting approach that I have practiced quite a lot in my own training is working one muscle or body part on two consecutive days. At first it may seem to go against all the rules, but this method works. As I like to say: ordinary training gets you ordinary results, and every now and then, in the interest of progress, you need to ignore the generally accepted rules.

Who should try it?

Training the same muscle or body part on two consecutive days is worth trying for anyone who has a body part or muscle that needs some catching up. That may well be the only and main reason to use this method from time to time. A similar method was written about on T Nation some time ago, where one scientifically grounded argument was presented as a possible benefit of such an approach. Namely, this approach prolongs the period of elevated protein synthesis in the muscles that was triggered by the first workout. After the first day’s workout, both the breakdown and the synthesis of the worked muscle proteins increase. Breakdown is initially slightly higher than synthesis, but the rate of synthesis rises quickly after the workout, exceeds the rate of breakdown within 2-3 hours, and stays above its normal level for up to 24 hours after the workout. After about 24 hours the rate of protein synthesis starts to fall back to its previous level, and it is back at normal about 36 hours after the workout. If you do the second workout 20-24 hours after the first, you are doing it at the moment when the rate of protein synthesis from the first workout is at its peak. So protein synthesis does not get the chance to fall back to its normal level before we add a new workout on top. In a sense, this means that with the second workout we prolong the protein synthesis initiated and stimulated by the previous day’s workout.

Whether it works exactly like that, I honestly admit I’m still thinking it over. One thing is clear: you certainly can’t train like this all the time (otherwise everyone would train only like this), and I also believe that those chasing muscle mass, such as bodybuilders, benefit more from this approach. But I think that if powerlifters occasionally try training like this too (in the off-season, for variety), it won’t kill them.

What do I like about it?

What I like most about training the same muscle on two consecutive days is the mild soreness and stiffness I feel the next day from the previous day’s workout. With that mild stiffness from the day before, the mind-muscle connection is very good. When the lats are sore from the previous day’s heavy pull-ups, the feel for the muscle the next day is somehow unprecedentedly good. The different parts of the muscle, the sense of the muscle working as a whole, and the peak contraction are all especially easy to feel.

The second thing I like about this approach is that on the second day I somehow push harder, almost subconsciously. As a result, strength numbers on the second consecutive day are often not worse at all, even when training to failure. There have been workouts where on the first day I do pull-ups with quite a serious weight and effort for 6 x 6 (20 kg) and am able to do 5 x 7 (20 kg) with the same weight the next day.

How to do it?

The T Nation article recommends doing a lighter, pump-style workout the next day, which actually makes sense. It raises the metabolic rate and, above all, improves nutrient delivery to muscles that are slightly stiff from the previous day’s workout. That is a logical and acceptable theory. At the same time, from my own experience I can say that nothing bad happens if you do the same style of workout on the second day as on the first. For example, on the first day squat 6 x 6 130 kg, on the second day squat 6 x 6 135 kg.

There are very many different ways to arrange the training load, exercises, sets and reps for the same muscles on two consecutive days. One option is certainly to do the same exercises on both days but “play” with the number of sets and reps. Another option is to do different exercises for the same muscle on each day.

Another possibility is to make each week a priority/catch-up week for a particular muscle, which means that if the back is the priority one week, the following week you train legs on two consecutive days, and so on.

Of course, the drive to progress is never something to frown upon, even when loading a muscle/body part on two consecutive days. Still, if you train a muscle on two consecutive days and your progression plans don’t work out, don’t be discouraged. Strict progression on these two consecutive days is not the main thing. Aim instead for clean technique and a good feel for the muscle, and if training the same muscle on two planned consecutive days allows even some modest progress, that is already excellent.

Examples of different weekly splits:

LATS:

MONDAY: lats, traps, abs
TUESDAY: lats, rear delts, abs
WEDNESDAY: rest
THURSDAY: chest, biceps
FRIDAY: quads, hamstrings, calves
SATURDAY: shoulders, triceps
SUNDAY: rest

LEGS/ABS:

MONDAY: quads, hamstrings, calves, abs
TUESDAY: quads, hamstrings, calves, abs
WEDNESDAY: rest
THURSDAY: chest, lats, traps, abs
FRIDAY: shoulders, triceps, biceps, abs
SATURDAY: rest
SUNDAY: rest

MONDAY: quads, hamstrings, calves, abs
TUESDAY: quads, hamstrings, calves, abs
WEDNESDAY: rest
THURSDAY: chest, triceps
FRIDAY: lats, traps, abs
SATURDAY: shoulders, biceps
SUNDAY: rest

CHEST/LATS/ABS:

MONDAY: chest, lats, traps, abs
TUESDAY: chest, lats, rear delts, abs
WEDNESDAY: rest
THURSDAY: quads, hamstrings, calves, abs
FRIDAY: shoulders, triceps, biceps, abs
SATURDAY: rest
SUNDAY: rest

MONDAY: shoulders, lats, traps, abs
TUESDAY: shoulders, lats, rear delts, abs
WEDNESDAY: rest
THURSDAY: quads, hamstrings, calves, abs
FRIDAY: chest, triceps, biceps, abs
SATURDAY: rest
SUNDAY: rest
EXAMPLE EXERCISES, SETS AND REPS…

LATS/LEGS:

MONDAY: lats, quads, hamstrings
TUESDAY: lats, quads, hamstrings, abs
WEDNESDAY: rest
THURSDAY: chest, biceps, abs
FRIDAY: shoulders, triceps
SATURDAY: shoulders, triceps, abs
SUNDAY: rest

MONDAY: lats, squat, hamstrings

1. Pull-ups: 6-8 x 4
2. Seated row with a narrow neutral grip: 4 x 8-10
3. Squat: 5 x 6
4. Leg curl: 4-5 x 6
5. Hanging leg (knee) raises: 4 x 20-25

TUESDAY: lats, squat, hamstrings, abs

1. Pull-ups: 4-5 x 8-10
2. Dumbbell pullover across a bench: 4 x 10-15
3. Squat: 4 x 10
4. Romanian deadlift with a barbell or dumbbells: 4 x 10-12
5. Machine crunches: 4 x 20-30

FRIDAY: chest, biceps, abs

1. Dumbbell bench press: 4 x 12-15
2. Incline press on the Smith machine: 3-4 x 8-10
3. Seated “butterfly”: 2 x 12-20
4. Push-ups: 2 x 15-30
5. Standing barbell biceps curl: 4-5 x 10-15
6. Alternating seated dumbbell biceps curls on an incline bench: 3-4 x 10-12

SATURDAY: shoulders, triceps

1. Chest-supported bent-over dumbbell fly: 3-4 x 50-75
2. Seated dumbbell press: 4 x 6-10
3. Seated dumbbell lateral raise: 4 x 15-25
4. Dumbbell shrugs: 3-4 x 12-25
5. Neutral-grip lying triceps extensions on the floor: 4 x 6-10
6. Seated one-dumbbell triceps extension (two-handed, from behind the head): 3-4 x 10-15
7. Dips between benches: 2-3 x 12-20