2-a-Days= 8 Week Success Story Part 3

Setting up a plan that is right for you:

Evaluation:
Before even thinking about starting a 2-a-day program, you should evaluate your fitness level. If you have been sitting on the couch the past year drinking sodas and eating moon pies then starting out hardcore might just send you to the hospital and definitely never back to the gym.

How do I evaluate my fitness level?
The best way I can think of is to go to a gym and determine your one rep maxes and endurance levels. A one-rep max is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for one rep for any lift. After that, determine your endurance levels by choosing a weight you can do 10 times without going into cardiac arrest--- j/k (without overstraining).

Knowing these should give you a ballpark estimate for how to set up rep schemes and what weight to use.

Starting Out:
Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, take baby steps. Set realistic goals, take before photos, and determine the duration of your 2-a-days ( I recommend between 8-12 weeks to really see improvement.) If you are not a fitness buff, hit the gym slow. Maybe do two main exercises/per body part with lighter weight until your muscles adapt to the training. [If you haven't been training don't think that you can initially Superman it in the gym--- you will be extremely sore if you do. Muscle soreness isn't a good excuse to call in for work!]

Start out with two- 35 minute workouts and gradually increase exercises until your workouts are about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 mins. Never exceed these times.

Accepting Setbacks:
Let's face it--- some days you will be tired, sick, or busy and won't be able to do a two-a-day. This is completely fine. Either make it up on another day or squeeze it in with another lift day-- just don't ever work the same muscle groups on consecutive days. Recognize when your body is telling you to rest and do so--- lack of energy, no-desire to go to the gym, extreme continuous muscle soreness.

Personalization:
Before starting two-a-days, look at your schedule to see if you can even fulfill the time demands. --Once in the morning before work, once in the afternoon after work.

Decide how much time you actually have to give-- One hour (2 x 30 mins); Two hours (2 x 1 hour).

Decide how many days per week is actually possible to lift--- (strive for at least 4, but 3 can be achievable if modified).

The key to 2-a-days is to plan ahead and stick to a REALISTIC SCHEDULE!! Don't plan for 6 days, 1.5 hour workouts if you know you can't achieve it. You will set yourself up for failure and quit the plan.

Try to hit each muscle group at least 2 times per week --- 3 for serious lifters.

Look back at my earlier 2-a-day post to see how I separated the muscle groups.

Performing:

Strive to get in and out of the gym as fast as possible. Which means work fast and efficient. Don't waste time talking about pointless things. Put on your ipod and stick to the plan. This will become habit and build up your endurance the faster you move from lift to lift. Try supersetting lifts. For example-- 1 set of bench press with 1 set of push-ups, etc.

Motivation:
8-12 weeks is a long time to be hitting the gym twice a day. Reward yourself with days off, take pictures and compare them with the before pics. Hang a picture of what you want your body to be at the end and look at it everyday or pin-up a picture of what you were--- to see how far you have come and where you don't want to go back to. There are many ways to motivate-- just be sure to do so or you will become tired and quit the plan.

Closing Thoughts:
Remember, 2-a-days are not for everyone. They take discipline, desire, and motivation to make it through. Everyone will achieve gains differently, but the main part to take away is that you will achieve what you are willing to work to achieve. Be smart, train smart, and REMEMBER to eat a healthy nutritious diet.... otherwise you won't maximize your results. Do keep in mind that you are working out more and will require more calories for energy. Just don't overdo it!


I'm out--