Module 38: Incredible Results With Just 2 Exercises?
Last week I handed you a workout plan that requires only 4 exercises. I explained that most people will actually see better results by doing fewer exercises and more overall work on a handful of basic exercises.
A few of you have already wrote in after trying the program and saying that you're seeing good results right out of the gate. (Which is awesome, love the feedback.)
But today I want to push things even further. Can you really get results with only 2 exercises? Yes. Here's the plan:
You'll pick 2 exercises. Ideally compound exercises. Traditionally this program has been done with deadlifts and overhead barbell press but you can choose any 2 exercises.
For this program, you need to measure your 5-rep max on the exercises you're going to do. So for example if you can deadlift 405 pounds for 5 reps, but not 6 reps... then 405lbs is your 5 rep max or 5RM.
On a normal training day you'll warm-up and do all your warm up sets and then perform your first work set. Your first work set will be 5 reps with 75% of your 5 rep max. So in the previous example, your 5 rep max was 405lbs, so you'd take 75% (roughly 305lbs) and perform 5 reps.
Rest for 2 minutes, drop the weight by 10% and do another set of 5 reps. (So in this case we'd be using around 275lbs.)
Rest for another 2 minutes, drop the weight by 10% and do another set of 5 reps. (So in this case we'd be using roughly 250lbs.) Now you shorten the rest to 90 seconds and you keep doing sets of 5 with the same weight until you can no longer get 5 reps.
You might do 5 sets at this weight, or you might do 20 sets, all depends how the day goes.
So in this example, you'd do something like this:
(5 minute cardio warm-up)
Deadlift
135 pounds x 10 reps (warm-up)
225 pounds x 5 reps (warm-up)
275 pounds x 3 reps (warm-up)
305 pounds x 5 reps (work set #1)
275 pounds x 5 reps (work sets #2, 10% less)
250 pounds x 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,4 (back off sets, 10% less, as many sets as possible until you fail to achieve 5 reps.)
Then you're done for the day with your first exercise. You'd then repeat the format again for your 2nd exercise (something for the upper body.)
Day Per Week:
There are two different structures that work well for this type of set up.
3 Days Per Week (Monday, Wed, Friday): This is the traditional set-up. You'll perform both exercises on each training day, with one day of rest in between workouts and then weekends off.
Or...
4 Days Per Week (Monday, Tue, Thur, Friday): An alternative format is to just do one exercise per training day but add an additional training day per week. With this format you would do lower body exercise on Monday, upper body exercise on Tuesday, Wed is an off day, then Thursday is a repeat of Monday and Friday is a repeat of Friday.
This structure works better for people who want shorter workouts.
Try this routine for 6-8 weeks and then retest your 5 rep max. Gains of 20-50 pounds on your 5 reps max (plus an appreciable gain in muscle mass as well) are not uncommon.
Matt Marshall, certified personal trainer and founder of Fitness Under Oath
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