Examples of 2-day routine for people without time.

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It is very nice to read on social networks that there are no excuses and that if you want to achieve goals you cannot fail in the gym and all those motivating comments, but for most people there are moments in life that responsibilities are greater than the desire to train. Having children, that incredible job opportunity or other responsibilities that cannot – and should not – be taken lightly and in most cases means that we do not have time for more than a couple of weekly training sessions. That is why we propose some examples of a 2-day routine for those mothers and fathers who have little time but who want to continue to stay healthy and strong.

Although to progress in strength or hypertrophy doing 4-6 weekly sessions varying the volume per session is surely optimal, that does not mean that we cannot progress by training two days a week as indicated by this study. That is why we should not get discouraged but try to optimize these two weekly sessions that we have and adjust our expectations.

That is why in this article we propose 5 ways to divide the weekly work into two sessions according to different parameters. The material is not too important either, depending on your options and preferences there is no problem in using bars, dumbbells or body weight while executing the movement pattern. We also offer some options for each pattern. If you have a little more time and can do 3 weekly sessions, we recommend a 3-day Fullbody routine.

2-day routine: Anterior Chain – Posterior Chain

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Day 1: Previous Chain

a) 4×8 – Horizontal Pectoral Press (Bench Press with Bar or Dumbbells, Weighted Push-ups…)
b) 4×8 – Squat (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
c) 4×10 – Vertical Shoulder Press (Military Press with Bar or Dumbbells, assisted handstand push-ups…)
d) 4×12 – Stride (With Barbell or Dumbbell, adding instability…)
e) 4×12 – Curl Biceps (With bar or hand, preacher, concentrate, on polea…)
f) 4×15 – Lateral Raises (With dumbbell, kettlebell, pulley…)

Day 2: Posterior Chain

a) 4×8 – Deadlift (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
b) 4×8 – Vertical Pull (Pull-ups, Pulley Pulldown…)
c) 4×10 – Back Horizontal Pull (Pendlay Row, Pulley…)
d) 4×12 – Hip Push (Hip Thrust, Gluteal Bridges…)
e) 4×12 – Triceps Extension (French Press, Cable Extensions…)
f) 4×15 – Rear Shoulder Horizontal Pull (Facepull with Cable, with Dumbbells…)

2 day routine: Torso – Leg

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Day 1: Torso

a) 4×8 – Horizontal Pectoral Press (Bench Press with Bar or Dumbbells, Weighted Push-ups…)
b) 4×10 – Vertical Shoulder Press (Military Press with Bar or Dumbbells, assisted handstand push-ups…)
c) 4×8 – Vertical Pull (Pull-ups, Pulley Pulldown…)
d) 4×10 – Back Horizontal Pull (Pendlay Row, Pulley…)
e) 4×12 – Curl Biceps (With bar or hand, preacher, concentrate, on polea…)
f) 4×12 – Triceps Extension (French Press, Cable Extensions…)

Day 2: Leg

a) 4×8 – Squat (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
b) 4×12 – Stride (With Barbell or Dumbbell, adding instability…)
c) 4×8 – Deadlift (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
d) 4×10 – Hip Thrust (Hip Thrust, Gluteal Bridges…)
e) 4×12 – Quadriceps Extension (Machine Extension, Sissy Squat…)
f) 4×12 – Femoral Curl (Machine Curl, Nordic Curl…)

2-day routine: Pull – Push

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Day 1 – Push

a) 4×8 – Horizontal Pectoral Press (Bench Press with Bar or Dumbbells, Weighted Push-ups…)
b) 4×10 – Vertical Shoulder Press (Military Press with Bar or Dumbbells, assisted handstand push-ups…)
c) 4×8 – Squat (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
d) 4×10 – Hip Thrust (Hip Thrust, Gluteal Bridges…)
e) 4×12 – Triceps Extension (French Press, Cable Extensions…)
f) 4×12 – Quadriceps Extension (Machine Extension, Sissy Squat…)

Day 2 – Pull

a) 4×8 – Deadlift (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
b) 4×12 – Stride (With Barbell or Dumbbell, adding instability…)
c) 4×8 – Vertical Pull (Pull-ups, Pulley Pulldown…)
d) 4×10 – Back Horizontal Pull (Pendlay Row, Pulley…)
e) 4×12 Femoral Curl (Machine Curl, Nordic Curl…)
f) 4×12 – Biceps Curl (With barbell or dumbbell, preacher, concentrate, cable…)

2-Day Workout: Fullbody

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Day 1: Fullbody A

a) 4×8 – Squat (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
b) 4×8 – Horizontal Pectoral Press (Bench Press with Bar or Dumbbells, Weighted Push-ups…)
c) 4×10 – Back Horizontal Pull (Pendlay Row, Pulley…)
d) 4×12 – Stride (With Barbell or Dumbbell, adding instability…)
e) 4×12 – Triceps Extension (French Press, Cable Extensions…)
f) 4×15 – Lateral Raises (With dumbbell, kettlebell, pulley…)

Day 2: Fullbody B

a) 4×8 – Vertical Pull (Pull-ups, Pulley Pulldown…)
b) 4×8 – Deadlift (With Barbell or Dumbbell, Unilateral…)
c) 4×10 – Vertical Shoulder Press (Military Press with Bar or Dumbbells, assisted handstand push-ups…)
d) 4×10 – Hip Thrust (Hip Thrust, Gluteal Bridges…)
e) 4×12 – Curl Biceps (With bar or hand, preacher, concentrate, on polea…)
f) 4×15 – Rear Shoulder Horizontal Pull (Facepull with Cable, with Dumbbells…)

What are we looking for in these 2-day routine?

Get the most out of each workout, having few sessions available, each of them should affect the largest part of the body in the most effective way possible. This is achieved with multi-joint exercises and focusing on movement patterns rather than the exercise itself. Working in supersets is also a very interesting option for people with even less time, in which case we recommend antagonistic supersets doing the 2-day Torso – Leg or Fullbody routine.

The antagonistic movement patterns are as follows:

1) Horizontal Press – Horizontal Pull
2) Vertical Press – Vertical Pull
3) Biceps Curl – Triceps Extension
4) Squat – Hip Thrust
5) Deadlift – Lunge
6) Quadriceps Extension – Leg Curl
7) Lateral Raises – Rear Shoulder Pull

Complement this 2-day routine.

It may be the case that we only have time to go to the gym the time we need only 2 times a week, but that we also have some “breaks” throughout the week in which we can do a quick routine of 15-20 minutes, which we can take advantage of to do a quick routine in intervals. The routine that we propose lasts a total of 15 minutes, divided into 3 rounds of 5 exercises in which we work for 40 seconds and rest for 20.

Exercise 1: Jumping Jacks or Comba
Ejercicio 2: Mountain Climbers
Exercise 3: Squat or Jump Lunge
Exercise 4: Abdominal Plank
Exercise 5: Push-ups

Three rounds of these exercises with the breaks mentioned above are a great addition to any of our 2-day routines and will keep you reasonably fit. We must not forget that a large part of our physical condition does not come so much from training but from a good diet that adapts to our energy needs and is healthy.

conclusions

Life takes many turns and we can’t always go to the gym 5 days a week. In these cases we have to adapt to our new situation and try to get the most out of each training session, taking advantage of the fact that we have more rest days between sessions, each of which must be more intense to maximize our progress. Even if it’s not optimal, you shouldn’t get discouraged and stop training, since that will mean that we don’t progress and also lose what we’ve gained.

Good luck and see you at Fitenium!