In all seriousness i have never been able to combine both lifting and running in a satisfying way. Few years back I did 5 reps a 2xbw deadlift, but at the same time a 5k run was a struggle for life. Today i can run a half marathon quite effortless under 1h40min, but can barley do a good rep deadlift at 1,5 bw.
This is just piss poor programming and a lack of consistensy.
2x2x2 seems to do a good Job of balancing, lifting, cardio, mobility and life. Do we have anyone here who is on it?
Been doing 2x2x2 from 531 beyond book, As i hit 40yo last year & because i wanted the conditioning & mobility in my training. I was worried at first about losing muscle & strength because i usally train 3 to 4 days a week & thought the 2 day a week was not enougth. I was wrong!!! Jim knows what his talking about, so i just went and done it… it’s great i have not lost any strength at all, my conditioning is way better (important as we get older) & i feel more lose with the mobilty work i do agile 8…like a day off the mobilty day. Plus i get more time to my self, i love to train but there is more things in life to do than just train. I do add so chins at the end of the lower body day & some push ups at the end of the upper body day just to add som fluff dont effect my recovery at all… Try it see if it works for you its a good balance of every think. Hope that helps
At 44, I do 2x2x2 frequently (always over the summers in AZ) but stretch the routine to 6 weeks, so whatever movement is 5/3/1 gets the supplemental work and the accessories that week (I do shrugs and curls every other week, for instance), easier on my joints and I can condition without sacrifice, i.e. run on the upper 5/3/1 weeks, and do low impact machines on the squat/dl 5/3/1 weeks (depending on my joints).
Week 1:
Bench- 5/3/1; Squat - 5x5@80%
Press - 5/3/1; DL - 5x5@80%
Week 2-reverse above:
Bench/Squat - 5x5@80%,5/3/1
Press/DL -5x5@80%,5/3/1
I don’t follow 2x2x2 exactly because I train for track and field, but I lift twice a week and use 6-week cycles. I love it. I’m fresh when I lift, fresh when I sprint, and fresh when I throw.
@Tepford are you doing upper/ lower splits or the bench/squat and press/dl format when you train for track?
I’m 48 years old; I’ve been using 2x2x2 for a couple years now. It’s great for recovery for me. I do the following:
A
Sq 531 / 3x5 FSL with SS Bar
Bench 531/ 3x5 FSL
Accessory: Pullips - 40 total reps
B
Deadlift 531 / 3x3 FSL
Pres 531 / 3x5 FSL
Accessory: inverted rows and ab wheel - 40 total reps.
I keep the volume and accessory as low as possible due to recovery issues. The older I get, I’m experiencing more joint, lower back and forearm pain. This programming is great for strength, recovery and even body composition.
I notice many are doing squat/bench and deadlift /press. Does anyone do lower body Monday and upper body Thursday? If so what does it look like?
I am 57 and thinking about going in that direction.
Great stuff in here and the 2x2x2 is much more common that thought it would be!
The one thing that points out is that some of you are doing two full body days (squat/bench, deadlift/ohp) instead of Jims original upper / lower split. Is there a specific reason for this? In the beyond book there is this “new 2-day template” that uses two big movements at the same day, still separating upper and lower, but with lower intensities and volume.
What do you gyus do on your cardio days?
Upper/lower during the school season (I coach also) because I lift on Saturday morning and Sunday night. That’s more so I can get track work in during the week and still have recovery days.
I choose the Squat/Bench and DL//Press option or 3 day full body during my offseason when my running volume plummets.
I used to do lower lower body in day one and upper on day two. I just started doing full body on both days. I just feel full body incorporates conditioning because of the full body programming.
I think you can get equally strong on both.
For cardio I walk two miles with a 70lb weight vest twice a week.
What I did-
I wanted to do squat and deads in the same day as well as both pressing movements. I simply reset real low to the point were I knew I could hit 10-12 reps on both lifts in the same day. It was probably like 70-75% of my max. Assistance (in general) is good for both squat and deads unless you are competitive and looking for targeted improvements)
In summary- just reset low enough that you CAN do both in the same workout.
What I never understood with questions like this is that why no-one ever mentions that when working with 5-3-1 and using either the PR set exclusively OR jokers, the tm is irrelevant since you can always work higher with the jokers or more reps with the last set.
Just set the TM low, do em both in the same workout- and start hitting PRs and improving from week to week. You’ll soon catch up to where you are now and find you are in much better shape