T Nation

Strength Training Twice a Week?

Beginners
#1

Hey, I’m a Norwegian that’s been hanging around these forums for a while and now decided to ask you infinitely wise-in-the-ways-of-training guys for some help.

The problem is as follows. I train football(the European type, which I flat out refuse to refer to as soccer) 4 times a week plus one match, bringing the total up to 5 sessions a week 9 months out of the year. In addition to this, I also do some strengthtraining. My question is how to most effectively combine these forms of exercise to achieve improved strength?

Personally, I am thinking of doing two fullbody strength-sessions a week. This will hopefully allow my body to rest a bit more and get stronger. The sessions would then basically consist of deadlifts, squats, chins, standing rows, bench press and dips/ skullcrushers.

Now, does this sound like a good idea? What I’m looking for is basically a program which allows me to increase strengthwise even while I train endurance-related 4-5 times week. I don’t really care whether or not I gain much mass during training, it is simply
strength I am looking for.

Kind regards,
Grabben

#2

[quote]Grabben wrote:
My question is how to most effectively combine these forms of exercise to achieve improved strength?

Personally, I am thinking of doing two fullbody strength-sessions a week. This will hopefully allow my body to rest a bit more and get stronger.[/quote]
Bingo was his name-o. If you’re limited on resources (times, recovery ability, etc.), full body training will be the way to go.

Ideally, you’d do the weight training on the same days as two of the practices, several hours before or after. That would give you two or three full days to rest.

Fine enough, but the skullcrushers are a gift. A basic guideline would have each day with a horizontal pull, vertical pull, horizontal push, vertical push, quad-dominant lower body (some kind of squat), hip-dominant lower body (some kind of deadlift), and not necessarily in that order.

I’d also alternate the lower body movements with a unilateral exercise each week. Something like lunges one week, one-leg deadlifts next week, etc. Unilateral movements are great for sports, as well as helping to deload the spine so you don’t get wiped out squatting and deadlifting on the same day twice a week.