I have a confession to make: I don’t really like being in the gym. That’s right, despite the
constant attention from the many vixens there and my love for the iron game, I just can’t
wait to get out of there! That’s why I personally love to train twice a day. Wait a minute,
you just said that you hated being in the gym, then why train two times in one day? Well,
using twice-a-day workouts allow me to use very short sessions each time. I prefer to do
the same amount of work (or only slightly more) in two short sessions than in one big
workout. There are several advantages to this:
1. It’s harder to loose motivation, being in the gym for only 25-30 minutes doesn’t give
you time to get bored!
2. Your overall work quality is much higher. By splitting your workload in two daily
sessions you are fresher for the second half of the workout, which means greater gains.
3. You burn more calories. A recent study by Almuzaini et al. (1998) found that when the
same volume of work is divided into two sessions, the total amount of calories burned is
greater (mostly due to a higher, more sustained post-exercise oxygen consumption). So
for individuals wanting to gain a lot of muscle, this will make it possible to eat more good
food without gaining as much fat. And for individuals looking to get ripped, well, the
advantage is self-evident!
4. When you perform the same amount of work divided into two sessions you can recover
faster from the workload and thus progress at a more rapid pace.
5. Fast-twitch individuals and peoples with an efficient nervous system seem to respond
much better to split training than to one, longer session.
6. You can see twice as many vixens in the same day!
Now, twice-a-day sessions seem to be the Holy Grail and in some sense it can be.
However it’s easy to abuse such a method. Many peoples will make the mistake of
actually doubling their workload, doing two big sessions instead of two small ones. This
is one of the fastest ways to stagnation. When doing twice-a-day sessions the first
workout should be no longer than 30-40 minutes and the second one between 20 and 30
minutes in length.
Another classic mistake is to work on the same physiological facet in both sessions. To
make the most out of twice-a-day sessions you should vary the type of demand you place
on your body. I found that having a functional emphasis in the morning session and a
structural emphasis in the evening session to be the best way to train.
A final mistake that peoples make is to work different body parts on each of the two
sessions of a same day. This is a mistake. All it does is actually reduce the recovery time
that each muscle group receives (each muscle’s turn comes back faster). Furthermore,
since you only use a very low volume of work at each session, doing different body parts
on each session will actually reduce the training effect.
So how can I make it work for me?
If you respect the following guidelines you should benefit greatly from twice-a-day
sessions, if you do not respect them, well, train at your own peril! :
1. Train for no more than 30-40 minutes in the first session and no more than 20-30
minutes in the second.
2. Train the same muscle in both daily sessions.
3. Include more functional-oriented training in the first session of the day. This means
heavier weights, more acceleration or more complex exercises.
4. Include more structural-oriented training in the second session of the day. This means
more volume, less weight and a slower tempo.
5. Use a good post-workout drink after every session. The best product available is Surge
for this purpose.
6. Train each muscle only once a week. You can pair muscles groups and train 4 days per
week or only work one muscle per day and train 6 days per week.
A sample program
This is an example on how you can structure twice-a-day training for maximum muscle
mass gains. This routine will be effective for 4 weeks, after which you should change the
exercises around.
Day 1: Upper back
AM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Weightedchin-ups 5 5 20X 90 sec.
Barbellrowing 5 5 201 120 sec.
Seatedrowing 4 8 201 90 sec.
PM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
1-armdumbbell rowing 3 12 302 60 sec.
Pullover 3 15 302 90 sec.
Incline rear delt raise 3 15 302 90 sec.
Day 2: Chest
AM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Bench press 5 5 201 120 sec.
Low incline dumbbell press 5 5 201 90 sec.
Weighted dips 4 8 201 90 sec.
PM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Flat dumbbel lflies 3 12 301 60 sec.
Low incline dumbbell flies 3 15 301 90 sec.
Machine chest press 3 15 301 90 sec.
Day 3: Legs
AM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Power clean from blocks 5 5 Explosive 120 sec.
Full back squat 5 5 201 120 sec.
Romanian deadlift 4 8 201 120 sec.
PM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
1-leg back extension 3 12 301 60 sec.
Lunges 3 15 301 90 sec.
Leg curl 3 15 301 90 sec.
Day 4: Biceps
AM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Preacher curl 5 5 201 90 sec.
Hammer curl 5 5 201 90 sec.
Cable curl 4 8 201 90 sec.
PM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Zottman curl 3 12 301 60 sec.
Dumbbell curl 3 15 301 60 sec.
Machine preacher curl 3 15 301 60 sec.
Day 5: Shoulders
AM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Push press 5 5 Explosive 120 sec.
Bent press 5 5 201 120 sec.
Dumbbell shoulder
press 4 8 201 90 sec.
PM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
Incline lateral raise 3 12 301 60 sec.
1 arm lateral raise 3 15 301 60 sec.
Cable front raise 3 15 301 90 sec.
Day 6: Triceps
AM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
JM press 5 5 201 90 sec.
Close grip bench press 5 5 201 120 sec.
½ dips 4 8 201 90 sec.
PM workout
Exercises Sets Reps Tempo Rest interval
V-bar cable pressdown 3 12 301 60 sec.
1 arm cable pressdown 3 12 301 60 sec.
Overhead cable triceps extension 3 15 301 60 sec.
This is a schedule suited for individuals who obviously have a lot of time to train. It looks
like a lot of work, and in a sense it is. However each muscle group will have 7 days to
recover so you can progress, and progress very well on this schedule.
If you only want to train 3-4 days per week you can couple some muscles together, as
long as you stay within the duration guideline.
Conclusion on twice a day workouts
Twice-a-day workouts are an advanced technique and it is not for everybody. But if done
properly it is very effective and will allow you to gain a lot of muscle mass while staying
leaner. If you want to try this technique I suggest that you start with a 4-weeks test drive
to see how your body handles it. From there you can decide if you can thrive on this
method. From experience, individuals with a short temper and a boiling character do very
well on this method while more “stable”, calmer individuals benefit a bit less from twicea-
day workouts. But if it suits you, it will help you reach an important level of muscular
development much faster than you thought possible.
Chrstian Thibaudeau- Black Book of Training Secrets
