The Two Exercise Program

I have, for a long time now, been a proponent of one-exercise-per-bodypart routines. I think this kind of training is effective for building muscle, building strength, or just getting in great strength.

Bodybuilders of old would use this form of training in the off-season, where they would train one (or at the most, two) exercises for each of their muscle groups. In general, most "old-timers" thought this was the best form of training for growing muscle, not to mention becoming bigger, stronger, thicker lifters. It wasn't until a couple of months from a contest that they would switch over to a multi-angular approach. They (rightfully, I might add) believed that multi-angular training splits were best done for "shaping" and "detailing" the muscles, but NOT for building big muscles in the first place.

Not only, however, is it good to limit the number of exercises performed for each bodypart, but it's also wise to limit the number of exercises per workout.

Enter the "Two Exercise Program."

This program is great for building muscle mass. If you used this program for the majority of the training for the rest of your life, then you would end up with a lifetime of great workouts, and plenty of good training experience.

Don't worry, there's also plenty of variety inherently built into this program.

First, I'm going to outline this program's parameters, then I'll give you an example of an actual training program. Here's the parameters:

1. Use only two exercises at each workout.

2. Pick exercises that use a lot of muscle groups at one time.

3. Use a (fairly) high amount of volume for each muscle group.

4. For the most part, alternate exercises from workout to workout.

5. For the most part, alternate set/rep ranges from workout to workout.

6. Train 3 days per week.

Here's what an example program (one week of training) might look like:

Monday:

squats: 100 reps using the 2, 3, 5, 10 workout plan

dumbbell bench presses: 100 reps using the 2, 3, 5, 10 workout plan

Wednesday:

snatch-grip deadlifts: 10 sets of 3 reps

barbell curls: 10 sets of 3 reps

Friday:

dips: 5 sets of 5 reps

chins: 5 sets of 5 reps

Above all, have fun and be innovative with this program. It looks simple, but it's also highly rewarding.

Marvin Eder’s Mass-Building Methods

The Many and Varied Mass-Building Methods of Power Bodybuilding’s G.O.A.T. Eder as he appeared in my article "Full Body Workouts" for IronMan magazine. In many ways, the essay you are now reading is the one that has had the “longest time coming.” I have no clue why it has taken me this long to write an article specifically on Marvin Eder, especially considering the fact that I have long considered him the greatest bodybuilder cum strength athlete of all friggin’ time . In fact, over 20 years ago, I wrote this in the pages of IronMan magazine: In my opinion, the greatest all-around bodybuilder, powerlifter and strength athlete ever to walk the planet, Eder had 19-inch arms at a bodyweight of 198. He could bench 510, squat 550 for 10 reps and do a barbell press with 365. He was reported to have achieved the amazing feat of cranking out 1,000 dips in only 17 minutes. Imagine doing a dip a second for 17 minutes. As Gene Mozee once put ...

Roll of the Dice: Planned Variety for Size and Strength

A Unique Training Idea for Renewed Size and Strength Gains (Plus a Little Fun) To make consistent gains in size and strength, you need two vital components. You need to actually be on a training program but you also need one that has enough variety for continued progress. I’ve always believed that this is the reason training programs, even though they might be diversely different, such as Westside Barbell and Bill Starr ’s heavy-light-medium program work so well. They have a template that never changes—you can stick with that template for years on end—but one with a lot of variety inherently “built” into its system. Many of your average gym-goers train the exact same way all the time. When they train their chest, it’s always flat bench presses for 3 sets of 10 reps or maybe 5x5 if they’re interested in more strength, or whatever it is. It’s pretty much the same thing for all of their other muscl...

Basic Training Advice for Full-Body Workouts

Some Thoughts on Programming Design and Proper Technique for Learning the Major Lifts Advice for Beginners or Those New to Full-Body Workouts or Serious Strength Training Although I have covered the material below in various articles and essays, I wrote the following based on a couple of emails from new lifters that I have received the last few weeks. If you’re new to full-body workouts or need to get “back to the basics” then pay attention! When it comes to utilizing full-body workouts, I generally suggest using around 5 “big” compound lifts. If you’re trying to pack on a lot of muscle—yes, this goes for any aspiring young bodybuilders who might actually be reading this instead of scrolling through mindlessly stupid Tik Tok shorts or YouTube videos that spit out the same information ad nauseam—then this is the route you want to take. Whole body training isn’t just for strength training or for athletes, tho...

C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Search This Blog