2 Workouts a Week Is All You F***ing Need!

Summary

This video challenges the mainstream fitness industry's advice, advocating for working out only twice a week for better muscle growth without steroids. The speaker explains that non-steroid users need more recovery time, and training more often can hinder muscle development. The focus is on progressively increasing weight and reps for strength rather than excessive workout volume. The speaker emphasizes consistency, intensity, and proper recovery, promoting a balanced fitness approach that fits into an active lifestyle without dominating it.

Takeaways

• 💪 Working out more than twice a week is unnecessary for building an impressive physique unless you're using steroids.
• ⚠️ The fitness industry often misleads people into thinking they need to train more frequently to see results.
• 👊 This advice is not for bodybuilders or those using steroids, but for people who want an aesthetic body while balancing life outside the gym.
• 🧠 Muscle is built outside the gym during rest and recovery, not by working out every day.
• 🏋️ Two intense workouts per week can result in better muscle gains because they allow for full recovery between sessions.
• 🔥 The key to muscle growth is training intensity, not volume. Push sets to near failure to stimulate muscle growth effectively.
• 📈 Progressive overload is essential for muscle growth. Increase weight or reps when you hit the top end of your rep range.
• 🛑 Working out 4-6 times per week may not provide enough recovery time, slowing progress and muscle growth.
• ⏱️ Resting and recovering adequately between workouts allows the central nervous system to recover, promoting consistent strength gains.
• 🎯 Consistency is key: it's better to follow a long-term, sustainable workout plan than to push for intensity that can't be maintained.

Q & A

Why does the speaker believe working out more than twice a week is unnecessary?

The speaker argues that if you’re not taking steroids and don’t aim to be a bodybuilder, working out more than twice a week is counterproductive because it doesn’t allow sufficient recovery time, which is crucial for muscle growth.

What does the speaker think about the fitness industry?

The speaker is highly critical of the fitness industry, believing it spreads misinformation that leads people to overtrain and waste their time. They argue that most influencers are on steroids and give advice that isn't suitable for the average person.

How does the speaker approach progression in their workouts?

The speaker uses a progression method where they work within a rep range, such as 6 to 8 reps. Once they hit the top of the range, they increase the weight by 5 lbs and start at the bottom of the rep range again.

Why does the speaker prefer working out only twice a week?

The speaker prefers working out twice a week because it allows for full recovery between workouts, enabling them to train harder and make consistent progress without overtraining.

What does the speaker suggest is the key to muscle growth?

The speaker emphasizes that the key to muscle growth is tension, which is created by lifting heavy weights and progressively increasing the weight over time. They argue that strength progression, not workout frequency, drives muscle growth.

What role does rest and recovery play in the speaker’s workout philosophy?

Rest and recovery are central to the speaker’s philosophy, as they believe that muscle is built outside the gym when the body is resting. The speaker stresses the importance of having more recovery days than training days to maximize muscle growth.

How does the speaker view the relationship between workout volume and intensity?

The speaker argues that there is a trade-off between volume and intensity. If you train with high intensity, you can reduce the volume (number of sets and exercises) and still build muscle effectively. They believe that intense, low-volume training is more efficient.

Why does the speaker include neck curls in their routine?

The speaker includes neck curls to improve the aesthetic balance of their physique, arguing that a strong neck and traps complement the upper body. They also mention that strong neck muscles can help protect against injury, such as concussions.

What does the speaker mean by 'polarity training style'?

The 'polarity training style' refers to doing a top set with the heaviest weight you can lift in a given rep range, followed by a lighter 'back down' set after reducing the weight by 10-20%. This method helps balance heavy lifting with lighter, higher-rep work.

How does the speaker recommend handling workout plateaus or burnout?

The speaker recommends taking a week off every 2 to 3 months or rotating exercises to avoid burnout and stale routines. They believe that rest and variation are important for long-term progress.

Outlines

00:00

💪 Why Working Out More Than Twice a Week is Counterproductive

The speaker argues that working out more than twice a week is unnecessary and harmful for most people who don't use steroids or aim to become professional bodybuilders. Instead, the goal should be to build an impressive physique while balancing life outside the gym. The speaker himself follows this routine, working out twice a week, which he claims optimizes muscle growth and recovery without the extreme time commitment of gym rats or steroid users.

05:34

🏋️‍♂️ Progression is the Key to Muscle Growth

The speaker emphasizes that increasing weight and improving strength is essential for muscle growth. He explains his training method of working within specific rep ranges and progressively increasing weights. By hitting the upper limit of a rep range, he adds weight and drops reps, gradually working his way back up. This method of progression, combined with adequate recovery time, is what he believes builds a stronger physique over time.

10:36

🔥 Recovery Time Fuels Muscle Growth

The speaker stresses the importance of recovery for muscle growth. He asserts that most people work out too frequently, not allowing enough recovery time between workouts. According to him, muscle growth happens during recovery, not during the workouts themselves. Training only twice a week provides the necessary recovery time to build muscle faster and more effectively than working out 4-6 times a week.

Keywords

💡Steroids

Steroids are performance-enhancing drugs that accelerate muscle growth and recovery. In the video, the speaker contrasts natural training with steroid use, emphasizing that people who take steroids have 'superhuman recovery abilities' and can train more frequently without overtraining. The speaker also makes it clear that his philosophy is for natural lifters, not bodybuilders who use steroids.

💡Recovery

Recovery refers to the body's process of healing and rebuilding muscle tissues after a workout. The video argues that for natural lifters (those not using steroids), recovery time is essential for muscle growth. The speaker stresses that you need more rest days than training days to gain muscle, and without enough recovery time, the body won’t grow stronger.

💡Muscle growth

Muscle growth, also known as hypertrophy, is the increase in muscle size due to strength training. The speaker emphasizes that muscle is built outside the gym during recovery periods, not during the workout itself. Training twice a week is recommended to allow enough recovery for optimal muscle growth.

💡Twice-a-week workout

The twice-a-week workout is the central training philosophy of the video. The speaker explains that for people who are not bodybuilders or on steroids, working out more than twice a week can hinder muscle growth by not allowing sufficient recovery time. This approach is framed as more efficient and sustainable for the average person.

💡Training intensity

Training intensity refers to how hard a person pushes their muscles during a workout. The video stresses that training with high intensity (pushing sets close to failure) is more important than the volume of workouts. The speaker argues that high intensity, combined with adequate recovery, allows for better muscle growth than frequent, lower-intensity sessions.

💡Progressive overload

Progressive overload is the principle of gradually increasing the weight or resistance in a workout to challenge the muscles and stimulate growth. The speaker highlights that progression—such as adding weight to the bar once a certain rep range is achieved—is key to building muscle over time. This method ensures constant tension on the muscles, leading to growth.

💡Mainstream bodybuilding routines

Mainstream bodybuilding routines typically involve high-volume training with multiple sessions per week. The speaker criticizes these routines for being ineffective for people who are not taking steroids. He explains that when he followed such routines, he saw little progress, but experienced growth when he switched to training twice a week.

💡Fitness industry

The fitness industry, according to the speaker, is filled with misinformation and false promises. The video criticizes fitness influencers and bodybuilders who promote unsustainable routines that only work for people on steroids. The speaker views the industry as misleading the public into thinking more workouts equal more gains.

💡Polarity training style

Polarity training style is the speaker's preferred method of training, where one heavy set is performed in the 6-8 rep range followed by a lighter 'back down' set with less weight and higher reps. This style combines intensity with varied loads to stimulate muscle growth while allowing for recovery.

💡Neck curls

Neck curls are an exercise mentioned in the video to strengthen the neck and improve overall physique aesthetics. The speaker explains that a thicker neck enhances the proportional appearance of a muscular body and also has practical benefits like reducing the risk of injury in accidents.

Highlights

Working out more than twice a week can be counterproductive and doesn't maximize muscle growth.

The fitness industry promotes excessive workouts, which aren't necessary for muscle gain.

Steroid users can work out more frequently due to their superhuman recovery abilities, but non-steroid users don't benefit the same way.

Muscle growth occurs during rest and recovery, not in the gym, making fewer workouts more effective.

The speaker's philosophy is based on twice-a-week workouts, which helped build an impressive physique.

Progressive overload is key to muscle growth: adding weight to the bar once top rep ranges are reached.

Recovery between workouts is essential for natural muscle gain, and training less often can speed up muscle growth.

Consistency in adding reps or weight each workout helps achieve muscle growth over time.

Training intensely with fewer sets can replace the need for high volume workouts.

Neck training contributes to an aesthetic, proportional physique and provides protection against injuries like concussions.

Recovery of at least 48 hours is necessary for the central nervous system to fully recuperate after a hard workout.

Taking occasional breaks or deload weeks helps prevent burnout and physical strain, aiding long-term progress.

Twice-a-week workouts are more sustainable and enjoyable than six-times-a-week routines, promoting long-term consistency.

The speaker advocates for realistic fitness goals for people who don't want to live in the gym or take steroids.

The importance of training harder instead of more frequently is emphasized, focusing on intensity over quantity.

Transcripts

working out more than twice a week is

wasting your time and destroying your

chances of building an impressive

physique but it's not your fault the

fitness industry has [ __ ] lie to you

and in this video I'm going to tell you

why quick disclaimer if you're a

bodybuilder who wants to take steroids

and live in the gym this channel is not

for you but if you want to build an

aesthetic body without living in the gym

you're in the right place let's get

started I work out twice a week because

I'm not a [ __ ] bodybuilder I don't

take steroids and I don't care to be a

gym rat I want to have a great physique

while having a life outside of the gym I

want Fitness to enhance my life not

consume it besides when you're not

taking steroids working out less is

better for gaining muscle which I'll get

into later on so today we're heading

legs so I'm going to do squats Romanian

deadlifts and some neck curls we're

going to do two sets of each you

shouldn't work out more than twice a

week because you're not a [ __ ]

bodybuilder you don't take steroids you

don't get on stage and you don't make

your living off of your physique so why

the [ __ ] would you work out six times a

week and do endless exercise and sets so

I built my current physique working out

just twice a week with some occasional

periods of working out three times per

week and so a lot of people are like oh

Rio's full of [ __ ] he built his physique

training six times a week and now he's

just trying to sell me on twice a week

that's actually not the [ __ ] case you

can go you can go back and watch my

first videos and you'll see I was still

talking about this philosophy I was

still preaching twice a week workouts

because I actually never saw results

with my physique until I started working

out just twice a week the first year of

my training was spent doing mainstream

bodybuilding routines where I was

training five six times a week and I got

[ __ ] all results people think they need

to work out more than twice a week

because they listen to Fitness

influencers bodybuilders and celebrities

who are taking shitloads of steroids and

have the time to live in the gym when

you're taking steroids you have

superhuman recovery abilities that allow

you to recover fast and easily from

frequent workouts if you're not taking

steroids your body won't be able to grow

from six workouts a week so I'm about to

do 270 for hopefully around six reps on

this first set of barbell back squats

and so last week I got 26 5 for eight

reps and so I'm working in a 6 to8 rep

range and I hit the top end of the rep

range in this case eight with 265 and in

this workout I'm bumping It Up 5 lbs and

hopefully getting at least six reps so

that's the progression method that I use

we always work in a rep range whether

it's six to 8 or 8 to 10 and when we hit

the top end of the rep range we add 5

lbs and then drop to the bottom of the

rep range and then work our way back up

again and that done over time is what

Builds an insane physique

spe

so that's six reps so we hit the bottom

of the rep range so in the next workout

I'm going to try and add another rep and

then once I hit eight reps I'll add

another 5 lbs two workouts a week helps

you gain more muscle because muscle is

built outside of the gym when you're

resting and recovering you need more

rest days than training days each week

to gain muscle most people train too

often and do not give themselves enough

recovery time for their bodies to grow

bigger and stronger when you have so

many recovery days each week you gain

muscle faster since you're giving your

body the rest time it needs to grow I

think Fitness industry is [ __ ] up I

don't like the fitness industry I don't

like Fitness influencers I don't even

[ __ ] consider myself a fitness

influencer even though technically I do

you know influence people within Fitness

I just hate most people who teach

Fitness and what they stand for I

believe there's so much misinformation

and I think you know the people who are

supposedly helping people with Fitness

are actually hurting people's progress

and actually wasting their [ __ ] time

take a look around your gym and you'll

see countless people working out four to

six times a week with no gains and why

is that because there's no relationship

between the time you spend in the gym

and the muscle you build the duration

and quantity of your workouts are

[ __ ] irrelevant what matters is

progressing and getting stronger this is

what actually drives muscle growth when

you're not taking steroids so I'm going

for 245 for 8 to 10 reps so last week I

got 240 for 10 reps and so for this

second set I'm working in the 8 to 10

rep range I hit 10 the top end of the

rep range so therefore I add 5 lbs and

go up to 245 hopefully get at least

eight reps my favorite training style is

what I call the polarity training style

which is basically where you hit a top

set which is as heavy as you can go in

that sort of 6 to eight rep range and

then you rest 3 to 5 minutes take 10 to

20% of the weight off the bar and go for

a lighter back down set for a couple

more reps

oh

the reason why getting stronger is the

key to muscle growth is because the

primary driver of muscle growth is

tension you create tension by lifting

heavy weights that challenge you but at

some point the weights you're currently

lifting won't be challenging enough to

produce tension because your body will

adapt to them this is where adding

weight to the bar consistently comes

into play to keep muscle growth coming

you need to continue increasing tension

levels and the way you do that is by

increasing the weight you lift over time

I cannot stress this enough you could

spend hours and hours in the gym every

week but if you continue to lift the

same weights you'll continue to have the

same body how did that set feel [ __ ]

[ __ ] right now dealing with a bit of

tightness in my hip and so one thing I

talk about a lot is that every two to 3

months you want to take about a week off

right 7 to 10 days off of training

completely and so that's my sort of idea

of what a D Lo should be a lot of people

are like oh take a week take 50% of the

weight off the bar and just go for some

light reps I like to just take a full

week off and just do nothing um some of

the warning signs is like you start to

feel very tight you're not gaining as

much strength you start to have aches

and pains and so that's something that

I'm experiencing right now and I've been

training very consistently for the past

months and so my body's telling me that

I need a little bit of a break but

unfortunately I can't do that because I

need to keep the content coming so what

I might do is that squats are not

feeling great right now I've been

training squats consistently for like a

couple years at this point so what I

might do is I might rotate it start

doing some leg press instead just to

keep things fresh and switch it up a

little bit to achieve progression and

get stronger every week you need to be

fresh and recovered for every workout

training four to six times a week only

leaves you with three or fewer recovery

days each week which doesn't give you

enough time to recover between workouts

successful weight training is not about

going to the gym as many days as

possible it's about stringing together

many Progressive workouts over time in

our case this means adding a rep or a

little bit of weight to the bar in every

workout or every other workout this

small progress puts a lot of muscle on

you over time and you can only achieve

this consistent progress when you

emphasize your recovery so I'm going for

two 280 for 6 to8 reps so last week I

got 275 for actually nine reps and so I

added 5 lbs I'm going to try and get at

least six and hopefully set a little

personal record here

all right eight reps so that's almost

linear progress when you train twice a

week you feel completely fresh and

recovered for every workout which allows

you to get stronger every single week

but it also allows you to train harder

and thus stimulate more muscle growth

your central nervous system needs to be

fresh for you to train hard and your

central nervous system takes at least 48

hours to recover from a hard workout so

if you are training on consecutive days

you were not training hard enough and

thus not stimulating as much muscle

growth as you could so the key to being

able to train less and achieve more is

training intensity and so what training

intensity is means pushing your sets

hard it means needs pushing your sets

close to failure to where you have zero

reps left in the tank and so there's a

trade-off between volume which is the

amount of work you do and intensity

which is how hard you train and so if

you train really hard you can do a lot

less volume and still build muscle and

so in a way training intensity can

largely replace training volume or in

other words the harder you train the

less training you need to build muscle

if you want to build your dream physique

working out just twice a week pick up

the free minimalist muscle building

masterclass it's the first link in my

description so I'm going to be going for

250 for 8 to 10 reps on my back down set

and so last week I got 245 for 12 reps

so I actually went over the rep range

I'm shooting for and so I'm bumping It

Up 5 lbs hopefully I'm going to fall

within the 8 to 10 rep range

if you can't do it for life don't do it

for a day consistency beats intensity

any day of the week and most people with

the life outside of the gym can't stay

consistent with working out six times a

week you need to enjoy working out if

you're going to stick with it long term

and when you work out six times a week

it becomes a chore when you work out

twice a week you actually look forward

to your workouts and enjoy them your

results will come from the long-term

compounding effect of doing this

consistently so you must follow an

approach you can see yourself sticking

to for a long time so I'm about to do

two sets of 15 to 20 reps of neck curls

with 55 lb a lot of people think I'm a

[ __ ] weirdo for doing neck curls but

the joke's on you guys man because if

you ever see a guy who's like pretty

jacked and has a big chest big shoulders

big arms then just has like a skinny

neck it just throws off your physique

completely in order to have like a like

an aesthetic physique that actually

looks proportionate like you need to

have the size and the chest and the

shoulders but you also need to have the

size and like the traps in the neck so

if you think about it like when you're

talking to someone they're not going to

be like [ __ ] staring at your chest or

your abs right they're going to be

looking up here and so if you have a

jacked physique doesn't really matter

most people are going to be looking at

your your facial region and what they're

going to notice is your neck and your

traps and so it's actually funny I get

more remarks about my the thickness of

my neck than the [ __ ] size of my

biceps or the size of my chest right and

that's what most guys don't realize I

think it's weird to do neck curls but it

helps with the aesthetic of your

physique and it also helps with

protecting yourself from injury you get

punched you get into a car accident

reduces your chances of concussion or

brain damage by like 50% so it's all

around a net positive that's why lot

lots of Fighters do lots of neck work

oh man might have to bump it up to 65

soon man [ __ ] neck is getting strong

to summarize you shouldn't work out more

than twice a week because you're not a

bodybuilder you don't take steroids you

don't get on stage and you don't make

your living off of your physique two

workouts a week allows you to recover

between workouts allowing you to gain

muscle faster train harder and Achieve

consistent progress consistency beats

intensity any day of the week and it's

easy to stay consistent with two

workouts a week so I'm just going to be

replicating my performance going for 55

lb net curls for 15 to 20 reps

so how was the workout today pretty good

I actually made some progress on the

Romanian deadlifts and the squats

actually not a bad workout sometimes the

workouts that don't feel the best are

actually pretty good workouts on paper

in terms of the progress that you make

um and so not bad but definitely

starting to feel a little bit worn out

like I might need to do a little bit of

a break a little bit of a D Lo or

potentially rotate some of the exercises

in my routine becoming a little bit

stale but apart from that pretty good

perfect

perfect why are you so weird so I get

ready for filming brev you ready I don't

think I am they need to work out six

[ __ ] [ __ ] the words since you're

giving the B [ __ ] I almost had that

muscle growth as you could [ __ ] that is

a tongue twister holy dicks [ __ ] dense

dicks [ __ ] a sick dicks holy [ __ ]

dude there's [ __ ] bugs all over the

place [ __ ] dude the skers are [ __ ] they

love my neck [ __ ] [ __ ] kill these

[ __ ] man eating me [ __ ] bugs man

they a lot easier to perform without

these bugs telling you that much [ __ ]

[ __ ] me dude like [ __ ] bugs in my

ears like while I'm doing that holy [ __ ]

man working out six times a week There's

a [ __ ] bug in my

throat [ __ ] mosquito

God [ __ ] mosquitoes feel like they're

just going for you yeah cuz I'm [ __ ]

sexy [ __ ]

[ __ ] oh man okay okay