Optimal training volume?

[NCfitnessgirl]

I am changing up my plan to include more high-intensity cardio like sprinting, bleacher running and hill training. I plan on doing 2 days of full body, heavy weight work, mostly just to maintain muscle mass. I'd like to make sure I hit every major muscle so I don't fall behind in any area.

I would like both full body days to be heavy, so somewhere around 6 reps per set. For each workout, I'd like to do around 5 - 6 exercises: 2 for legs, 1 or 2 for chest and 1 or 2 for back. Since I'll only be doing weights 2 days per week, I think I can probably go a little heavy, volume-wise, and not have to worry too much about overtraining.

What would be the best rep/set scheme to use for this kind of plan?

[quickie]

I would do something like the following with 2-3 sets of 5-8. You could do sets of 10-12 for the fluff stuff.

Day 1
Squat
Leg curl
Flat bench
Row
+
whatever fluff stuff (arms or calves)

Day 2
CDL
Leg Press
Incline Bench or Shoulder Press
Lat Pulldown
+
whatever fluff stuff (arms or calves)

[carebearstitch]

I would do something like the following with 2-3 sets of 5-8. You could do sets of 10-12 for the fluff stuff.

Day 1
Squat
Leg curl
Flat bench
Row
+
whatever fluff stuff (arms or calves)

Day 2
CDL
Leg Press
Incline Bench or Shoulder Press
Lat Pulldown
+
whatever fluff stuff (arms or calves)

Can you please list the exercises that go in the fluff category?

[quickie]

Can you please list the exercises that go in the fluff category?

Anything for arms/calves really...

curls and their variations
pushdowns, overhead extensions, skullcrushers
seated calves, standing calves, calves on the leg press

[Espi]

Relative to your own capacity to do X sets, it mostly depends on whether you're on a deficit or caloric surplus whether you can handle a high volume or not.
I've done 30-40 sets /WO in the past on high reps but have gone down towards 20-30ish sets with 15-20 'hard-core' sets (squats, DL, rows, chins, db presses) and about 10 'fluff' sets (RC-work, abs, arms, stability). This is what I do 3-4 times/week.
I'd imagine that if I'd train twice a week I could up that a bit.

Q: is this excluding warmup sets? If I'd only train twice, I'd need more WU-sets! The heavier I go, the more total sets I'd also need to do. Like 6 sets DL for 4-6 reps. When I go down towards that amt of reps, I drop all but the most vital 'fluff' exercises (RC-work & abs stay).

[NCfitnessgirl]

I would do something like the following with 2-3 sets of 5-8. You could do sets of 10-12 for the fluff stuff.

Day 1
Squat
Leg curl
Flat bench
Row
+
whatever fluff stuff (arms or calves)

Day 2
CDL
Leg Press
Incline Bench or Shoulder Press
Lat Pulldown
+
whatever fluff stuff (arms or calves)


Awesome! Thanks Quickie!

[quickie]

Q: is this excluding warmup sets? If I'd only train twice, I'd need more WU-sets! The heavier I go, the more total sets I'd also need to do. Like 6 sets DL for 4-6 reps. When I go down towards that amt of reps, I drop all but the most vital 'fluff' exercises (RC-work & abs stay).

It's not including warmups.

You could do what you said too. It's just a basic routine.