More frequency.... less volume!

NSW

New member
Amazing what this simple change has done for some of my lifts.

Used to be a big believer in the traditional "bodybuilding 5-day split".... but since I've started my cycle I've gone to an Upper/Lower program that has me hitting each body part at LEAST twice a week (sometimes 3 times)... and cut down on my volume. No more 5 or 6 exercises with 5 or sets for each body part.

Just thought I'd share in the event that someone else is fighting to bust through a plateau the same way that I was.
 
Can you expand on this please? Does this mean you're doing something like:

Monday: Bench press/Military press/Dips/Tricep pull-downs/Hammer curls
Tuesday: Squats/Calf raises/leg raises/Seated rows
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: Incline press/Lateral and Front raises/Lat pull-downs/Preacher curls
Friday: Deadlifts/Leg press/Lunges/Sit-ups
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: Flies/Upright rows/Leg extensions/Leg curls

Something like that? Or are you doing something else? Always interested in what others find to be a new way to attack plateaus. :)
 
Can you expand on this please? Does this mean you're doing something like:

Monday: Bench press/Military press/Dips/Tricep pull-downs/Hammer curls
Tuesday: Squats/Calf raises/leg raises/Seated rows
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: Incline press/Lateral and Front raises/Lat pull-downs/Preacher curls
Friday: Deadlifts/Leg press/Lunges/Sit-ups
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: Flies/Upright rows/Leg extensions/Leg curls

Something like that? Or are you doing something else? Always interested in what others find to be a new way to attack plateaus. :)

Frequency, intensity, volume, fatigue, recovery, etc are all factors that can be manipulated to create an effective program.

That's one way to pull off an upper/lower program. The options here are almost unlimited in how to set it up but I'd caution over exercise selection. Keep the main lifts barbell compound lifts (you can use dumbells and dumbells will actually be superior to barbells BUT only up to a point, when that point is crossed you'd have revert back to barbells). You laid it out correctly but putting big compound lifts first: squats, deads, bench, incline press (although I'd pick bench OR incline and the other use overhead press, I could go into my reasoning if you wish but it's usually better to use an overhead press and a bench or bench variant not 2 bench variants unless you're aiming for a specific goal or addressing a very specific weakness). The exercises that follow immediately after usually should be tailored to your specific weaknesses in each of the primary compounds. do you have a sticking point at the bottom of your bench? Add in illegal wide grip bench, dead bench, paused bench, dumbell bench, cambered bar bench, strengthen up the shoulders, chest and lats. If you get stuck at the midpoint choose an exercise that strengthens chest and delts. If you have trouble locking out choose an exercise to strengthen your triceps (CG bench, dips, 3-4+ board presses). Theses first few exercises should always be free weights barbells or dumbells. Not only are they able to be loaded higher but the involve many more muscles than machines. Some muscles will get direct work like the erectors/glutes/hams/low back in dead lifts while others are indirect or isometric like lats and traps (work to keep the bar horizontal to the ground and close to the body, if you have trouble keeping bar close to the body, your traps and lats need strengthening). Understand most muscle groups are agonists in one lift and have antagonists while in another the role can switch. In deads the erctors are agonists (primary movers) and the abdominals are the antagonists but in a squat the roles are reversed. FREE WEIGHTS WORK THESE MUSCLES AS A WHOLE SYSTEM. <----that's the key to this, working your body as a system not a series of isolated muscles. That's why the primary and secondary exercises should all be free weights. The last exercises can be machine or cable if you wish since the final exercises could be thought of as burnout sets, volume sets, back off sets etc. 95% of the work necessary for progress has been done by this point so final exercises are greatly reduced in intensity and the compensation is the volume. The primary movements should be around the 3-5 set range and to keep intensity high you want 8 reps or less (5is a great balance point) you can choose to do less sets of very heavy singles, doubles, or triples - moderate sets of 5 reps - or more sets of 8ish reps. Secondary exercises should be scaled back on intensity and volume somewhat so overtraining wont happen (over reaching is fine BUT NOT overtraining) maybe 2-4sets of 6-12reps and the final exercises should be higher volume but very low intensity (think almost lactic acid training) 4-5 sets
8-10+ reps they should be performed quickly and easily with less rest in between sets.

Now you can do upper/lower, push/pull, upper/lower AND push/pull, hou can do heavy and light days, max effort and dynamic days, the list goes on and on. It should be tailored to your goals and something that interests you to keep your motivation up. Sorry for the jumbled mess here but it's so in depth and there's a million tangents to go off that I just wrote it as ideas popped into my head instead of putting it down from beginning to end with flow lol.
 
Frequency, intensity, volume, fatigue, recovery, etc are all factors that can be manipulated to create an effective program.

That's one way to pull off an upper/lower program. The options here are almost unlimited in how to set it up but I'd caution over exercise selection. Keep the main lifts barbell compound lifts (you can use dumbells and dumbells will actually be superior to barbells BUT only up to a point, when that point is crossed you'd have revert back to barbells). You laid it out correctly but putting big compound lifts first: squats, deads, bench, incline press (although I'd pick bench OR incline and the other use overhead press, I could go into my reasoning if you wish but it's usually better to use an overhead press and a bench or bench variant not 2 bench variants unless you're aiming for a specific goal or addressing a very specific weakness). The exercises that follow immediately after usually should be tailored to your specific weaknesses in each of the primary compounds. do you have a sticking point at the bottom of your bench? Add in illegal wide grip bench, dead bench, paused bench, dumbell bench, cambered bar bench, strengthen up the shoulders, chest and lats. If you get stuck at the midpoint choose an exercise that strengthens chest and delts. If you have trouble locking out choose an exercise to strengthen your triceps (CG bench, dips, 3-4+ board presses). Theses first few exercises should always be free weights barbells or dumbells. Not only are they able to be loaded higher but the involve many more muscles than machines. Some muscles will get direct work like the erectors/glutes/hams/low back in dead lifts while others are indirect or isometric like lats and traps (work to keep the bar horizontal to the ground and close to the body, if you have trouble keeping bar close to the body, your traps and lats need strengthening). Understand most muscle groups are agonists in one lift and have antagonists while in another the role can switch. In deads the erctors are agonists (primary movers) and the abdominals are the antagonists but in a squat the roles are reversed. FREE WEIGHTS WORK THESE MUSCLES AS A WHOLE SYSTEM. <----that's the key to this, working your body as a system not a series of isolated muscles. That's why the primary and secondary exercises should all be free weights. The last exercises can be machine or cable if you wish since the final exercises could be thought of as burnout sets, volume sets, back off sets etc. 95% of the work necessary for progress has been done by this point so final exercises are greatly reduced in intensity and the compensation is the volume. The primary movements should be around the 3-5 set range and to keep intensity high you want 8 reps or less (5is a great balance point) you can choose to do less sets of very heavy singles, doubles, or triples - moderate sets of 5 reps - or more sets of 8ish reps. Secondary exercises should be scaled back on intensity and volume somewhat so overtraining wont happen (over reaching is fine BUT NOT overtraining) maybe 2-4sets of 6-12reps and the final exercises should be higher volume but very low intensity (think almost lactic acid training) 4-5 sets
8-10+ reps they should be performed quickly and easily with less rest in between sets.

Now you can do upper/lower, push/pull, upper/lower AND push/pull, hou can do heavy and light days, max effort and dynamic days, the list goes on and on. It should be tailored to your goals and something that interests you to keep your motivation up. Sorry for the jumbled mess here but it's so in depth and there's a million tangents to go off that I just wrote it as ideas popped into my head instead of putting it down from beginning to end with flow lol.
You nerd, I was trying to get at what you posted without giving it away. :p I haven't hit a plateau yet with my 5 day split, but I am always interested in this type of methodology which I've been reading about in the book you suggested. ;) Great post as always Doc. :spin:
 
Both of you guys are pretty much bang on. Not sure there's much I can add! I'll use the seated bb press as an example. I used to train this once a week or every other week and I was horrible at it. PR was something like 135 x 3. These days I'll hit it say on Mon... And then again on Thurs... And perhaps again on Sat. With the additional frequency I've taken that to 135 x 10 and a new PR of 185 x 1. Not much compared to some of the monsters around here I'm sure but respectable imo.

This same method has helped my DB presses too... And my back work. I also find that I've been gravitating towards training chest and back together. Maybe 2 major exercises for each and then a "cool down set" on a machine.

I know that's not the most scientific explanation lol... Sorry!
 
Both of you guys are pretty much bang on. Not sure there's much I can add! I'll use the seated bb press as an example. I used to train this once a week or every other week and I was horrible at it. PR was something like 135 x 3. These days I'll hit it say on Mon... And then again on Thurs... And perhaps again on Sat. With the additional frequency I've taken that to 135 x 10 and a new PR of 185 x 1. Not much compared to some of the monsters around here I'm sure but respectable imo.

This same method has helped my DB presses too... And my back work. I also find that I've been gravitating towards training chest and back together. Maybe 2 major exercises for each and then a "cool down set" on a machine.

I know that's not the most scientific explanation lol... Sorry!

185lbs over your head is no joke. I know I get the looks from the GQ wannabes sporting their sleeveless shirts when those 45's and 25's go up on that bar. Do you find yourself tired on the next day or unable to perform as well for a given muscle group? I only ask as I did try something very similar to what you and Doc have posted long ago and felt that my body didn't replenish my glycogen stores in time to hit that same muscle group again. Granted, this was many years ago and I was natural at the time.
 
Both of you guys are pretty much bang on. Not sure there's much I can add! I'll use the seated bb press as an example. I used to train this once a week or every other week and I was horrible at it. PR was something like 135 x 3. These days I'll hit it say on Mon... And then again on Thurs... And perhaps again on Sat. With the additional frequency I've taken that to 135 x 10 and a new PR of 185 x 1. Not much compared to some of the monsters around here I'm sure but respectable imo.

This same method has helped my DB presses too... And my back work. I also find that I've been gravitating towards training chest and back together. Maybe 2 major exercises for each and then a "cool down set" on a machine.

I know that's not the most scientific explanation lol... Sorry!

That's the whole point of linear progression and even slightly periodized training. Frequency develops aptitude, helps develop CNS to "fire" required muscles much more effectively, and in layman's term THE MORE YOU DO SOMETHING, THE BETTER YOU GET AT IT! Lol. That's some pretty crazy progress though NSW how long did it take you to go from 135 to 185??
 
You nerd, I was trying to get at what you posted without giving it away. :p I haven't hit a plateau yet with my 5 day split, but I am always interested in this type of methodology which I've been reading about in the book you suggested. ;) Great post as always Doc. :spin:

I need to order new contacts so I'm sitting here with glasses looking like View attachment 551827 lmao!
SS talks about frequency in more basic sense but PP will hit you over the head with it lol. Glad to hear you're enjoying the books bro.

185lbs over your head is no joke. I know I get the looks from the GQ wannabes sporting their sleeveless shirts when those 45's and 25's go up on that bar. Do you find yourself tired on the next day or unable to perform as well for a given muscle group? I only ask as I did try something very similar to what you and Doc have posted long ago and felt that my body didn't replenish my glycogen stores in time to hit that same muscle group again. Granted, this was many years ago and I was natural at the time.

I'd love to hear the exact details for what you're talking about when you trained like this natty! I along with many ppl I've helped in the gym have done these workouts natty and glycogen is really not a problem. Powertlifting and body building and weightlifting in general DO NOT deplete muscle glycogen stores nearly as much as everyone believes. A 2hr weight session will not deplete all glycogen. It takes endurance events such as marathoners and extreme cyclists and the like to FULLY deplete glycogen UNLESS certain circumstances are in effect.

We're you fasting, cutting/bulking, low carb/no carb/high cArb, what was recovery like in terms of sleep and time off gym, how often did you train, and what what did your diet consist of (what kinds of foods, total calories in relation to TDEE, and macro profile)? I can almost guarantee you now one of these things was off. I've been lifting like this since a teenager so at least 9yrs or so of doing it natty and I've never felt the need for AAS to make any progress (I'm not an advanced athlete by any means though lol). I think there's a very specific reason you didn't like it or it did t work for you as much brother
 
185lbs over your head is no joke. I know I get the looks from the GQ wannabes sporting their sleeveless shirts when those 45's and 25's go up on that bar. Do you find yourself tired on the next day or unable to perform as well for a given muscle group? I only ask as I did try something very similar to what you and Doc have posted long ago and felt that my body didn't replenish my glycogen stores in time to hit that same muscle group again. Granted, this was many years ago and I was natural at the time.

It hasn't been a problem thus far. Remember that I never train the same part 2 days in a row though. If I do some chest and back on Monday then I'll do lower body (Legs) on Tuesday... and then maybe an off day (if I feel like my joints are still squawking) on Wed or some shoulders and back.... or even bis & tris. I find that my training's become a little more "instinctive" this way than it was before. I definitely focus more on the heavy compounds though (and Hammer Strength machine are a staple).

Hope that helps some!

That's the whole point of linear progression and even slightly periodized training. Frequency develops aptitude, helps develop CNS to "fire" required muscles much more effectively, and in layman's term THE MORE YOU DO SOMETHING, THE BETTER YOU GET AT IT! Lol. That's some pretty crazy progress though NSW how long did it take you to go from 135 to 185??

Exactly this. I've been hearing that for ages so that was a big reason why I wanted to try and put it into action.

I'm just starting Week 9 of my first cycle (500mg test e and 60mg var). Before my cycle I was doing the 135... and just this past week I did 185 for the first time without a spot... so.... 8 weeks I guess? Wouldn't be surprised if my progress stalls out a bit now though.... 185 feels heavy as fook! lol.
 
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It hasn't been a problem thus far. Remember that I never train the same part 2 days in a row though. If I do some chest and back on Monday then I'll do lower body (Legs) on Tuesday... and then maybe an off day (if I feel like my joints are still squawking) on Wed or some shoulders and back.... or even bis & tris. I find that my training's become a little more "instinctive" this way than it was before. I definitely focus more on the heavy compounds though (and Hammer Strength machine are a staple).

Hope that helps some!



Exactly this. I've been hearing that for ages so that was a big reason why I wanted to try and put it into action.

I'm just starting Week 9 of my first cycle (500mg test e and 60mg var). Before my cycle I was doing the 135... and just this past week I did 185 for the first time without a spot... so.... 8 weeks I guess? Wouldn't be surprised if my progress stalls out a bit now though.... 185 feels heavy as fook! lol.

8wks to add 50lbs is pretty aggressive. Congrats in the progress and new PR's bro! And if you plateau, reduce weight by 10-15%, do your normal routine, and work your way back up to the plateau. When you hit that point again you should be able to break past it and get another 10-15lbs progress at least. Good luck!
 
8wks to add 50lbs is pretty aggressive. Congrats in the progress and new PR's bro! And if you plateau, reduce weight by 10-15%, do your normal routine, and work your way back up to the plateau. When you hit that point again you should be able to break past it and get another 10-15lbs progress at least. Good luck!

Well, I don't want to estat too much... I think that I could have done 155 x 1 before this cycle if I really pushed myself. So I'll call it 30lbs rather than 50. ;)

Definitely going to do what you say though. Been thinking that I'll probably try some sets of 155 x 5 for a while and see if that helps to bust the plateau. Thanks!
 
Well, I don't want to estat too much... I think that I could have done 155 x 1 before this cycle if I really pushed myself. So I'll call it 30lbs rather than 50. ;)

Definitely going to do what you say though. Been thinking that I'll probably try some sets of 155 x 5 for a while and see if that helps to bust the plateau. Thanks!

No e-statting here at all. Your lifts are your lifts and anything going up is progress that you work hard for my man. 30lbs on an overhead press is still awesome. Ppl don't understand, and overhead press is much much more difficult and taxing on the body than bench. Your also using less and smaller muscle groups for the most part so progress is slower on this than squats for instance. The overhead press is one of the exercises that separates men from boys lol. Keep up the good work man.
 
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