HIGH-FREQUENCY TRAINING: BASIC MUSCLE-BUILDING

    

How to Start a High-Frequency, High-Volume, Low-Intensity Training Program for Building Muscle Mass

The Godfather of Fitness, Jack LaLanne (seen here in his younger days), trained in almost the exact manner as the workouts below, albeit with quite a lot MORE volume.

     This morning, after getting frustrated with a chapter of a book that I'm currently writing, I decided to check my email, see if I had any questions to answer from readers, and just generally get my mind on something else.  It was perfect timing.  I had just received an email from a reader who finished reading my last post on manipulating the three training variables, and was interested in starting a high-frequency training (we will simply refer to it as "HFT" for the remainder of this essay) regimen with the sole intent of building muscle mass, but really didn't know where to start.  Since I have a feeling that other readers may have similar questions—and since writing stuff other than my book(s) often helps to get my creative process "flowing" again—I thought I would do a series on HFT.  This is the first entry then in what will probably be a semi-regular, somewhat haphazardly posted (depending on interest) series of essays and posts, and ones that would most likely be in a different order if I was writing a HFT book.

     Starting out means choosing a program and following it.  So your main question at this point is probably, "how do I choose a program?"  And you can't choose a program unless you know what you want.  I hear quite a few people tell me what they think they want out of training but, it's been my experience, that very few people actually know what it is that they truly desire.  Either that, or they're not willing to admit it.

     In order to achieve your goals you need to know exactly what it is that you want and have a clear vision for how it is that you are going to get there.  The desire and the vision, in other words, are the key components to designing a successful program.  If you have a young man who doesn't know anything about working out, but has a clear vision about the things he wants to succeed through his training, then that young man will achieve better results than any number of other trainees who may know a lot about training methodologies and proper nutrition but don't have a clear goal or vision for success.  When you know what it is that you want to achieve, and when you have a strong desire, and when you have a clear vision, then you will study all the different methods of those that have walked the path before you.  And you will achieve success.

     So before you can choose a training program you must know:

1. What is your goal?

2. Do you have a strong desire for this goal?

3. Do you have a clear vision for achieving this goal?

     First, what is your goal?  If your goal is to simply "look good naked" or to "build muscle" or to "get stronger" then you don't have much of a goal.  Make your goal specific.  This is one reason that I think competitions are good for lifters.  They narrow and focus your goals.  When you have a specific goal on a specific date—such as breaking your PR on the deadlift at the next state powerlifting championships or winning an upcoming scheduled fight—then you are much more likely to achieve that goal.  Narrowed focus, more than probably anything else, really helps you to hone in and therefore achieve success.

     But not always.

     Some people self-sabotage their goal because, even though they may be specific about their goal, they are not completely honest with themselves about what it is they most desire.  You may train with a group of powerlifters, and you may have a goal of winning an upcoming powerlifting meet.  In this case, you have a goal and you have the necessary support to help you achieve said goal.  But you have a clear problem, and deep down you know it.  If you were honest with yourself, you would admit that you would rather enter a bodybuilding competition than a powerlifting competition.  That your dream, deep down inside where dreams must live, your innermost desire is to be a successful competitive bodybuilder.

     Be honest with yourself about what it is that you want to achieve.  No one else can achieve it for you.  No one else but you can pursue your dream to fruition.  And if you don't really, truly, deeply want it then you won't achieve it.

     So what is the one goal right now that you want to achieve more than anything?  This will help the most in honing a clear vision for achieving this goal.

     Do you want to build muscle?  If so, how much muscle and in what amount of time?  Is your goal simply to look good—and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this goal if this is what you want; don't let anyone tell you otherwise—without any "functionality" to go along with it?  Or do you need your newfound muscles to be able to perform on the track, on the field, or in the dojo?  Be honest not just about what you want but about what you need.  If you want to get on a bodybuilding stage, and that is your honest-to-God desire, then fantastic, but be honest with yourself about your needs in order to achieve that goal.  If you need to go on a fat-busting regimen because your bodyfat is hovering around 20%, then make sure you do that first!  Your need, in this case, is to lose bodyfat so that you can "see" the muscles more clearly, and this allows you to see weak points in your physique that may be a problem when your bodyfat is low.  So be specific about both your goals and your needs.

     For the sake of choosing a HFT program, you need to start out with three simple questions:

1. Do you want to gain muscle?

2. Do you want to gain strength?

3. Do you want to gain a combination of muscle and strength?

     You will probably need to also ask yourself if, irregardless of whatever of the three options you choose, you also need to lose any bodyfat while pursuing these goals.  This will be a matter more of your diet than your training but it will affect your training some, as well, so it does need to be asked.

Muscle-Only Methods

     If you want to simply "gain muscle" then any kind of HFT oriented toward volume rather than intensity is going to be best.  (We will save "strength only" and "strength+mass methods" for a future essay.)  You can often gain the most muscle mass with 30 to 50 reps per muscle performed 3-days-per-week.  Although this is also in the realm of moderate frequency, moderate volume, and moderate intensity, it is still fairly frequent, and relies much more on volume than it does intensity.

     Here is a basic 3-days-per-week Muscle-Building Only regimen that will work for just about anyone who wants to really pack on some muscle:

The Mass-Builder

     Perform this workout on any 3 non-consecutive days each week.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday seem to be the most popular simply so you can take the weekends off.  Personally, I always enjoyed training on the weekends, so I would usually utilize a schedule that allowed me to train either Saturday or Sunday.

Squats: 2 sets of 20 reps.  Perform these with a weight that you would typically use only for around 10 reps.  Take plenty of deep breaths in between each repetition once you reach the 10th rep or so, but make sure that you get 20 reps on both sets.  This is a tried-and-true method of packing on muscle in record time.

Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 3 sets of 10 reps.  Since your goal here is simply muscle mass, this is an exercise that almost always improves the "aesthetics" of your chest shape.  Pick a weight here where you would probably reach failure on somewhere between the 12th and 15th rep.  Unlike in the squats, you want to leave something "in the tank" with all other movements.

Wide Grip Chins: 3 sets of NEAR-max reps.  For these, make sure that you can get at least 6 reps.  If not, then use either wide grip lat pulldowns or resistance bands to help you get enough reps on your chins.  Stop one or two reps shy of failure.

Behind-the-Neck Presses: 3 sets of 10 reps.  Once again, take each set a couple of repetitions away from failure.

Barbell Curls: 4 sets of 10 reps. You can actually train these harder than the other exercises if you want.  Barbell curls don't take as much out of you as more compound movements, allowing you to recover quicker and work harder on them.

Ab exercise of your choice: 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.  Finish off this basic workout with whatever ab exercise you want, but make sure you always select harder over easier movements.

Bodyweight-centric Programs

     One of the most popular forms of high-frequency, high-volume training has always been bodyweight training or calisthenics.  It's the easiest for the average lifter to program because it takes much of the guesswork out of weight selection.  You simply use your bodyweight.

     If you want to see how effective, not to mention simple, this form of training can be, try the following program 5-days-per-week.

bodyweight squats - 500 reps

push-ups - 100 reps

chins - 30 to 50 reps (depending on strength level)

     Train on a 3-on, 1-off, 2-on, 1-off program.  If you started training on Monday, then your days would be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  Thursday and Sunday would be your two off days.

     Don't count the number of sets you do, or shoot for any sort of "pre-programmed" set number.  Just count the number of reps total on each exercise.  Some days it will take more sets than others, at least at first.  But at some point, you will notice that you can finish the workout in less and less time, or you can finish each exercise with fewer and fewer sets.

     If you have never tried such high-frequency training before, it will probably look fairly easy on paper.  I mean, how hard can some bodyweight exercises be?  But by the 3rd day of the first week, you may be struggling to get all of the reps on each exercise.  Get through it anyway.  That's the reason I recommend taking off on the 4th day of the training week as one of your two off days.

     Your body will eventually adapt to the frequency and the volume.  As the Bulgarian weightlifters (supposedly) say, "your body becomes its function."  After a few weeks, you can start adding some exercises, training 6-days-per-week instead of 5, or you can just switch over to a new program altogether.

     If you're able to do the above program with relative ease, then I think it would be a good idea to train 6-days-per-week on a bodyweight-centric program.  Here you would use primarily bodyweight movements, but you would add in some traditional barbell or dumbbell movements (or even "band" exercises) to the program.  A program might look something such as this:

Bodyweight squats: 1 sets of 50 reps (only set where you will count reps - more of a "warm-up" at this point)

Sissy Squats: 50 reps

Wide-Grip Chins: 50 reps

Dips: 50 reps

Feet-Elevated (Decline) Push-ups: 50 reps (this mimics more of an incline bench press in that it targets more of your upper chest)

Barbell, Cable, or Band Curls: 50 reps

Dumbbell Deadlifts: 50 reps

Skull Crushers: 50 reps

Ab Exercise of your choice: 100 reps

     Obviously, with the sissies, chins, dips and push-ups, these will be performed utilizing your bodyweight.  But for the curls, deadlifts, and skull crushers use a weight where you could probably get 25 to 30 reps for one all-out set.  Do a set of 15 reps or so, another set of 15, followed by a couple of sets of 10 reps.  That is one example.  You could try doing less reps for each set, but take very little rest between sets as another option.

     Eventually, you could start adding exercises to the workout, but at some point you will probably want to switch over to an entirely new program.  One you have trained for several months on the above program, or something very similar, switch over to an A/B program where you have both an "A" workout option and a "B" workout option, and you alternate back and forth between the two workouts.  I like the flexibility that such a program entails, as you can train as many days in a row as you want before taking a day off.  Conversely, if you feel at all fatigued or overtrained, you can switch over to an every-other-day program for a little bit before returning to a more HFT regimen.

     Here is what I consider the "advanced" option:

A Workout

Bodyweight Squats: 200 reps

Sissy Squats: 50 reps

Walking Lunges: 40 reps (each leg; total of 80 reps)

Wide-Grip Chins: 50 reps

Incline Dumbbell Presses: 50 reps

Flat Barbell Bench Presses: 50 reps

Abs of your choice

B Workout

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 100 reps (For these, choose a weight where you could PROBABLY get 50 reps for one all-out set; perform the 100 reps over 4 to 6 sets.  Once it gets easy to get 100 reps in just a couple of sets, add weight)

Seated Behind-the-Neck Presses: 100 reps

Dumbbell Curls (seated or standing): 50 reps

Barbell, Cable, or Band Curls: 50 reps

Close-grip Push-ups: 50 reps

Skull Crushers: 50 reps

Ab work of your choice

In Closing

     I'm not really sure about the "order" this series will be in, so if you have any topic you would like to see as it's related to HFT in a future post, let me know in the comments section below, or just send me an email.