Train Easy, Repeat Often

High-Frequency Training Parameters and Programming Ideas

     Yesterday, I was sitting in my garage gym—pen and paper in hand as I jotted down some different article ideas—watching my son Garrett go through a lower body session when I told him the title for this article.  I thought “Train Easy, Repeat Often” was a pretty good title.  I originally intended it to simply be the title for a workout program.

     Then Garrett said, “Okay, but how easy and how often?”

     I stroked my beard as I began to mull over his question and the wheels began turning in my mind.  “Good point,” I replied.  “Maybe that’s what the article should be about.  I could still outline some workout programs, but I could mainly just explain how much you should train based on how frequent you want to lift.”

     Garrett gave me a thumbs up, then returned to his sumo deficit deadlifts.  I doubt he gave it much thought after that, whereas I was already outlining—in my mind, at least—what you’re now reading.

     What follows are some thoughts on how to design a high-frequency training program using “easy strength” methodologies.  I will discuss overall volume that should be used for each lift (or muscle group) based on how many days each week you want to train that lift/muscle.  After that, I will then give program examples based on the suggestions.

     Before we get into details outright, let me point out this: When designing a workout—or just choosing any pre-designed program—select a training frequency that you know you can adhere to.  Don’t attempt a 6-day-per-week schedule if you know that you can only consistently make it to the gym 3 days a week.  This is not to say that a program can’t have some inherent flexibility as far as days per week are concerned.  In fact, it should have that flexibility “built” into it.  There will obviously be personal things that “come up” during a training week that you have no control over, but you shouldn’t design or select a program that you know you’ll have a hard time sticking to from the get-go.

     Once you decide the rough number of training days each week, the next thing you need to look at is your goal.  Are you after strength?  Strength with a hypertrophy side effect?  Or maybe you just want to look good naked (which means hypertrophy will be your primary goal).  Knowing, and having, a specific goal is important to pick (or design) the correct training regimen.

     Here are the “starting” parameters I would use when designing a high-frequency program.  These are simply guidelines, as some lifters may get good results by doing a little less than what I recommend (whether it’s days-per-week or workout volume), and some would do well by doing a little more.  Consider this table, then, as your “starting point.”

 

days-per-week	total number of reps per lift/muscle	goals
5 to 7	10	Strength emphasis
5 to 7	10-25	Hypertrophy and strength
3	15-30	Strength emphasis
3	30-50	Hypertrophy and strength

 

     Please note that “days-per-week” means the number of days each week that you will train a muscle group or a specific lift, not necessarily the number of days each week that you will train in total.  If you chose, as an example, to utilize an upper-body/lower-body, 2-way split, you may train 6 days a week, but you would only train each lift/muscle 3 days weekly, so that selection would slot into the 3-days-per-week lines on the graph.

     You will notice too that the table doesn’t include the number of lifts performed at each session.  That should be determined based on goals and the work capacity of the lifter.  I’ll explain in more detail as we look at some workout examples.

 

5 to 7 Days of Training, 10 Reps, Strength-emphasis

     This is the most common form of so-called “easy strength” training.  If you’ve followed, or are familiar with, Dan John’s 40-Day Workout or my 30-Rep Program, then you know what kind of training that I’m discussing here.

     If you aren’t familiar with my 30-Rep Program, and are interested in following it, then click on the link above for a detailed article replete with example weeks of training.  Otherwise, here are the highlights:

     Select around 8 to 10 exercises.  These are the only exercises you will perform for the entirety of the program.  These should all be basic, "bang-for-your-buck" movements.  If you’re already thinking squats, overhead presses, and heavy pulls, then you’re on the right track.  Here’s my list when I run the program:  

• Barbell squats (back squats, front squats, or bottom-position squats)
• Bench presses (including bottom-position bench presses and board presses of various heights)
• Weighted Dips
• Barbell overhead presses
• One-arm dumbbell overhead presses
• Deadlifts (sumo, conventional, deficit, rack pulls)
• Power cleans (barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell)
• Power snatches (barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell)
• Chins (wide-grip, close-grip, undergrip, etc.)
• Barbell curls

     At each workout, pick three of the exercises to train.  (Make sure that your workout session is balanced—i.e., it works your entire body—so don’t just select, for example, bench presses, dips, and chins.)  For each exercise, do no more than 10 reps.  (You also need to warm up properly, but we’ll get to that shortly.)  Set/rep ranges could include 2 sets of 5 reps, 5 sets of 2 reps, 3 sets of 3 reps (I know it’s not 10 reps, but it’s close enough), or 3 sets of 5, 3, then 2 reps.  This works out—hence the name—to 30 reps total for the workout.
     Train at least 5 days per week, but no more than 6.  Most of the time I like to run a 3-on, 1-off, 2-on, 1-off training rotation just so that I train on the same days each week.  For instance, you might train Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, with Thursdays and Sundays off each week.  You could also just train 3-on, 1-off constantly, or even 2-on, 1-off if you know that you respond best to a little less training. 
     Perform more squats, quick lifts (power cleans, snatches, etc.), and overhead work than chins, curls, bench presses, or deadlifts.  I look at it this way: you can train the squats, the quick lifts, or the overhead lifts anywhere between 4 and 6 days per week.  The bench presses, chins, and curls can be trained between 2 and (occasionally as much as) 4 days-per-week.  And the deadlift variants can be trained between 1 and 2 days-per-week.  The "Bulgarian method," for example (where you max out on the same lift every single training day), works when your exercise selections are squats, snatches, or clean-and-jerks (which is why it is so great for Olympic lifters) but not so much when it’s bench presses or deadlifts.

    

5 to 7 Days of Training, 10-25 Reps, Hypertrophy and Strength

     You will notice that the line blurs sometimes between the different methods.  Here, for instance, when training for hypertrophy, you could train 5 to 7 days each week and do only 10 reps per lift, although I think most lifters will need more reps if hypertrophy is your goal.  Nonetheless, this approach could work.  For instance, it might be a bit boring but doing a full-body workout 6 days a week, using a handful of exercises for 1 set of 10 reps would probably be effective for a great majority of lifters.  Boring?  Yep.  Effective? Yeah, that too.

     I think, once they have adapted to it, most lifters would do better, however, with a little more volume.  You might move up to 2 sets on each exercise for 10-12 reps each.  You could also do something such as 3 sets of 8 reps or 4 sets of 6 reps.  Just make sure you don’t exceed 25 reps—at least most of the time.

     Here’s an example program using this method.  Perform the following 6 days each week or opt for a 3-on, 1-off, 2-on, 1-off program in the manner I just outlined above for the 30-Rep Program.

·         Squats: 2 sets of 10 reps

·         Double kettlebell cleans: 3 sets of 8 reps

·         Dips: 3 sets of 6 reps

·         Chins: 3 sets of 6 reps

·         Barbell curls: 2 sets of 10 reps

·         Weighted sit-ups: 2 sets of 10 reps

     That’s just an example.  But it’s one that would work well.

 

3 Days of Training, 15-30 Reps, Strength-emphasis

     The last two methods of training offer more flexibility, at least as far as whether you want to do either full-body sessions or split workouts.  Also, there are a lot more programs that “slot” into this method and the following one.

     5 sets of 3 to 5 reps would be a good starting point.  For example, here’s a 3 day a week, full-body powerlifting program that fits the bill nicely:

 

Monday

·         Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps (performed with the same weight after warmups)

·         Bench presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps

Wednesday

·         Squats: 5 sets of 3 reps

·         Barbell overhead presses: 5 sets of 3 reps

·         Chins: 5 sets of 3 reps

Friday

·         Squats: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Bench presses: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Stiff-legged deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps

 

     Here’s a similar full-body program, but one that focuses on more overall strength as opposed to just strengthening the three powerlifts:

 

Monday

·         Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Barbell overhead presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Weighted dips: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Sumo deficit deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Barbell curls: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Dumbbell pullovers: 5 sets of 5 reps

 

Wednesday

·         Front squats: 5 sets of 3 reps

·         Incline dumbbell bench presses: 5 sets of 3 reps

·         Chins: 5 sets of 3 reps

 

Friday

·         Bottom-position squats: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Bottom-position bench presses: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Behind-the-neck presses: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Rack pulls: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Dumbbell curls: 5 sets of 4 reps (each arm)

 

     This method of lifting—and our next one—lend themselves well to split training.  You could even take the above program and, without adding anything to it, just split each session into an upper/lower split.  Even though you will now be going to the gym 6 days weekly instead of just 3, you may find that it actually saves you time, since you can get in and out of the gym quickly due to the short session.  In this case, your program might simply look like this:

 

Monday

·         Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Sumo deficit deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps

Tuesday

·         Barbell overhead presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Weighted dips: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Barbell curls: 5 sets of 5 reps

·         Dumbbell pullovers: 5 sets of 5 reps

Wednesday

·         Front squats: 5 sets of 3 reps

Thursday

·         Incline dumbbell bench presses: 5 sets of 3 reps

·         Chins: 5 sets of 3 reps

Friday

·         Bottom-position squats: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Rack pulls: 5 sets of 4 reps

Saturday

·         Bottom-position bench presses: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Behind-the-neck presses: 5 sets of 4 reps

·         Dumbbell curls: 5 sets of 4 reps (each arm)

 

     You could also follow the same program, or something very similar, and do more sets with less reps.  7 to 10 sets of 2 to 3 reps would work well.  Your program using this methodology—which is a great way to build high levels of strength—might now look like this:

 

Monday

·         Squats: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Sumo deficit deadlifts: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Power snatches: 8 sets of 2 reps

Tuesday

·         Barbell overhead presses: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Weighted dips: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Barbell curls: 8 sets of 3 reps

·         Skull crushers: 8 sets of 3 reps

Wednesday

·         Front squats: 8 sets of 2 reps

Thursday

·         Incline barbell bench presses: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Chins: 8 sets of 2 reps

Friday

·         Bottom-position squats: 8 sets of 3 reps

·         High pulls: 8 sets of 2 reps

Saturday

·         Bottom-position bench presses: 8 sets of 3 reps

·         Behind-the-neck presses: 8 sets of 3 reps

·         Dumbbell curls: 8 sets of 2 reps (each arm)

 

3 Days of Training, 30-50 Reps, Hypertrophy and Strength

     As with the previous method, this one also lends itself well to both full-body workouts and split training.

     Most “classic” bodybuilding methods of full-body training fall into this category, by the way.  For instance—and this is another “boring but effective” way of training—if you do a full-body workout 3 days a week for 3 sets of 10 reps on each movement, it works.  It might be boring because you’ve read about it ad nauseam, and 3 sets of 10 has always been the “go-to” method of training (for some damn reason) when lifters first start, but it still works.  Boring or not.

     For instance, here’s Arnold’s “Golden 6” Routine that slots into this method:

 

Monday – Wednesday – Friday

·         Squats: 4 sets of 10 reps

·         Bench presses: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Chins (or lat pulldowns): 3 sets of max reps

·         Behind-the-neck presses: 4 sets of 10 reps

·         Barbell curls: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Bent-knee Sit Ups: 3 to 4 sets of 20 reps (This exercise obviously doesn’t fit the “framework”, but you can push most ab, and calf, work into higher rep ranges without cutting into your ability to recover.)

 

  A similar old-school bodybuilding regimen, but one for more advanced lifters, is Larry Scott’s 6x6-8 program.  Here it is:

 

Monday – Wednesday – Friday

·         Bench Presses to the Neck: 6 sets of 6-8 reps

·         Squats: 6 sets of 8 reps

·         Machine Calf Raises: 6 sets of 15-20 reps

·         Behind-the-Neck Presses: 6 sets of 6-8 reps

·         Front Pulldowns: 6 sets of 8 reps

·         Lying Barbell Triceps Extensions: 6 sets of 8 reps

·         Preacher Bench Curls: 6 sets of 8 reps

·         Bent-Knee Leg Raises: 1 set of 100-150 reps

 

     For more advanced lifters—you probably need to be at least at the “intermediate” level—doing a split program using this framework works well because it allows you to get multiple sets in with relatively heavy weights.  Remember this adage well: if you get a pump with heavy weights, you will get big and strong.  (I stole that pithy saying from Pavel Tsatsouline, by the way.)

     Here’s an example split program using this form of training:

 

Monday

·         Squats: 10 sets of 5 reps

·         Deadlifts: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Power cleans: 10 sets of 2 reps

Tuesday

·         Bench presses: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Weighted dips: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Barbell curls: 10 sets of 5 reps

Wednesday

·         Front squats: 10 sets of 5 reps

·         High pulls: 10 sets of 3 reps

Thursday

·         Barbell overhead presses: 10 sets of 5 reps

·         Incline bench presses: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Alternate dumbbell curls: 10 sets of 5 reps (each arm)

Friday

·         Bottom-position squats: 10 sets of 5 reps

·         Sumo deficit deadlifts: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Power snatches: 10 sets of 2 reps

Saturday

·         Bottom-position bench presses: 10 sets of 5 reps

·         Behind-the-neck presses: 10 sets of 5 reps

·         Skull crushers: 10 sets of 3 reps

·         Barbell curls: 10 sets of 5 reps

 

  A technique that you can use every few weeks on the above program is to reverse the sets and reps.  This will make it more of a pure hypertrophy program, but it will give you a different stimulus, resulting in even more growth and strength when you then return to doing it the “regular” way.  The program would now look like this:

 

Monday

·         Squats: 5 sets of 10 reps

·         Deadlifts: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Power cleans: 2 sets of 10 reps

Tuesday

·         Bench presses: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Weighted dips: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Barbell curls: 5 sets of 10 reps

Wednesday

·         Front squats: 5 sets of 10 reps

·         High pulls: 3 sets of 10 reps

Thursday

·         Barbell overhead presses: 5 sets of 10 reps

·         Incline bench presses: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Alternate dumbbell curls: 5 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Friday

·         Bottom-position squats: 5 sets of 10 reps

·         Sumo deficit deadlifts: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Power snatches: 2 sets of 10 reps

Saturday

·         Bottom-position bench presses: 5 sets of 10 reps

·         Behind-the-neck presses: 5 sets of 10 reps

·         Skull crushers: 3 sets of 10 reps

·         Barbell curls: 5 sets of 10 reps

 

     If it’s primarily hypertrophy that you’re after, you could spend the majority of your training weeks doing the above program, and then you could switch over to the multiple sets of low reps approach once every few weeks.  Either way will work.  It really depends on your goals and the method that works best for you.  It also depends on what you enjoy doing, as you’re more likely to stick with a program if you actually like it.

 

Some Tips and Final Thoughts

     Remember that these are all meant to be “easy strength” programs, so none of the sets on any of the programs I wrote above should be all-out.  You go heavy “naturally.”  You should increase weight (or overall volume) on an exercise only when it begins to feel too easy.  That is the secret of making these programs work, and it really is that simple.  If you feel tired or burned out after a workout, you did too much.

     If you find any of that confusing, I have a lot of articles and programs here on the blog that can help.  Just do a quick search for “high frequency training” and/or “easy strength” and you should find at least a handful of articles that might help to clarify things for you.

     As you advance, you may find that you do want to push some of the workouts hard.  After all, it is good to test your strength every so often if you’re unsure just how much you’re progressing.  So, if you have a tough or challenging workout, make sure that you follow it up with a light and even-easier-than-usual workout at the next session for that same lift/muscle group.

     Even though this article has now become more voluminous than originally intended, the truth is that I have only scratched the surface with the different programs that you can create simply based on the programming table.  So, don’t think of any of the programs that I have written as the “last word.”  Be creative, have fun designing some programs, and see what you can come up with.