Low-Frequency Strength Training

 

Discover the Secrets to Developing Serious Strength Using Infrequent Workouts

     I have long been a fan of high-frequency training (HFT), and I will continue to sing its praises, as I think it might be the best form of training—when done correctly—for natural bodybuilders and lifters who want to gain as much strength and muscle mass in the shortest time possible.  If you have read even a few articles and essays here on my blog, then you probably know this already.  What you might not know is that I also believe you can build a tremendous amount of strength and power utilizing low-frequency, high-volume workouts when, once again, they are done correctly.  So, read on and discover my tips for making this kind of training work for you.

     This article was precipitated by an email I received—as are, probably, 1/3 of my essays—from a reader who had a particular question.  I’ll leave out all of the odd little details and tidbits, but the email—and the question it held—went something like this: “Hey, CS, I know you’re a fan of high-frequency training and everything, but I can only make it to the gym once every 2 or 3 days per week.  I work rotating shifts in a factory, sometime as long as 12, or even 16, hour shifts—I usually put in around 60 hours a week.  It makes it hard to get to the gym very often.  But I would like to compete in powerlifting and wondered if there is any way to build strength by training infrequently.  I think I have some ideas of different training plans I could try based on some of your articles dealing with high-set, low-rep workouts, but I wanted to get your input.  Is there a good workout plan that would allow me to get really strong with low-frequency training?”

     Before we get into the advice that I gave our dear reader, I want to make a couple of things clear regarding both HFT and different workout plans.  First off, I’m not a “one size fits all” sort of trainer/strength writer.  I don’t like any kind of “tribal mentality” where one form of lifting is superior to all others.  I think that’s just shortsighted at best, and downright bone-headed—to use some homespun vernacular—at worst.  A training plan should be selected based on the lifter’s age, gender, goals, genetics, lifestyle, etc.  Second, I am fond of HFT, as I wrote at the outset here, because I think for the majority of natural lifters, it’s the best form of training when your goals are both muscle mass and strength.  However, there are lifters who should not utilize HFT.  If you are trying to not gain weight, for example, in order to stay in your weight class for powerlifting, you probably shouldn’t use a HFT program.  I have written about this several times before, but one of the “problems” I had when utilizing Sheiko was that I gained weight even when I tried my best to not gain weight.  (This is also the reason that it should be used by natural bodybuilders and lifters looking to pack on the pounds.)

     When designed properly, a low-frequency program can be great for lifters who are only, or at least primarily, after strength above all else.  With that in mind, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of this form of lifting, which will allow you to decide whether this form of power training is right for you.

     The first “plus” is what I have already mentioned: it allows you to not gain weight while adding strength.  When you train with a lot of sets but utilize really low reps coupled with a lot of rest between training days—we’ll get around to exact details shortly—you can build, really, a heaping amount of strength.  But this first plus is also the first con.  Infrequent training simply isn’t a good method for the majority of lifters if their goal is to gain muscle mass.  And by “majority” I mean natural lifters.  Steroids change the equation—and change it big time.  Anabolic steroid use is often cited as the reason why bodybuilders from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and early ‘90s (before Dorian Yates came onto the scene) were able to train with a lot of volume and a lot of frequency.  And, yeah, sure, steroids do allow you to do more work and recover quicker.  But here’s the other side of it: they also allow you to train very infrequently and never leave the “anabolic state” initiated by a good workout.  This means that, for steroid users, a really high-volume, high-intensity program—although “intensity” here is used as it is by bodybuilders, as how much effort is exerted in a single set—done infrequently might just be the best form of training to utilize.  I would argue that it’s the reason for the current mass monsters—“mutants” might be a better word for them—that occupy today’s (unhealthy) pro bodybuilding scene.  However, even steroid users probably wouldn’t gain much muscle if they used the kind of high-volume programs I have in mind here.  The reps would just be too low to induce hypertrophy.  (By the way, you most certainly can build muscle using high-set, low-rep routines, but they have to be performed frequently, and that’s not within the purvey of what’s being discussed in this essay.)

     If you want to be lean, incredibly strong, not to mention dense in appearance, this is also a good way to train.  Multiple sets of really low reps done for high intensity—and here I mean intensity as it’s used by strength athletes, as a percentage of your one-rep maximum—creates muscles that aren’t just strong but are dense and thick in appearance.  Infrequent, low rep, high set strength programs build hard and wiry physiques.

     This form of training can be good for older powerlifters who still compete.  Older athletes don’t need to be heavier anyway, so the fact that the low frequency is a poor way to build muscle won’t be a problem.  Older powerlifters need to give their bodies more rest (if they are going to train heavy) compared to their younger counterparts, so taking two days (or more) off after every workout is a good idea.  But, once again, this might not be the best way for older bodybuilders to train.  I think older lifters who aren’t still competing would do better with more frequent workouts coupled with sets of higher reps.  This is exactly the way that Bill Starr trained as he got older.  His body couldn’t handle the heavy “pounding” it took from sets of 5 reps or less, but it most certainly could handle 6 days of full-body workouts done for really high reps.  And, although this isn’t the space for it here (perhaps I will go into detail in a future “ageless bodybuilding” piece), that’s also the approach taken by Bill Pearl when he got older.  He would do multiple full-body workouts each week done for sets of 20 reps or higher on each exercise.  You can add the likes of Scott Abel and the legendary Jack LaLanne to that list—they trained in much the same manner as they aged.

     One more con of this form of training—and this might not seem obvious at first—is that it’s not good for athletes.  I write that this may seem odd since infrequent training would appear to be good for the athlete since it allows her to devote more time to her sport due to the additional rest days.  But this kind of training doesn’t condition your body to handle more work or to train while not fully recuperated—two essential elements for any athlete.  In fact, the infrequent training will make you quite sore and will often keep you sore.  This is because, with low-frequency training, one never conditions himself to handle more and more work.  Instead, an athlete needs to use a more HFT regimen during the off-season and then he does need to move to a low-frequency program in-season, but the in-season training should be done for far less volume than what is recommended here.  The caveat, of course, is if you are a strength athlete such as a powerlifter because, in this case, the training itself mirrors your sport almost exactly.

     Another benefit of infrequent training is that it allows you to utilize dynamic effort training or speed work.  I’m a fan of speed training but it’s not easy to program it into a HFT regimen.  It simply takes too much of a toll on your central nervous system.  It can be used at times with HFT, assuming the lifter doesn’t use it for more than a few-week training block, but it’s best used by lifters who are after strength and train infrequently.  Lots of heavy sets of low reps combined with days that have plenty of sets trained using the dynamic effort method is probably the best route for low-frequency strength training—which brings us around to why you started reading this article in the first place: the actual training.  What follows is essentially the same thing that I told our reader who emailed me.

     There is most certainly a good workout plan that will allow you to get really strong while training with low frequency.  The only thing that is required, however, is the ability to stay in the gym for an extended period when you do train.

     I will use a powerlifting training template as our example for how to set up an effective training regimen, as that was how this question was originally proposed.

     Train your squat and your deadlift together on one training day.  Train your bench press separately on another day.  Take two days off between each training day.  If you want to train on the exact same days each week—say, Monday and Thursday, for example—then just squat and deadlift on the Monday workout and bench press on the Thursday session.

     Rotate between three separate workouts for each day.  One day, you will do ramps, working up to a near max attempt on your lift.  One day will be devoted to the dynamic effort method.  And another day will be devoted to multiple sets of low reps with around 85% of your max.

     On the “ramps” day, do ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles, taking your time to work up to a heavy, almost max single.  When I write “almost,” I want you to leave a little something “in the tank.”  At least, most of the time.  Once every 6 weeks or so, go for an all-out max attempt.  Let’s say that you can squat around 315 for your max.  On this day, your sets might look like this: 135 for 5, 155 for 5, 185 for 5, 205 for 5, 225 for 3, 245 for 3, 260 for 3, 275 for 1, 295 for 1, 305 for 1, and, finally, 315 for 1 rep.  The key on this day is to take your time working up to the final single.  You don’t want to make larger jumps and end up using too few sets.  And, by the way, the stronger you are, the more sets you should do, anyway.  If you, for instance, are a really strong squatter who can do 495 for 1 rep, then you should do upwards of 15 to 20 sets before you reach that max (or near max) attempt.  When you finish with the squat, you would do the same thing for your deadlift.  On the bench press, just (duh) bench press for ramps.

     On the speed day, stick with the format used by Westside.  No need to re-invent the wheel.  For the squats, use 10 to 12 sets of doubles at 50-60% of your one-rep max.  For the deadlifts, 10 to 12 doubles (or just singles) using around 50% of your max.  And, for the bench press, 10 sets of 3 using 60-65% of your one-rep max.  If you have access to them, bands and chains may be utilized as well.

     On the high-set, low-rep day, do 8 to 10 sets of 1-3 reps using approximately 85% of your max.  Do doubles for the squats, triples for the bench press, and singles on the deadlifts.  Make sure you do a few warm-up sets before beginning your work sets.

     Finally, do assistance work as needed/wanted on any of the training days.  On the squat/deadlift days, good assistance movements would be weighted sit-ups or the ab wheel for your stomach (you must have a strong core to squat and deadlift truly heavy weights), varieties of good mornings for your lower back and hamstrings, power cleans or power snatches to aid your pulling strength, and box squats or front squats for more squatting power.  Don’t overdo the assistance movements—pick 2 or 3 lifts once you are finished with the squatting and deadlifting and do them for 1 to 2 sets of 6-8 reps each, with no assistance sets even approaching failure.

     For your bench press, focus on exercises for the triceps, front delts, and lats.  Skull crushers, pushdowns, or JM presses are good triceps selections.  Chins or lat pulldowns are good lat choices.  Front plate raises, military presses, or lying barbell raises are all good front delt movements.  Once again, pick just 2 or 3 lifts for each day and work them for 1-2 sets of 6-8 reps.

     Your program template should look like this:

Week One

Monday: SQ/DL Ramps

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: off

Thursday: BP Ramps

Friday: off

Saturday: off

Sunday: SQ/DL Speed

Week Two

Monday: off

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: BP Speed

Thursday: off

Friday: off

Saturday: SQ/DL high-set, low-rep HEAVY

Sunday: off

Week Three

Monday: off

Tuesday: BP high-set, low-rep HEAVY

Wednesday: off

Thursday: off

Friday: SQ/DL Ramps

Saturday: off

Sunday: off

Week Four

Monday: BP Ramps

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: off

Thursday: SQ/DL Speed

Friday: off

Saturday: off

Sunday: BP speed

     And so on and so forth.  Notice that you have around 2 and ½ weeks between doing the same workout for the same lift(s).    

     The key to making this work is to make sure that you get in all of your sets on each training day.  If you make bigger jumps—and, thus, less sets—on your ramp days or cut down on your sets on the other days, it won’t work.  Since the training frequency is low, the volume must be high.

     Even though I have used a powerlifting template as an example, this would work well for any number of lifts.  You can also use something like this if you’re a bench press specialist.  Simply cut out the SQ/DL days altogether and take off 4 days between each session.

     Sometimes, programs such as this one are a good break even if you do prefer a HFT program or use a more “common” bodybuilding-style routine.  If that’s you, then consider using this program for a few weeks just to give your body, and your mind, some needed rest.

     Low-frequency training might not be my favorite method of training but that doesn’t mean it’s not effective.  If you’re after more strength—with a lean, dense physique as a possible side effect—give this program a go.  You may surprise yourself with just how strong you get.

 

     If you enjoyed this essay, would like to read similar ones, and would like to support my writing, then please consider purchasing my most recent e-book, “Ultimate Mass & Power Essays.”