High-Frequency Specialization Training

A Simple Method for Quick Muscle (and Strength) Gains

     When it comes to building muscle, especially for the natural lifter, I don’t think anything “beats” high-frequency training (HFT).  It works whether you want to use high reps or low reps, whether you’re after strength or hypertrophy or if you’re seeking a combination of both.  If there’s an “issue” with it, it’s the fact that you can’t generally do a lot of work for one muscle group.  I’ve had conversations with lifters—whether in person or through the internet—who have told me that HFT, no doubt, works but that they missed doing more volume for their muscles.  These are typically bodybuilders who really enjoy pump training and the feeling of completely congesting a muscle (or muscle groups) with a lot of sets for a massive pump.  I understand.  After all, in the pseudo-documentary “Pumping Iron,” Arnold even compared the pleasure of “da pump” to the pleasure of good sex.

     Is there a way to use HFT and pump training?  Yes, there is.  Or, rather, are, as you can go about it in some different manners.  One method I wrote about years ago in the pages of IronMan magazine.  In fact, it was (and is) one of the most popular programs that I’ve ever written.  In my article “High-Frequency Focus Training” I proposed that you train with a full-body program 5 days per week—the high-frequency part—but also train one bodypart at each workout where you do a lot of sets in a more typical bodybuilding fashion—the focus aspect.  And that is certainly one approach you can take.

     In this article, I want to propose another approach, where you use high-frequency training combined with higher volume for two lifts/muscle groups that you need to specialize on.  However, when you finish with that one muscle group, you then finish with a low-volume workout for several other muscles.

     Here’s how it works.  Select 2 muscle groups that need attention.  It could be chest and quads.  It could be lats and shoulders.  It could be biceps and triceps.  Train on a 2-way split, training 6 days per week, where each muscle group gets 3 sessions each week.  Start the workout with a relatively high-volume for 1 of the 2 muscle groups that you want to specialize on.  After you train the specialized muscle, do 2 or 3 other movements for other muscle groups for only 1, maybe 2 if you can handle the workload, set(s) each.

     Let’s say you want to specialize on chest and quadriceps.  In that case, simply train on an upper/lower split.  On day one, upper body, do around 100 to 150 reps for your chest (if you want to use high reps).  When you finish with your chest, do 1 or 2 sets of chins for 6 to 10 reps, 1 set of military presses for 10-12 reps, and 1 set of barbell curls for 10-12 reps.  On the next day, do 100-150 reps for your quads, using squats or even leg presses, then finish with 1 set for your hamstrings, 1 set for your calves, and 1 set for your abs.

     Here’s what a chest/quads specialization routine might look like:

Day One (Monday, Wednesday, Friday):

Bench presses: 5 sets of 20 reps.  Select a weight where you could probably get 30 reps for 1 all-out set.  Don’t select something too heavy.  Remember that you need to be able to do this workout 3 days a week.

Chins: 2 set of 6 reps

Military presses: 1 set of 10-12 reps

Barbell curls: 1 set of 10-12 reps

Day Two (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

Squats: 5 sets of 20 reps

Lying leg curls: 1 set of 15 reps

Standing calf raises: 1 set of 10 reps

Steep incline sit-ups: 1 set of 12-15 reps

     If you’re after strength along with muscle mass, and you have built up the work capacity to handle it, then you could use an 8 sets of 5 reps program on your specialization muscle groups.  Select a weight where you would do 16 to 20 reps for 1 all-out set for all of your 8x5 work sets.  In this case, your program might look like this:

Day One (Monday, Wednesday, Friday):

Bench presses: 8x5

Weighted chins: 1x5

Military presses: 1x5

Barbell curls: 1x5

Day Two (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

Squats: 8x5

Stiff-legged deadlifts: 1x5

Barbell standing calf raises: 1x8

Steep incline weighted sit-ups: 1x6-8

     Yes, I realize that the above workout is quite a bit of volume for 3 days a week of training.  But, trust me, it’ll work.  You can’t do it for too long, don’t get me wrong.  6 weeks would probably be a good run.  You might get the results you’re looking for after only 4 weeks, in fact, or you might find that 4 weeks is your limit for handling that amount of volume on a muscle group.  But don’t discount it just because it goes against the grain of modern, high-volume but infrequent training.

     The above program also won’t work unless you eat and eat big.  Eat as many calories as you can on a daily basis and get plenty of protein.  If you need more details on the kind of diet that will work wonders for you while training in the above manner, read my article “The High-Protein, High-Set Program.”  It, by the way, contains a regimen with a lot more volume than the above, based on a program John McCallum wrote for Strength and Health magazine back in the ‘60s.

     If you’re a powerlifter, and don’t care one whit about all of this pump training we’ve been discussing so far anyway, you could specialize on your bench press and your squat.  Use a “moderate strength” method 3 days per week for the squat and the bench press, and simply throw in a deadlift session once per week.  Rotate your sets/reps a la the “moderate strength” method: 3 sets of 5, 5 sets of 3, 7 sets of 2, and 10 sets of singles when you want to test your strength and see if it’s improving.  When you do the singles, work up to a “near max,” not an all-out max as you might do in a meet.  In this case, your program might look like this:

Day One (Monday, Wednesday, Friday):

Bench presses: 3 sets of 5 (1st workout), 5 sets of 3 (2nd), 7 sets of 2 (3rd), 10 progressively heavier singles (4th)

Weighted chins: 1x5

Military presses: 1x5

Skull crushers: 1x5

Day Two (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

Squats: 3 sets of 5 (1st workout), 5 sets of 3 (2nd), 7 sets of 2 (3rd), 10 progressively heavier singles (4th)

Deadlifts: 3 sets of 5 (1st workout), 5 sets of 3 (2nd), 7 sets of 2 (3rd), 10 progressively heavier singles (4th).  Only do this on your Tuesday session - skip it on your Thursday and Saturday workouts.

Stiff-legged deadlifts: 1x5

Seated good mornings: 1x10-12

Steep incline weighted sit-ups: 1x6-8

     If you need more details on (what I term) moderate strength, then read my article “Full-Body Big & Strong.”

     If you want to specialize on some different muscle groups, then an upper/lower split may not be the best.  Here is another option.  If one of your muscles is a “push” (shoulders, triceps) and the other is a “pull” muscle (lats, biceps, hamstrings) then just do a push/pull program.  Day one would be chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, and calves.  Day two would be lats, biceps, traps, hamstrings, and abdominals.  Just start each workout with the 1 muscle group that needs specialization, even if your 2 muscles are biceps and triceps.

     This is a simple method.  But sometimes the simplest programs are the best.  If you’re looking to make quick gains for a couple of muscle groups—or if you have a couple of muscles that are really lagging behind your others—then give one of these programs a try.  There’s nothing better than starting a new muscle-building year with an effective, result-producing program.