How To Structure A High-Frequency Workout Plan

Even though high frequency training isn’t a new concept when it comes to conditioning, it’s a whole other story when it comes to muscle-building. Traditional bodybuilding programs often have you training each body part once per week with a high volume of sets. Body-specific training and long periods of rest and recovery have been staples for most gym-goers with hopes for packing on muscle.

But what if there was a faster way to build muscle mass? What if you could take lessons from the past and reap big gains today? What if changing just a few simple things can get you on the high road to growth?

What exactly is high frequency?

The type of high frequency training I am talking about is for those wanting to build muscle. Not necessarily for strength gains exclusively (although strength will be a welcomed side-effect) these muscle building plans are designed for one main purpose: to grow muscle.

So, what exactly is high frequency training? The big picture is simple: train a muscle more often to reap faster gains in mass. Nothing extreme here, just a sound, common sense approach using basic training principles.

This isn’t some groundbreaking idea. If you look at bodybuilders in the pre-steroid era most if not all used a high frequency training program to build some impressive physiques. John Grimek and Steve Reeves come to mind just to name a few. They had lean, muscular physiques with V-tapers, broad shoulders and shape.

Did these guys train every body part once per week? Heck no! They performed three full-body sessions per week with other work thrown in oftentimes. You would never see them bombing their chest with countless sets of presses, flyes and other auxiliary work until they couldn’t brush their teeth that night. They hit the body more as a whole while using the big compound lifts bench presses, chin-ups, cleans, squats and push presses among many others.

Why high frequency?

If the reason to go high frequency still hasn’t sunk in then let’s look at some pros and cons and then throw some math into the mix.

Traditional training:

Pros -

• You can train each muscle once per week giving you plenty of rest and recovery.
• You can bombard each body part with a high volume of sets recruiting a lot of muscle fibers.
• You can take your time during your training sessions – you only have one body part to train!
• You only have to work legs once per week.
• Oh, did I mention you only have to work legs once per week?

Cons -

• You can only get in (in a perfect year) 52 sessions per year for each body part.
• You only work legs once per week!
• For some, seven days of rest is too much rest resulting in undertraining.
• If you miss a day or two your entire week goes in flux.
• It is difficult to adjust anything major due to the high volume of work.

High frequency training:

Pros -

• You get the opportunity to train more frequently meaning more growth opportunities. If you trained each body part twice per year you have created 104 versus 52 opportunities in that year to grow more muscle.
• You get to train legs more frequently meaning multiple spikes to your metabolism each week for a leaner physique.
• For the most part you will still be able to keep your weekly volume of sets – just spread throughout the week.
• If you miss a day or two it will be easy to get back on schedule since you are training more frequently.

Cons -

• You will have to pay close attention to central nervous system stress weekly.
• You will have to fight the urge to do more volume.
• You may not be able to buddy up in the gym since your friends will still be doing their old traditional routines.
• You may have to buy a few new shirts with bigger sleeves. 

How to structure a high frequency training program

Unfortunately, you can’t just jump into a high frequency training program blindly. If you want to be successful you will need to follow a few key parameters.

1. Keep workouts simple and progressive. Don’t cloud your training with countless sets of isolation work. Stick with the basics such as bench presses, squats, rows, pull-ups, shoulder presses, Romanian deadlifts and calf raises.
2. Keep a close eye on central nervous system stress and regulate the big, compound lifts correctly. You won’t be able to squat, deadlift, barbell row and bench press with low rep big weights each and every day. You will need to give some thought to rotating the heavy, multi-joint exercises in order to keep progressing without burning out.
3. You will need to stick to a weekly total volume. This simply means if you are used to doing 16 sets for chest, say, every Monday then that means you could either do 8 sets twice per week or around 4 or 5 sets three times per week.
4. You can’t go full-bore for weeks on end. You will need to establish a 4 to 6 week span of a program before taking a few days off or a week of low intensity, active rest workouts.
5. Pay strict attention to rest and recovery. Proper diet and plenty of sleep, when done consistently, will do amazing things for your progress.

Sample training routines

Below are 3 sample high frequency routines. Whether you can train 3, 4 or 6 days per week, one of them will surely fit into your schedule and recovery abilities.

3 days per week full-body starter plan:

Perform each workout once per week on nonconsecutive days such as Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

6 days per week full-body intermediate plan:

Perform each workout once per week for a total of 6 days with one day off.

4 days per week basic split plan:

Perform each workout once per week for a total of 4 days with no more than two consecutive days of training such as Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.