my new higher frequency program

J

Joe.Muscle

Active Member
Hey guys since I started working out last sunday with higher frequency my body feels a little out of wack? Is this normal?

I went from the standard HST 3 days a week to following a 6 day a week routine very similar to Old and grays's routine.

I don't feel tired at all, however I am not use to training each muscle group every day. As far as joints they only slight discomfort I feel is from an old shoulder injury in the tendon area. It is not hurting but feels a little funny. This tends to happen at the very end of my 5's during a normal 3 days HST cycle, which I will SD for about 10 ro 13 days and I am back feeling great. My question is, is this normal? I guess in a way its tough for me mentally to train each day the same bodyparts just not use to it...but I am doing this to up my metabolism b/c I am trying to lean down even more.

What do you guys suggest...stick it out? Or go back to 3 days a week and maybe just do cardio...which i hate lol :confused:

Thanks Joe!
 
Higher frequency should not cause discomfort to healthy connective tissue. However, if you have a previous injury that did not heal properly, which it sounds like you may have, and if higher frequency, or anything else for that matter, causes discomfort in that area, I would immediately stop it and do something that does not aggravate it further. You can't get any bigger if you get injured.
 
I personally do not see a reason to go every day. In my opinion only anything more than 4 X week isn't doing anyone any more good based on volume (a very important aspect when considering 6X week).

If I were to advocate training every day it wouldn't be whole body. I think a split of upper/lower or push/pull antagonists is more suited for 6X week. My opinion only take it with a grain of salt ;).

Anyway to your joints and feeling of well being. The only way to know for sure would be to either 1. Reduce volume so that your volume is still equal to what it was when you worked out 3X week 2. Reduce Frequency back. See which helps.
 
DKM, so how do you feel about 10-12x week full body workouts and the very high frequency plans?

I've gone as high as 5xweek full body and thought it was great, albeight tedious after a bit. I can only imagine the more the better.
 
So I am a little confused.

So its ok on HST to workout back to back or say 3 days in a row...but not okay to workout say 3 or more days?

Well maybe a better word would be not ideal?

Thanks for answering guys! :D
 
Lance, I personally don't think it's anymore advantageous. But as I said earlier that's just me and by no means I am saying don't do it. If you have good success then that is great.
But one has to ask if you had taken the exact same volume with the exact same loads and the exact same nutrition while working out full body 3X week would you have experienced the same results, worse, better?
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Joe.Muscle @ July 27 2005,6:32)]So I am a little confused.
So its ok on HST to workout back to back or say 3 days in a row...but not okay to workout say 3 or more days?
Well maybe a better word would be not ideal?
Thanks for answering guys! :D
Click to expand...
No Joe, I wasn't saying it's not OK, I was simply stating my opinion. This is highly individualistic and depends on many factors. So simply put you would need to find out what your exercise tolerance is and then apply that to your workouts. If you can handle full body 6X a week or more for an extended period then great, fantastic, do what you feel is right for you.

But before you simply jump into training higher frequency for the heck of it ask yourself, am I gaining the way I should on 3X week? If yes, ask yourself if you think going 6X a week will change your gains for the better, what else will I need to change (Diet, Cardio, Volume, Loads)? If gains on 3X a week are subpar, then look to these same factors to determine why not. Just don't assume that increasing your frequency automatically will incorporate into better gains.
 
Guys, Dan makes an excellent point about frequency. If three, four or whatever is currently working for you, don't change. I started going to higher volume when my gains using the tradition 3 times per week HST slowed down. First I split the 3 workouts into 6 half body workouts per week, then went to 5 full body workouts per week, then to 6 then to 10 and finally 12. I just started a cycle last week that will be back to 4 workouts per week because I, quite franklly, got tired of the constant eating I had to do on 12 times per week. Find what works for you with whatever your schedule is and then it is not necessary to change until your gains slow down. Then experiment. For me, high frequency, low volume works best. For others, it will be different. If I wanted to keep my progression going, I think I would opt to specialize with one specific bodypart each cycle, work that part every 2 to 4 hours, every day with one set of many different exercises and just do maintenance on the rest of my body 2 or 3 times per week. However, I don't want to spend the summer indoors so I am back to 4 times per week for now. However, look out this winter!
sneaky2.gif
 
So this winter you are going to change your name to Old and Thickgray?:confused:...lol
tounge.gif


Dan what you said makes great sense. Thanks to both you you guys for chiming in. Thank again!
 
I have to agree as well. When I first tried higher frequency, I loved it. However, my gains were paltry simply because I could not eat enough food. Going back to every other day training, which equals about 3-4 workouts a week, I started making very good gains. So when you are trying to bulk up, I don't think higher frequency is a good idea unless you gain weight very easily. But for people like me with horrendously high metabolisms, higher frequency while bulking is not a good idea.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Totentanz @ July 27 2005,10:19)]I have to agree as well.  When I first tried higher frequency, I loved it.  However, my gains were paltry simply because I could not eat enough food.  Going back to every other day training, which equals about 3-4 workouts a week, I started making very good gains.  So when you are trying to bulk up, I don't think higher frequency is a good idea unless you gain weight very easily.  But for people like me with horrendously high metabolisms, higher frequency while bulking is not a good idea.
Click to expand...
after a few cycles of higher freq. workouts i've concluded the following...

- Rotating exercises is a MUST
- Keep your weekly volume in CHECK

- IMO when cutting higher freq. is absolutely the best way to go. i did not lose ANY size, mind you i noticed that the weight DID feel heavier than usual... The day after my no carb day was brutal, usually...(the weight fell off.. even though i had to drop the cycle at 5.333 week mark i lost 5 mm on the caliper 11-12 mm - 6-7mm bodyweight went down about 8-9 lbs)

- When i bulk next i'm going to just shoot for 3 days a week next round with higher workout volume or am/pm style. Reason: so i can gain weight easier... and my strength gains from hst are making it scary to lift so often due to achey joints...
crazy.gif


- I'm basically going to use the routine i ALWAYS have incorparate some extra stretching and rot. cuff work... and focus BIG time on week-week weight gain... no less than 1/2 a week.(pref. 1 lb a week)
 
I'm currently doing 10-12x per week, low volume each session but I'm cutting up. It's working a treat. I'm consuming prob. 70-80% of my calories around workouts, and so far in 6weeks of cutting I'm down 7kilos, no drop in my arm or thigh measurements but I've lost about 1&1/2 inches on my waist.

The next time I bulk I think I'm going to do 4x a week, full body sessions.
 
Sorry to butt in, but I am curious about the weight increases when doing 5-6 or even 10-12 workouts in a week. Are you guys increasing weights each and every workout, every other workout, or twice a week? When you do increase weights how much do you guys usually increase? Also, if setting up a workout with such frequency could a person do 15s for 1 week, 10s for 1 week, 5s for 1 week, negs for 1 week, and then SD for 7-10 days and expect any gains?
 
i would also like to butt in..if protein syntheseis lasts for 36hrs..what benefit is their in training every day besides burning more cals.....
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (psycho @ July 29 2005,11:59)]Sorry to butt in, but I am curious about the weight increases when doing 5-6 or even 10-12 workouts in a week. Are you guys increasing weights each and every workout, every other workout, or twice a week? When you do increase weights how much do you guys usually increase? Also, if setting up a workout with such frequency could a person do 15s for 1 week, 10s for 1 week, 5s for 1 week, negs for 1 week, and then SD for 7-10 days and expect any gains?
Click to expand...
Increment every other exercise. In some cases I have gone three days in the row with the same increment. You can eliminate this problem if you alternate between two different routines each day, because each routine would still have only 6-7 days per rep range.

As for your shorter cycle question... yes, you could do that. Although personally I think a longer cycle is more productive. If you just want to keep the 15s and 10s short, you could do 1 week 15s, 1 week 10s, 2 weeks 5s, then 3-4 weeks post 5s. That would keep your cycle at the average cycle length and should give you really good gains if you keep your diet in check.
However, when extending the 5s and post-5s, I really think you want to take a much longer SD than just 7-10 days. I would recommend 14-21 days, preferrably closer to 21 than to 14.
 
Just curious how do you guys have the time to train 10-12 times a week? Old and Grey are you already retired at 60 and have the time to relax and train? For the rest of you how do you have time with work or school to train 10-12 times a week?


Joe G
 
I can make the time... just barely. If I get up early, I can fit a short am workout in, then at night I can workout after work. I have a hard time doing that every day though. When I do high frequency, I occasionally miss a day here and there, or only get the AM or only the PM workout in sometimes. But since I'm working out so often in that scenario, I figure missing one here or there isn't a big deal.
 
Joe G,
I cannot easily fit into my schedule the frequency some such as Totentanz and O&G do so whenever I have a chance, I will walk down to my basement and perform a few sets of incline bench and barbell row. My legs are genetically well off, plus I am more concerned with my upper body, so this little workout is helpful in accumulating the summation effect that is frequently discussed here. The bench and bent over row effectively target the major muscles in my upper body including the triceps and biceps, plus since I'm only doing two exercises, I do not demand the same number of calories one may need doing two full body workouts per day. Since the workout only takes 10 minutes (and is GREAT for invigorating you in the AM), I find it to be a wonderful addition to my regimen. Good luck with your training.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top