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Training volume
I previously touched on training volume in post 4 however in this email I’ll go into more detail about progressive overload and how it is applied to training volume.
Again, training volume is determined by sets x reps x weight for example, 3 set x 10 reps x 50kg = 1500kg lifted.
Back when I was a new PT I was taught about linear progressive overload. You start your 12 week program off doing 3 sets of 10 for any given exercise from weeks 1-4, then say 3 sets of 8 from weeks 5-8 then 3 sets of 6 from weeks 9-12. You would also only train each muscle group once per week because training each muscle group more than once per week was supposed to induce overtraining and reduce your strength and muscle gains.
By following this method over the 12 weeks you are progressively dropping your reps but increasing the weight you are lifting. By the end of the 12 weeks you are lifting far heavier than at the start. Very impressive.
It may look like this:
Week 1: 3 x 10 x 50kg = 1500
Week 5: 3 x 8 x 60kg = 1440
Week 9: 3 x 6 x 70kg = 1260
Week 12: 3 x 6 x 80kg = 1440
As you can see over the first 9 weeks your training volume has dropped then has gone back up to the same volume as week 5.
The other problem is that we are only training in the one rep range at a time. Ideally we want to be training strength and hypertrophy rep ranges either in the same session or in the same week.
If we make a few adjustments to the above program it can look like this:
Week 1: 3 x 10 x 50kg = 1500kg
Week 5: 4 x 8 x 60kg = 1920kg
Week 9: 5 x 6 x 70kg = 2100kg
Week 12: 6 x 6 x 80kg = 2880kg
All we have done is add one set every four weeks and our training volume has increased consistently over the 12 weeks.
You can also spread this volume increase over two workouts per week. For example week 12 has 6 sets of deadlifts. This can be two separate sessions of 3 x 6 x 80 or a combination of higher and lower rep sets.
Now you can’t increase volume continuously to infinity. Eventually you’re strength gains will plateau. This is where changing up rep ranges, changing exercises and using deloads comes into play. With my online clients I incorporate deloads into their periodised programs and use non-linear progression. A deload is basically a planned reduction in training volume to allow you to recover before you increase training volume again.
With non-linear progression your volume goes up, drops briefly during the deload, volume then goes higher, drops briefly during the deload,then goes higher again.
With the right type of programming you can train the same muscle groups multiple times per week whilst incorporating different rep ranges. Below is a number of examples of how to train legs two to three times per week across 2 to five sessions per week.
- A two day program with two full body workouts per week (one day low reps, one day high reps).
- A three day program with one dedicated leg day and one full body day (one day low reps, one day high reps).
- A four day program with two dedicated leg days (one day low reps, one day high reps).
- A five day program with two dedicated leg days (one day low reps, one day high reps).
- A four or five day program with three full body workouts (one day low reps, one day mid-range and one day high reps).
The final point I want to discuss is training multiple rep ranges for each exercise each week. This is often referred to as Daily Undulating Programming or DUP which is a more advanced training method. It involves working different rep ranges ie power, strength and hypertrophy of different exercises each session or each week. An example is below:
Squat 1-3RM
Deadlift 4-6RM
Bench press 8-10RM
Pull ups 10-12RM
Another alternative could be as follows:
Workout 1: Full body workout: 3RM
Workout 2: Full body workout: 6RM
Workout 3: Full body workout: 10RM
Workout 4: Accessory workout: 10-12 RM
You can then alternate your rep ranges each week for example workout 1 the following week can be 10RM, workout 2 can be 3RM and workout 3 can be 6RM.
In summary you want to track your progress of each session and gradually increase either the weight, reps or sets that you are lifting. Every 4-6 weeks you also want to reduce your training load for a week to allow your body to recovery before increasing your training volume again.
For my online clients I plan out training blocks 12 weeks in advance where volume is tracked and gradually increased and deloads are planned in advance. If you want more information on this you can check out my online program here
The next blog post will be on cardio which you can view here