Low Frequency Training

Training Powerlifting
1

Over the past few months I have had to adjust my schedule to allow for what I would consider to be super low frequency training. This is primarily due to my work/school schedule and the fact that gyms close very early around me (meaning not 24 hours).

I compensate for this with what I would call a pretty high volume of work.

I am sore for several days after lower body days.

Week one is press, assistance, and squat workouts (one day each).

Week two is bench, assistance and deadlift workouts (one day each).

Workouts last approximately 2 hours on average.

I feel like my progress hasn’t suffered much, but I am not making progress as fast as I used to either (I still make the same calculated jumps that I would if I were doing all of this work in one week).

My question is, what is the lowest frequency you have been able to make progress on?

Apparently Stan Efferding has done this type of low frequency in the past when he set his world records.

2

Not sure if this will help you but I work rotating 12 hour shifts, 6-6 flip flopping back and forth between days and nights. This time of year the place where I work ranges in temperature from Ambient to 160 degrees. Some days at work are real motherfuckers so I don’t feel like training. I have 3 kids that play various sports, etc. so to not be a deadbeat Dad, I go to these functions as it’s more important So I tend to do double days and make up days. Progress comes and goes. I don’t sweat it because lifting is a hobby. Sure we all like to claim to be 100% hardcore and “all about it” but when rubber hits the road, I do what I can, WHEN I can and I let the chips fall where they lie. My kids and family don’t give a crap about what I lift or don’t lift. All they know is I blew them off or not to lift a weight. A weight that doesn’t pay the bills lol.

To specifically answer your question, I’ve been able to hang with a 2 days / week training and still been ok. The thing is you have to be in tune with what works for you and what doesn’t. Exercise slection and the whole training economy becomes critical. Really think about the “why” in doing a lift. Long story short, I ended up always coming up with something akin to Jim’s Beyond 5/3/1 only not as organized and with a West-Side slant on it.

Hope this helps.

3

Why not try max effort upper and rep work lower on day 1 and rep work upper and max effort lower on day 2? Just hit the main lifts and maybe one assistance exercise for each. Throw in a slingshot on the bench to make things interesting. Rotate your DL/squat ME and rep days as well.

If I were in your shoes, this is probably what I would do. It just depends on what your goal is. My goal is to compete. I have a wife and two kids that have my attention as well. It’s not impossible and you’re not alone in trying to find time my friend.

4

Check out the Lilliebridge Method. It’s a flexible method for 2-4 days a week. Something like this:

Week 1:
Heavy bench + assistance (assistance can be moved to separate day or kept in same)
Heavy squat + light deadlift + assistance (same as above for assistance)

Week 2:
Light bench + assistance
Heavy deadlift + light squat + assistance

That’s the general format and it does work well for people, from what I’ve been told. Unfortunately, I think most of the success stories I’ve heard of from this method were from people actually training with the Lilliebridges (or at least at their gym), so I’m not sure how much of this can be attributed to the program and how much the environment. Just throwing the idea out there in case you’re interested.

5

If you have 3 days a week to train, and 2 hours each of those days, I’d say go with sheiko or another program that has you benching and squatting each day you train.

6

What I’ve found when doing something like this is that the difficulty lies in remaining conditioned and maintaining structural balance. If possible, I’d try to do some body weight work, band stuff, and work with light db’s at home in addition to the main workouts.

7

Thanks for all the input guys.

I am reading it, and I will respond when I get a break from work.

I didn’t think the Lilliebridge method was available to the public.

8

Hey OP, if was in your shoes I would just do the 3 powerlifts and hit them with as much volume and intensity as you can handle on each day.
Something like this

Monday: Squat - 85-90% x 10 sets of 3, back off sets 80% x 2 sets of 5-6, 75% to failure.

Wednesday: Bench - similar to squat.

Friday: Deadlift - same but without the 75% to failure.

You might be surprised at how much progress you can make training like this without all the added fluff.
Andrey Malanichev uses a routine pretty much like this & he’s arguably the strongest powerlifter on the planet.

9

[quote]trivium wrote:
Thanks for all the input guys.

I am reading it, and I will respond when I get a break from work.

I didn’t think the Lilliebridge method was available to the public.[/quote]
It’s definitely available to the public. It’s available on the teamlilliebridge website for $40 (for only 9 short pages of actual content)…OR, uhh, you can…

10

[quote]B A S T A R D wrote:
Hey OP, if was in your shoes I would just do the 3 powerlifts and hit them with as much volume and intensity as you can handle on each day.
Something like this

Monday: Squat - 85-90% x 10 sets of 3, back off sets 80% x 2 sets of 5-6, 75% to failure.

Wednesday: Bench - similar to squat.

Friday: Deadlift - same but without the 75% to failure.

You might be surprised at how much progress you can make training like this without all the added fluff.
Andrey Malanichev uses a routine pretty much like this & he’s arguably the strongest powerlifter on the planet.[/quote]

This is very close to what I do. I’m not a very string guy but advanced lifter I guess and 3 days a week is about all I can handle going heavy each day.

11

[quote]Reed wrote:

[quote]B A S T A R D wrote:
Hey OP, if was in your shoes I would just do the 3 powerlifts and hit them with as much volume and intensity as you can handle on each day.
Something like this

Monday: Squat - 85-90% x 10 sets of 3, back off sets 80% x 2 sets of 5-6, 75% to failure.

Wednesday: Bench - similar to squat.

Friday: Deadlift - same but without the 75% to failure.

You might be surprised at how much progress you can make training like this without all the added fluff.
Andrey Malanichev uses a routine pretty much like this & he’s arguably the strongest powerlifter on the planet.[/quote]

This is very close to what I do. I’m not a very string guy but advanced lifter I guess and 3 days a week is about all I can handle going heavy each day.[/quote]
I always pictured you lifting at least 5 days per week. Great progress over the last few months, BTW. Its inspiring to see your PR’s.

12

[quote]OmniStyx wrote:

[quote]trivium wrote:
Thanks for all the input guys.

I am reading it, and I will respond when I get a break from work.

I didn’t think the Lilliebridge method was available to the public.[/quote]
It’s definitely available to the public. It’s available on the teamlilliebridge website for $40 (for only 9 short pages of actual content)…OR, uhh, you can…

[/quote]

…

13

[quote]trivium wrote:
Over the past few months I have had to adjust my schedule to allow for what I would consider to be super low frequency training. This is primarily due to my work/school schedule and the fact that gyms close very early around me (meaning not 24 hours).

I compensate for this with what I would call a pretty high volume of work.

I am sore for several days after lower body days.

Week one is press, assistance, and squat workouts (one day each).

Week two is bench, assistance and deadlift workouts (one day each).

Workouts last approximately 2 hours on average.

I feel like my progress hasn’t suffered much, but I am not making progress as fast as I used to either (I still make the same calculated jumps that I would if I were doing all of this work in one week).

My question is, what is the lowest frequency you have been able to make progress on?

Apparently Stan Efferding has done this type of low frequency in the past when he set his world records.[/quote]

Try the generalised intermediate rts program by mike t. I trained the way you did for months with little to show except being extremely sore. Now I’m training rts style four days per week, benching 4x per week, squatting 3xper week and dead lifting twice. I’m doing a lot more work but am no were near as sore as doing a balls out session once a week/fortnight and I’ve pr’d everything more than once. By far the best way to train in my opinion.

14

[quote]irishlifting wrote:

[quote]trivium wrote:
Over the past few months I have had to adjust my schedule to allow for what I would consider to be super low frequency training. This is primarily due to my work/school schedule and the fact that gyms close very early around me (meaning not 24 hours).

I compensate for this with what I would call a pretty high volume of work.

I am sore for several days after lower body days.

Week one is press, assistance, and squat workouts (one day each).

Week two is bench, assistance and deadlift workouts (one day each).

Workouts last approximately 2 hours on average.

I feel like my progress hasn’t suffered much, but I am not making progress as fast as I used to either (I still make the same calculated jumps that I would if I were doing all of this work in one week).

My question is, what is the lowest frequency you have been able to make progress on?

Apparently Stan Efferding has done this type of low frequency in the past when he set his world records.[/quote]

Try the generalised intermediate rts program by mike t. I trained the way you did for months with little to show except being extremely sore. Now I’m training rts style four days per week, benching 4x per week, squatting 3xper week and dead lifting twice. I’m doing a lot more work but am no were near as sore as doing a balls out session once a week/fortnight and I’ve pr’d everything more than once. By far the best way to train in my opinion.[/quote]

I figure that I am getting really far into school. I am going to have to settle a bit until after I graduate in December.

I only get 2 nights a week that I am able to even make it to the gym at all.

I am going to make a few moves after college, and one of them has been finding a personal trainer. I have been in contact with Dan Green and Paul Carter. I am also looking at the Lilliebridge programs, and Mike Tuchscherer.

I am thinking that I can probably do 10 weeks with each in 2015, and give Sheiko a real chance for 10 weeks.

I am also planning on cleaning up the diet and shedding a few of the extra pounds I gained doing my two year long dirty bulk during the last year of undergrad and the first year of my graduate studies.

I believe that I can get to a comfortable 1150 doing nothing but my own 2-day-a-week version of 5/3/1. If I could hold on to that and drop my weight to around 195 I would be in great shape to start over fresh with professional training.

I am looking to total 1300 at 181 OR 1400 at 198 within the next 5 years provided I can stay healthy.

15

[quote]trivium wrote:

[quote]irishlifting wrote:

[quote]trivium wrote:
Over the past few months I have had to adjust my schedule to allow for what I would consider to be super low frequency training. This is primarily due to my work/school schedule and the fact that gyms close very early around me (meaning not 24 hours).

I compensate for this with what I would call a pretty high volume of work.

I am sore for several days after lower body days.

Week one is press, assistance, and squat workouts (one day each).

Week two is bench, assistance and deadlift workouts (one day each).

Workouts last approximately 2 hours on average.

I feel like my progress hasn’t suffered much, but I am not making progress as fast as I used to either (I still make the same calculated jumps that I would if I were doing all of this work in one week).

My question is, what is the lowest frequency you have been able to make progress on?

Apparently Stan Efferding has done this type of low frequency in the past when he set his world records.[/quote]

Try the generalised intermediate rts program by mike t. I trained the way you did for months with little to show except being extremely sore. Now I’m training rts style four days per week, benching 4x per week, squatting 3xper week and dead lifting twice. I’m doing a lot more work but am no were near as sore as doing a balls out session once a week/fortnight and I’ve pr’d everything more than once. By far the best way to train in my opinion.[/quote]

I figure that I am getting really far into school. I am going to have to settle a bit until after I graduate in December.

I only get 2 nights a week that I am able to even make it to the gym at all.

I am going to make a few moves after college, and one of them has been finding a personal trainer. I have been in contact with Dan Green and Paul Carter. I am also looking at the Lilliebridge programs, and Mike Tuchscherer.

I am thinking that I can probably do 10 weeks with each in 2015, and give Sheiko a real chance for 10 weeks.

I am also planning on cleaning up the diet and shedding a few of the extra pounds I gained doing my two year long dirty bulk during the last year of undergrad and the first year of my graduate studies.

I believe that I can get to a comfortable 1150 doing nothing but my own 2-day-a-week version of 5/3/1. If I could hold on to that and drop my weight to around 195 I would be in great shape to start over fresh with professional training.

I am looking to total 1300 at 181 OR 1400 at 198 within the next 5 years provided I can stay healthy.[/quote]

That’s cool, I totally understand training with a purpose when it’s not even a top five priority in your life. The best bit of advice that I never got is if your solely interested in powerlifting then concentrate solely on powerliftingesque training. Sheiko or rts would be perfect. I’m leaning more towards rts as I’m a big advocate of this style. Now once your finished school I’d pick one coach and give them a year, personally again I’d go with mike t, if he has spots available of course. Jumping ship every ten weeks will more than likely lead to regression.

If your sole goal is too improve the big three then I’d train rts twice per week. Something like this

Day 1
Squat
Paused bench
Close grip

Day 2
Deadlift
Touch and go Bench
Front squat

Then on another day do abs and rows,chins etc for 20 mins and that’s it.

As hard as it is too believe I think this would work great done using the RPE scheme. Just my two cents but it would build a good base.

16

[quote]B A S T A R D wrote:
Hey OP, if was in your shoes I would just do the 3 powerlifts and hit them with as much volume and intensity as you can handle on each day.
Something like this

Monday: Squat - 85-90% x 10 sets of 3, back off sets 80% x 2 sets of 5-6, 75% to failure.

Wednesday: Bench - similar to squat.

Friday: Deadlift - same but without the 75% to failure.

You might be surprised at how much progress you can make training like this without all the added fluff.
Andrey Malanichev uses a routine pretty much like this & he’s arguably the strongest powerlifter on the planet.[/quote]

Are you talking 10 sets of 3 reps at 85-90% or working up to a set at 85-90% for 3?

17

[quote]osu122975 wrote:

[quote]B A S T A R D wrote:
Hey OP, if was in your shoes I would just do the 3 powerlifts and hit them with as much volume and intensity as you can handle on each day.
Something like this

Monday: Squat - 85-90% x 10 sets of 3, back off sets 80% x 2 sets of 5-6, 75% to failure.

Wednesday: Bench - similar to squat.

Friday: Deadlift - same but without the 75% to failure.

You might be surprised at how much progress you can make training like this without all the added fluff.
Andrey Malanichev uses a routine pretty much like this & he’s arguably the strongest powerlifter on the planet.[/quote]

Are you talking 10 sets of 3 reps at 85-90% or working up to a set at 85-90% for 3?
[/quote]

10 sets of 3, constant weight at 85-90%.
Working up to a single hard set wouldn’t be enough of a stimulus when only squatting once a a week IMO.

18

I’d do it like this:

Day 1:
ME Squat or DL
DE Bench
Hard Upper Body Supp
Assistance and Accessories

Day 2:
DE Lower (I’d do squat and DL)
ME Bench
Hard Lower Body Supp (opposite movement pattern of the ME work i.e: if you do ME Manta Ray squats do heavy RDLs here for one example)
Assistance and Accessories

I prefer to keep a broad definition of what ME and DE means. For DE work I like following Prelipen’s table and I’d probably go with the mid-high range w/ the low training frequecy. I’d probably push ME work pretty hard going up to RPE’s of 9’s and 10’s.

Edit: Thought of changes to make above.

19

[quote]B A S T A R D wrote:
10 sets of 3, constant weight at 85-90%.
Working up to a single hard set wouldn’t be enough of a stimulus when only squatting once a a week IMO.[/quote]

That’s a lot of volume at those percentages unless it’s a lower training max. If those percentages are based off an actual 1RM, that’s just crazy. I’d never recover fast enough or have the energy or strength to do all that in one session. I don’t know anyone who could maintain that for very long.

Are those percentages based off an actual 1RM in the gym?

If there are those who can do that week in and week out - more props to you all.

I was always under the impression watching Malan training vids and researching his training notes that he, like Coan, would work up to a single or even double heavy set.

20

[quote]osu122975 wrote:

[quote]B A S T A R D wrote:
10 sets of 3, constant weight at 85-90%.
Working up to a single hard set wouldn’t be enough of a stimulus when only squatting once a a week IMO.[/quote]

That’s a lot of volume at those percentages unless it’s a lower training max. If those percentages are based off an actual 1RM, that’s just crazy. I’d never recover fast enough or have the energy or strength to do all that in one session. I don’t know anyone who could maintain that for very long.

Are those percentages based off an actual 1RM in the gym?

If there are those who can do that week in and week out - more props to you all.

I was always under the impression watching Malan training vids and researching his training notes that he, like Coan, would work up to a single or even double heavy set.
[/quote]

Very diplomatic response OSU. I will be less diplomatic and say if the percentages are based on actual 1 RM for an intermediate or advanced lifter the chances of injuring yourself far exceed the chances of making progress training like this.