Low Volume/High Frequency & Concentrated Loading?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
1

CT,

  1. With the new info you’ve been sharing for natural trainees (low volume, high frequency), do you think the concentrated loading and/or specialization approach for a particular weak point is useful? Would you still use one all-out work set for the area of emphasis like all the other muscle groups?

  2. Part of why I ask is I am aiming to bring up my upper back (“power look”) muscles with a 4 day push/pull split. I plan to include a few non-stressful pump sets for the upper back (probably reverse fly and/or cable shrug) to give hit it 3 times a week.

Pull day 1 - Primary upper back lift: SGHP
Push day 1 - Plus 1-2 upper back pump set
Off
Pull day 2 - Primary upper back lift: Kirk Row/Shrug
Off
Push day 2
Off

Thank you for all the natural trainee info lately, it has been working great for me.

2

Yes I believe that the concentrated approach is useful, mostly with advanced trainees.

I would not add more sets per exercises but I might do more exercises for the spec muscles, but within reason because too much volume in one session will lead to the increase in cortisol we want to avoid. So I might divide the 2 spec muscles and do “maintenance” work for the other muscles during all the workouts.

For example let’s say you want to focus on biceps and pecs:

DAY 1: Pecs workout 1 (3-4 exercises) / Triceps, delts maintenance (1 exercise each)
DAY 2: Biceps workout (3-4 exercises) / Back, rear delts maintenance (1 exercise each)
DAY 3: Pecs workout (3-4 exercises) / Quads, calves, maintenance (1 ex. each)
DAY 4: Biceps workout (3-4 exercises) / Back, hamstrings maintenance (1 exercise each)
DAY 5: Pecs workout (3-4 exercises) / Quads, delts maintenance (1 exercise each)
DAY 6: Biceps workout (3-4 exercises) / Hamstrings, traps maintenance (1 exercise each)
DAY 7: OFF

3

Thanks for explaining. Are there any special techniques you still use for the SGHP? I recall the ones from Layers, but I am not sure that rest/pause or drop sets, etc jive with the SGHP and this more recent concept of low volume/high frequency.

4

Thibs, mate, could this be done with Rear Delt (pull day) and Medial Delt (push day) exercises or are they to close together anatomically and I’d therefore be over doing it?

I’m super Anterior Delt heavy and trying to balance it out.