Why Lower Training Frequency Might Be BETTER For Growth
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- Опубликовано: 12 июн 2024
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0:00 Optimizing training frequency
3:48 Deload integration
5:38 Untrained individuals
7:37 Short programs vs long term results
10:03 Anabolic resistance
14:35 Sustainability
19:55 Study Design
23:09 Implications 
Спорт
I be training at such a low frequency that my belly is starting to be my most dominant feature
😂
12 times a year?
Tell me about it dude.
@@ncb4_69 lesser, gotta account for deloads and I take my recovery very seriously
I used to be able to run a sub 7 mile and still back squat 400lbs. Now if I lay on my back it takes me 2 minutes to get up and I’ll have to recover for 3 minutes. This is just about 18 months apart hahaha
As someone who trains on average 1x per month. I feel validated. Thanks Dr. Mike!
mentzer approved
😂
@@chairmanlifts Not so fast, he didn't say how many reps and sets. Anymore than 3 reps for 2 sets and I think he might be over training.
I used to stick my d*ck in the toaster every day but I’ve since discovered that lower frequency is better.
Oh, another high frequency trainer
The more I go the more I like it. It’s getting to the point when I take a day off it feels wrong. I got rid of almost all my bad addictions
Yup. It keeps us accountable every day.💪
I love every second of the gym. It’s the best part of my day but the more go the more tired I am each session. I cut down to 4 times a week from 6 and I’ve gotten better results and get better each lift
@@pucebracelet2214Thats cause youre probably doing PPL and too much Volume, try a bro split with 4-8 sets per muscle to failure part 5 or 6 days a week best split evry for hypertrophy all the pros use it
Everything becomes a bad addiction in excess
Same. Dr Mike has another video saying higher frequency is great, too...and I felt so vindicated. Now he's saying the opposite and idk how to feel 😂
I've been lifting for 14 years now and I realize that the best frequency to every lifter in this world is the one that they can recover from in their current state. Sure, I can go 5-6 times a week in my early twenties but nowadays, I work nights and recovery is the main enemy, so 3x a week full body for me to give my body time to recover. Just experiment what you can as every body and current situation is different.
Yeah mate, if you train full body, of course you can't go 5 times a week. I go every day but every muscle has 4 days of rest. And yes, I have deload days and sometimes weeks. But there is nothing wrong with training every day, depending on how you schedule it.
I go fullbody twice a week. Still gaining strenght. Not sure on size but that isn't really something I deeply care about. @@robbertag808
Agreed. I feel like it all the frequency debate comes down to this: train the muscle again when it's recovered. If you are still sore when it's time to train, lower the frequency. If you feel ready to go but it's still 2 days until you hit that muscle again, up the frequency.
But then again I run into another problem. I'm a beginner (only 1.5 years of training) so I can handle frequency just fine. Go to the gym 6 days a week, destroy a muscle group so intensely and then the next day I'm ready to go again. Only chest, hams, quads, and back take at least 2 days to recover. But if I end up training the smaller muscles like x5-x6 times a day or something, I just get burned out mentally after 2-3 weeks. It just gets harder to drag my ass to the gym. My muscles feel perfectly fine. I'm nowhere near big enough to accumulate a lot of systemic fatigue either so I think it's just a mental thing.
It doesn’t make sense. There’s no shot you’ll grow at all after that many years. SFR is negative. Advanced people should train twice a day and tank the fatigue
@@soonaherothis is wrong, advance trainees need to be doing Rich Piana’s 8 hour workout on every body part daily 6x a week minimum to grow
At my age (almost 68), recovery of joints and tendons and overall fatigue drives the bus. I want to do this next year and the next and so on.
My gym has tons of older people, the most fit go 4 to 6 times week, but they do different things each day to allow for recovery. Most are also focused on maintaining strength and mobility, not necessarily trying to build bigger muscles. Just stay active and know your limits, get plenty of rest/sleep for recovery.
You are a true role model! Congrats on doing the right thing even though it's hard
i'm only 40 and I'm in the same boat
I will feel blessed if I'm still resistance training at 68! Good on ya!
Impressive we all aspire to be like you at almost 68
Something something Mike Mentzer.
fr
Fr fr no cap rl
💯
Frfr das fax 💯🔥
Does frequency mean going to gym 3x 4x 5x time a week or hitting same muscle 3x 4x 5x time a week
The amount of quality info for free on this channel is mind blowing. I wish I’d had access to this 35 years ago when I started training. The younger generation is so lucky to have this to help make training more productive. Well done RP and Dr Mike.
Couldn’t agree more. Been lifting on and off for the better part of 30 years, and finally figured out my sweet spots due to this content. Dr. Mike’s the Man.
He also totally reminds me of the Doctor from Star Trek Voyager, lol.
I'm a woman working at an oil refinery. My job is quite physical. I also ride a bit of mtb/ road cycle. So I find three 1 hour workouts per week something I can sustain. It also helps me in the real world with my job to get stronger. Any more than that I feel would effect my life balance.
Put a heart
ae there womens facilities on an oil rig ? i thought all the showers and toiles would be open and male only
@@mcpartridgeboy Are you American? Just guessing you are.... what is with you guys and communal toilets/showers. I mean a curtain and a rail, like what, $10? Y'all got some latent shit brewing haha
(being British I can imagine oil rigs having basics like doors on them. You know, being from the culture that invented culture ✌)
@@mcpartridgeboy Refinery not on a rig. Instrumentation technician. Thankfully we have a woman's changing rooms and toilet facilities in my department 😅
For me, one of the main factors is psychological. I like 6 days a week for the habit. Each muscle group trained 3x per week. I know every day except Sunday, I'm going to be in the gym and I find a sort of comfort in that schedule (which helps with my adherence).
You are literally wasting your time doing that. The gym isn’t therapy. Get actual help for your issues.
I don’t think he means he has issues and goes to the gym to fight demons. I think he means he just enjoys going to the gym that much. I like going to the gym 5-6 days a week for the same reason, i just genuinely enjoy training. And i do pull back on volumes every month or few months for fatigue and recovery and every time i do im like ugh no gym today this sucks
@@killinintheplace that’s called an addiction. You are wasting your time going that frequently. Find an actual productive hobby, not just masochistically beating your body up because you can’t control your mind.
Same, I get my best results going at least 5-6 times a week. It's also helps me make it a habit, when I got less times a week I more likely to skip
@@overlordfemto7523 Jesus. Imagine doing something you enjoy frequently, lol. We don't know if the guy loves working out, or hates it. We don't know if he only does a few exercises a day, or does ten a day. We don't know what he looks like nor do we know what you look like. All we know is how oddly negative you sound even while attempting to preach something positive.
Dr. Mike turning into Mike Mentzer confirmed
❌ Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
✅ Dr. Israetel & Mr. Mentzer
Hes the Messiah
Does frequency mean going to gym 3x 4x 5x time a week or hitting same muscle 3x 4x 5x time a week
@@mihirshinde1706the latter.
@@mihirshinde1706 frequency in training is related to how many times you train a particular muscle per week (a week as an example)
A little bit offtopic, but still nice to think about for some people: Full body workouts are really useful if someone wants to implement other sports in their weekly routines. It is otherwise impossible to get enough volume without being sore for that other sport.
Let´s say you wanna go for boxing 2 times a week, you can´t do it the day after a shoulder workout, you can´t do it after a leg workout, it sucks after hitting triceps hard, etc..
So you can just go for full body routines that dont mess up any muscle completely, take a session of the other sport whenever you want to, and go for a workout in the gym the day after again. It opened a whole new world for me.
I’m spending most of this year as a weekend warrior, full body on Sunday, split into two sessions - upper in the morning, lower in the afternoon.
We all know about the bro split, but there isn’t much information or well known programs that have people cramming all their training into Saturday and/or Sunday. I’m just going to Guinea pig myself.
@@MeridiasTaco There's a fair bit of research, at least on untrained individuals, that even a single fairly low volume training session per week still produces significant muscle and strength gains. It's not optimal if you want to get as big and strong as you possibly can, but when it comes to resistance training a little bit really does go a long way.
I made decent gains on college training on weekends only (usually upper/lower on Sat/Sun, sometimes a single full body session if I couldn't train both days). Nowadays I do some variation of upper/lower, chest+shoulders+quads/back+hams or a heavier strength focused full body session on Saturday and a lighter hypertrophy session Sunday most of the year, it's good enough for maintenance and still eke out some strength gains here and there while leaving me free for work and other sports training during the week.
I've been strength training on and off for 20 years, and never saw much changes. That is until I found you Dr Mike. Now in my mid forties and gaining and growing like crazy.
Thanks Dr Mike, you have changed my life!
I've actually noticed this a lot just anecdotally. Some of the biggest gains I've ever made have been times where I worked out 5-7 days per week for a bit but then completely stop for 5-7 days (or what people would call a "de-load". Systemic fatigue is definitely real especially if you suck at sleeping.
I spent my late teens through early 20's doing alot of sets/ reps and working the same muscle group every 2-3 days a week. I was gaining strength but slow gains and still relatively skinny just shockingly strong for my size. Once I started hitting one muscle group a week 4 sets and 3-4 exercises per muscle group I blew up in literally 3-4 months. (5-6 lbs of muscle) and noticably denser muscle. My own doctor asked if I was taking any steroids during a physical. Flash forward years later (in my 30's) I took a DNA test and one of the health analysis says I need longer time for my muscle tissue to repair than normal and have exceptionally high production of fast twitch muscle fibers. It's hard because I love just being in the gym but in order to get the best results for my physique less is literally more.
Set up your plan to spread out your workout over as many days as you want to go but with different things every day. Sprinkle in some extra mobility and cardio that don't over tax your muscles as much. You can vary up your routine, be more well rounded and still optimize your muscle gain.
@@Vincent_Beershe said he did that and it did not work😂.
Less is more for him whats so hard to understand mr know it all😂
You'd only hit a muscle once a week at 4 sets per exercise for 3-4 exercises? So around 12-16 sets sort of like bro split? I've tried this too just with slightly lower vooumne because my recovery takes so long
Same here. Double ACTN3 carrier.
The analysis spat it out verbatim in a summary report:
- Low reps
- Lower sets
- Long rest periods
- May have trouble recovering from more than 3x/week
I'm a 3x natty Mr Universe in PNBA mens physique and years before this I started doing Dorian Yates style H.I.T.
My on stage weight in 2017 carbed up was 78kgs (had competed since 2014). Took a gap year, came back in 2019 and my stage weight was 81.5kg.
Things have leveled out since then, but I started following Dr Mike and programming again and I'm stronger now than I was 4 years ago.
However, each time I train more than 4x/week. Or the volume starts to creep up too much on a 5x/week I just eat complete shit and need to revert back to lower volume higher intensity.
That muscle fibre thing is real? That might be me. I wonder if this DNA test thing is also called DNA test in Europe.
I've been training fairly consistently, fairly hard for the last couple years. I noticed my most growth in January and February when i avoid the gym due to all the resolutions customers that crowd the place. I still go, just not as long or as often. Was probably over doing it as well. This video makes sense.
Also could be muscles replenishing their glycogen stores since you're not exercising as much during that time, that will increase the muscle volume somewhat, as well as allowing for any muscle damage to repair. I used to find I'd "grow" after a week off gym time, and appear leaner because water retention is lower when you have less muscle damage/inflammation.
My friend is the king of lower frequency training.
He works out once a year….
Can't beat the 1st Jan Bros
Bruh that's soft how about once in a lifetime)
I only have dumbbells, largest 65lbs. Just started working out in Dec 2023 at 6’1” 350lbs and I do what I consider full body with 1 or 2 rest days between depending on muscle fatigue. I thought I was weak. I’m at 290lbs now My brother invited me to go to a gym with him and I was surprised I could max out most of the upper body cable machines and I flat benched 195 for 2 reps just to see if I could. I don’t know if my routine would work for everyone but it’s working for me.
Thanks for keeping me engaged, your humor is much appreciated! ❤
Such a great point! I remember doing full body every day except weekends. It got to a point that my mind would sign off. Great video 👊🏽
Great comments about needing to factor in de-load frequency/length into the mesocycle.
Just for anyone in the comments who, like me, misunderstood what high frequecy training actually is for a long time; it's not how often you go to the gym, it's how often you train each muscle. So if you go the gym 6 days a week and do push pull legs push pull legs, you're training each muscle twice a week and that isn't high frequency training.
You're completely right. But as the last point mentioned you need to look at overall fatigue too. For some people 6 day PPL can become an overkill due to overall stress the body has faced so they might be better suited to doing only of the Push, Pull or Legs only once per week.
Most people commenting didn't pay attention to the video.
@@bradboustead1682 Yeah I've been scrolling and almost all the comments are just about how many times per week they go the gym 😂
Totally missed that. 2 years in. Exercising around 3-5 days a week. Doing push pull legs and repeat.
That is not high frequency training then?
So high frequency would be if I hit each muscle group around 3 times the same week let’s say?
@@Sigge1992 yes like full body 3x
found this channel about 2 weeks ago and watched over 50 videos :D
great stuf
thank you
The amount of useful, free information which Dr. Mike shares is astounding 🙏
I've been going to the gym for 2 months and I have learned so much from you in, in my opinion, the most important stage of my journey.
Slow reps, focus on eccentrics for hypertrophy, progressive overload.
There's not a day I've been to the gym where I wasn't satisfyingly sore the next day.
I really appreciate all the free knowledge and wisdom you give us.
Hurrah
Diminishing returns makes perfect sense, it’s true of almost everything and generally linear progress is very rare.
I train twice a week. If you asked me couple of years ago if that is enough I would probably say no. But lowering the frequency helped me, I was able to progress on my lifts and got stronger. I had to say I was pushing way too hard and you can overtrain on twice a week too but it's a lot harder. So training twice week actually helped me to recover more consistently and get back to progress.
How does your training look? Two day full body? Around how many sets a body part? I did upper lower 4 days a week but now I’m really busy with my kids sports and switched to 3 day a week full body. Just curious if you do a full body twice a week and how many sets. More time off from lifting wouldn’t be a bad thing because I go hard in the gym.
@P_ounds I'm not that guy but in a similar situation and when i can crowbar 3 sessions into my schedule I'll do Upper/lower on sat/sun and then a FB on Thurs. Feel like it works well for me when i can manage it and focus on volume.
Otherwise I'll do 2 FBs a week geared around a midweek squat&press session, and then a weekend dead&bench session. Love the fact i can hit everything as hard as possible and not have to even consider recovery.
I found that lowering volume helped me a lot (SFR). But instead of decreasing frequency, I decreased the number of sets per session. I still trained each muscle group 2x per week. You might be leaving gains on the table.
@@nicorellius Yes, but this is more sustainable for me. I don't recover very well. Training twice a week is also so much more time efficient.
@@drednac Totally understand... We each have to find what works best for our bodies, schedule, etc.
Best vid out there about this topic. Period.
good timing. I just commented on another one of your vids about myself finding of recent years better results foregoing frequency and going all in on the other variable's instead (volume, intensity, load etc) then right after seeing this was posted an hour ago lol. Now to watch the video and see what the science nerds say...
Maybe you should make a poll ( how many years have you been training? ) because i really think the vast majority of people watching have been training for under 2 years
5 years here. 1 polling added 😂
About 2,yrs😂
Ive been training for around 1 year
i’m at 6 months right now i’ve made so much progress doing full body 2/3x a week
I do think RP's viewers are more advanced than most fitness channels, as the content can be quite nerdy and detailed. But as the channel grows larger and larger, probably a lot more newer lifters are joining the audience.
Holy hell, RP subs coming in like clockwork. 1M wasnt so long ago 😮
Bruh they had 1.45M yesterday like wtf!!
@@deanal-jackson4593 It's the Sulek Effect from yesterday's workout video. :)
people wanna get jacked
I never thought about it this way... And I realized I never really thought about it. This video inspired me to start pursuing truth in training.
Ngl I switched to a (sort of) bro split after several years of scoffing at the idea and have been getting great results in strength and size, and as a bonus my sessions are much more enjoyable and less fatiguing, both mentally and physically.
Find what works for you and don't be afraid (or too proud) to experiment!
I agree with this. Took me many years of everything until going back to this and now im seeing progress again. natty, 40 yo
I've always loved bro splits. its where in the past (and even today) I still make most of my optimal gains. as they allow me to use more volume per month without each workout being overly long
What’s your body part split?
@@patrickjulius7352
Monday - Chest + Side Delts
Tuesday - Back + Abs (can throw in rear delts if needed)
Wednesday -- Rest
Thursday - Legs
Friday - Arms
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Rest
It is understated how, other than after leg days (which if you're smart you leave for Friday/Saturday), on a bro split you never feel that tired. DOMS is a bitch at first but then you adapt and it's fine.
If I'm doing even upper/lower twice a week I'm always just kinda run down and sleepy, never feel fully recovered.
This is the analysis I wanted to hear, and why - like 6 months ago maybe - I requested a video on Mentzer and HIT. All the studies seem to go for too short a period to include deloading, and deloading is known to be necessary, and that does imply that high frequency training, when done over the long run, might not have that large an impact - such that the low frequency guys might be right.
And honestly, if high frequency were to still be better, but you could do say 14 sets a week, and get 80% of the gains you'd get doing 40 sets a week when adjusted for deloads... for most people, that's a good trade.
But but, Ivan Djuric has been squatting every day for years and he runs into fatigue management issues every day. Oh wait...
Isn't that his whole thing? At this point he "couldn't" change it even if he wanted to, it's his branding
He has super light workouts every 3 days or so. It's so light that basically a warmup , very little fatigue i guess
And he barely made progresses in 3 years. I think his 1RM is still 210kg.
@@monsieurene3366 ridiculous
It's not about the gains, it's about sending a message... 🃏
Hey dr Mike, love the videos! Can you maybe make a video on how training (frequency, intensity, deload, etc.) develops as people progress from beginner to intermediate to advanced lifter?
Great video Doc
When are you going to start selling that shirt in the store? It’s totally badass! I go looking for it every time you wear it in a video 😂
I've made pretty good progress so far with low frequency but I also have a physically demanding job
i haven't trained in years. still love watching ya doc
Dr. Mike, you are a gift to humanity and we all love you ❤
Ive found more recently the past year as an advanced lifter (trained for 10 years + ) that frequency if anything holds me back, whereas when younger it was optimal for growth whereas now I need more stimulus to the muscle using volume, load, and intensity, foregoing frequency allows me to ramp these up each session and remain consistent with such.
I only hit each muscle with a dedicated session once every ten days, but in that session im doing on average 20+ sets to failure and beyond. Lowering the frequency allows me plenty of time to manage systematic fatigue, in this way I am hitting each muscle on average 60+ sets to failure per month with no de-loads needed
Impressive. Do you manage to progress in loads and rep count?
@@bradbitt8007 Yes I have been making progress in both doing such. when i first started I was making progress every workout on every exercise. now I make progress per workout on at least one exercise in terms of reps (then eventual load. ) Years ago I would have been convinced that not training a muscle for ten days it would be weaker and Id be freaking out, but quite the opposite is true I've found over the years.
It seems like once the DOMS have fully gone after 2-4 days the muscle feels fully recovered yet it feels like a few days more after letting the muscle rest comes a fullness to it right before the tenth day.
It's also quite adaptable in that if you wanted for smaller muscle groups (calfs, forearms, neck, side delts etc) you can always add on 3 sets on the end of a workout if you wanted, so you could effectively do 18 sets per muscle group per workout then 3 sets for another muscle group as a 'top up' if wanting at least some frequency.
Myself i dont feel the need but have experimented with that also, but is good if wanting to prioritise a lagging muscle.
I basically do a high volume high intensity bro split but with a rest day between each workout
@@papaspaulding That's super interesting. Thank you! It challenges my beliefs.
I don't compete and have no intention to. Therefore I have no hard deadlines that I need to maximize my gains for, I just want to build as much as possible over time.
I hate being banged up and tired all the time.
Therefore, I have been working out every other day for 4 months and I am never going back lol. 5 day split, one for each of the big 5 (bench, deadlift, ohp, bb row, squat) in a way that hits all my muscles twice per ten days.
I barely even have to take deloads now because I am always fresh and recovered and systemic fatigue is almost nonexistent.
I recently figured out that I can easily add one small extra workout in where I do half the work of a regular workout, in order to periodically prioritize any specific muscle group, without really messing with my rest and recovery.
Fucking love it.
This seems extremely over complicated for virtually no reason at all.
@@CornFed_3 in what way exactly is it complicated?
Do you build a full body approach around every lift?
It's interesting. Can you expand on your routine? How it looks in detail?
@@DrStench13, because you’re basing workouts around movements versus muscle groups. I get what you’re going for, it spreads out fatigue due to a focus on a specific area versus a broad area, but I stand by what I said.
What does your current plan look like for 2 weeks? Maybe I just need to see it broken down better.
thank you for this Mike. I miss this kind of content from you!
This chimes with my experience in trying to transition from beginner to intermediate weights.
When you push the gas you push it hard, to paraphrase deload rule, as a 19 year lifting veteran, I can only gain muscle when I train super hard and everything is right I can't get muscle with mid training so I don't even bother. Massing phase is usually 15-20 weeks, rest of the year is MV or cutting MV. And I can't get quality volume without both high frequency and prioritizing
Too bad low frequencies do nothing for my mental health. I need to be in the gym six times a week in order to deal with the idiots on the outside.
Facts
Lifting heavy things makes sad voice in head quiet
when u do 6 day split like Quad Chest Back Shoulder Hams Arms you are 6 day in the gym
What makes you not one of the idiots outside?
True
2 to 3 workouts per week has been great for me. It’s hard to find time to lift as a parent of two young kids. plus I just like the feeling of going in and going hard then having a couple days to recover
I needed to hear this
hitting my first de-load. mind body and soul all feel exhausted. now i'm battling anxiety on missing sessions, feeling lazy and feeling unproductive. lol
Your body doesn't build muscle while working out, it builds muscle when you're resting, you may feel unproductive, but be at ease, your muscles are really trying to build right now.
continue going. 3x. half the weight, half the reps, half the sets
how long did you train until you took your first deload?
13:10 Mike subtweeting Huberman lmaoooooo
High-frequency fornication and deception training
The timing of this video almost makes it seem like the video was made for me, thanks Dr. Mike! 😂
Have been training 6 days, push/pull/legs for 10-12 weeks. Out of nowhere this week my knee and shoulder joints both started to hurt. Decided to take the week off but might drop to a 3 day split 5 RIR for a couple weeks.
To me it is so weird that nowadays a PPL is done like that by most people. Usually it was done every 5 days with a rest day before and after leg day. That's just how I learned it and that's still hard enough
This was helpful. I started to increase frequency on certain muscle groups to increase volume. After hearing how increased frequency could cause need for more frequent deloads I’m going to stick to my normal routine (each 2X/week) and simply add more sets and reps for the muscles I want to grow and reload after 6-8. Thank you
I just looked up Stronger by Science, what a brilliant resource that I can't wait to delve into.
RP and SBS teams have been hard carrying the evidence-based fitness industry for the last few years
Stronger by science does a podcast as well.
SBS is also worth following on Reddit
Day 259 of asking for a workout that cures my balding
Great info as always. My chest grew significantly from doing the dumbell bench Mondays and then dips Thursdays but then I plateaud. Went back to just Mondays and upped the weight and grew more. My biceps grow nice 2x a week and I only squat (body weight) once per week due to a recurring joint problem I have in one of them. I'm gonna try 3x a week just isolating my calves and see what that does.
Thanks for the vid!
A year ago I was struggling with a year long plateau in my training and explored loads of different things to exit it until I decided to implement a 5 times a week high frequency full body programme and ever since i have rocketed up weights, enjoy the gym more, feel better, recover better and it suits my life style better. Safe to say I’m a strong advocate for high freq full body.
Muscle nerds unite!!!💪🤓
People bringing Mentzer without actually watching the video. When Dr. Mike says low it means at least twice per week. That's more than double of other Mike
What?? Mike literally never once said 1 workout a week. 😂 he advocated for a workout every 72 hours on average.
He did say once a week at the end. Almost no one does that. The Ideal routine from Heavy Duty is where it's at.
Integrating de-load week, and not being team lift every day was one of the best moves I ever made. Joints hurt less, recovery was noticeably improved, and I hated life a little less.
I recently started training less and follow your Superman schedule. In 22 years of fitness, this is the best decision I ever made. Thank you so much for sharing 🙏
Yeah i really like the idea of prioritiy vs non priority training days...saves tons of energy by not hitting lega so much but you don't skip them either
I am a regular dude, a little bit overweight… I work out every day. Different workouts depending on mood (running, kettlebell, boxing, weightlifting and so on).
Why work out every day you might ask?
Because it make it easy to maintain. You don’t have to figure when to put your workout days. And you can’t put it on to the next day if you don’t feel like it, and then end up not doing it at all because you skipped it once, and then ruined the whole week.
Doing “something” every day has made it doable for me.. 👍
also is good for you if you're overweight to burn a few extra calories
Doing *different* activities other than just bodybuilding, absolutely great way to go. O used to go every day, but I now try to walk on days between lifting.
Mike Mentzer🤓☝️
Shush
Lol. All you HIT Jedis, he wasn’t referring to anything close to HIT training. Keep dreaming
@@Soccasteve but it keeps saying that you need to rest more than the normal gym goer, you Arnie kid
@@tomasrozencveig608 There's a big difference between having rest days and doing insanely low volume like Mentzer. I'm not suggesting you go to the gym 6 days a week. 3-4 should be plenty. But those 3-4 days won't be low volume.
@@Soccasteve i have never said that you dont need to lower that much the volume. Just that rest days or extra days are overproductive most times.
Absolutely amazing video as always! 🙌
I always felt the best when I was only hitting a muscle group twice a week. I tried to squat 3 times a week and I felt like shit. My knees never started to hurt, I was like 23 at the time, but I noticed that I wasn't hitting reps of consistent quality so I went back to what I had been doing before
Why would anyone think that training the same muscle group 6 times a week was a good idea? Unless you're on mad gear that's pretty dumb.
That wouldn’t even work on mad gear. Recovery speeds up somewhat but there are still tissues that need time to repair like tendons and fascia. The pain alone would stop you short, if not a sudden and severe injury.
We Mentzer guys have trying to tell you this for the longest. Welcome, we’ve been waiting for you
HIT Jedis*
I've been doing upper/lower 2x a week almost exclusively drop sets for roughly 6 months now with no perceived need to de-load. it's challenging but not grueling. I consistently get in for the next session the day the stiffness is mostly gone. fatigue has not really been an issue my joints feel great and I have been getting bigger and stronger. I initially felt guilty not going ham with a crazy program but I mean, I've gained like 20lbs of muscle so it's working. I'm not advanced so I'm likely just experiencing easy gains but this is working great for me right now.
Newbie gains are great. You'll probably hit your first wall somewhere in the 6 to 8 months range, unless you're really young, then it might take a year. You'll feel it, and then just follow his advice on how to deload for a week or two every few months.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 *📚 Higher frequency training may not always be superior for muscle growth in practical application despite research findings.*
01:51 *💡 Volume equating in studies may undermine the benefits of high frequency training by not accounting for increased overall weekly volume potential.*
03:43 *🔄 Six reasons are outlined for why higher training frequency might be less optimal in practice than suggested by evidence.*
09:52 *⏳ High frequency training may yield better results for short periods (1-3 months) but may not be sustainable long-term due to factors like anabolic resistance and fatigue.*
12:55 *💪 Anabolic resistance means higher frequency training might not provide proportionally higher gains compared to lower frequency due to diminishing returns in muscle growth per session.*
17:33 *⚠️ Higher frequency training allows for greater volume and load accumulation, but it also leads to increased fatigue, both systemic and joint-related, which might not be sustainable in the long term.*
19:35 *🔄 Training frequency can be cycled to allow muscles to recover while focusing on others.*
20:02 *📊 Most training studies assess frequencies of twice or thrice weekly, often with no additional training outside the study context.*
20:56 *🤔 Abstracts may suggest high training frequencies, but real-world applicability requires considering systemic fatigue and overall program sustainability.*
22:07 *💡 Incrementally increasing training frequency, focusing on specific muscle groups, allows for better assessment of individual adaptability.*
23:35 *⚖️ High-frequency training might not be universally beneficial; context matters, with 3x a week considered high frequency for most people.*
24:02 *📈 Gradually increasing frequency, monitoring fatigue, and cycling training intensity can optimize results and prevent overuse injuries.*
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Next week - 'Mike Mentzer was right.'
He can't be, for his time he might be the best but not in this age
You should probably not make the argument that study trainees dont train hard when you had an entire video about how study trainees often train harder than most gymgoers and even some ifbb pros. Probably want to leave that angle out
He means before the actual study, not during
@@michaelsiemasko9395then that means the study is not validated since they were only trying to please the researchers which is a terrible confounding variable. And one you can't dismiss
@@stevegaspar that's how studies work
@stevegaspar they're testing to compare frequencies not how hard the average gym goer trains.
@stevegaspar if some people trained hard and others didnt, that would be what invalidates the study because then how are you suppose to know if what your seeing is due to frequency or that some people didnt train hard enough for the information to be relevant
I have been doing high volume, 4 days a week. I took a deload week last week, this week I'm trying for 5 days. I'm not sure what day 5 looks like yet, I'm gonna play it by ear, but I'm looking forward to it. Consistently getting to the gym 4 days a week felt so amazing, the deload was mentally hard. I had to find ways to occupy myself having freed up so much time. I found them, did some stuff to my car, got to tinker on some things, but I'm excited to be back to the gym with my high volume. Just for fun, I have been trying to do full body for 6-10 sets, a day. I can do 3 days a week like that, previously my 4th day have been thing on things I specifically want to do extra work on, like smaller muscle groups, my shit ass delts for example. I don't know if I'll be able to do a day 4 volume day for full body, but I'm gonna try!
Important lesson on looking at effect sizes here instead of just looking at “more”
I love how you bring in your life experiences into every lecture.
Very wholesome that you share so much personal stuff.
I doubt you reached the level of my Lamborghini collection, but hey, everyone starts small and every Lambo counts! You go man!
I love at the beginning how he tries to get a knot out of the back of his shoulder while questioning higher frequency haha
I used to train 5-6 days a week - loads of injuries and systemic fatigue. I then ( luckily) found Dr Mike and when down to 4 days, and now 3 - feel well recovered, no injuries and great workouts.
I sort of find when I do high volume stuff, I get some good gains during the meso cycle, but during my deload I get mega gains. I've seen some people say that is cause of the lower training volume, but I've heard people say its cause of that hard time you put it in and now your body is catching up with the adaptations it needed to make. Honestly I think there needs to be some studies done checking that relationship before anything can be said.
I've started taking an extra rest day ontop of what I really prefer. My joints are more happy and it is seems to be key for me to keep injuries at bay.
Hello Mike huge fan of the Channel and I love your videos. I was wondering if you have any workout tips for people with pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum that we can implement or start implementing. Thank you
As someone about to compete for the first time in men’s physique after 17 years of lifting, I have to say that this is golden. I do find that training each muscle group twice per week has worked wonders over the last 7 years. However, cycling in & out of higher frequencies is smart. I generally don’t get beaten up doing 6x per week for months on end due to training at 1-2RIR generally with good form. I wonder if a lower frequency is necessary if one thrives at higher frequencies ?🤷🏾♂️ Thanks Dr. Mike!
I actually left a comment on your last video when you covered frequency and said 3x a week is the most you should do if each workout is intense enough. Not only that but anything after 3 intense workouts a week and your body is too fatigue to really add in another high intensity weight lifting session to it because of systemic fatigue. Optimally you want to rest a day or two after you lift because of systemic fatigue. Then hit 2nd muscle group day 3 or 4, 3rd muscle group day 6 or 7. That is what I beleive to be optimal, for me anyways. My work schedule does not allow this as I have 4 days of work in a row, and then 3 off and I usually weight lift on my off days. But if I could chose to, I would rest a couple days imbetween muscle group sessions, maybe do some long distance walking, or stamina based light elyltical work on my off days without getting the heart rate too high. Light light stuff just to burn fat(while staying slightly below my maintence caloric daily level)
Great video again ! Thanks for all the information I was trying ppl but 6 days a week plus 50 hour + physical job week is hard, I’m trying to design my own 4 day spilt for 10-12 sets per week per muscle that I can actually sustain and isn’t a 3 hour workout.
I moved to training once a week to twice a week for PPL, made a huge difference. The DOMS was the biggest issue / difference I noticed. I then moved to stubborn body parts every workout (ie. 4 times a week) - namely biceps, because they refuse to grow, and triceps, and I've noticed a slight uptick. Main thing is that I'm hammering my arms like crazy and I am seeing some improvement over just twice a week.
This actually makes me wanna try an idea I came up
With.
I've been training 2x per week fullbody, which is inspired from Alex Leonidas, and I have been getting the best results for the past year following this split! I do 2 exercises per large muscle groups, and 1 smaller (maybe 2 exercises if I'm prioritising). I train last set of each exercise to failure, and am always sore a day or two after training but always fully recovered for my session! Definitely works, and I spend less time going to the gym (but individual workouts do take longer, around 2 hours total).
Just listen to your body and recover when needed.
totally agree with this. i went from 405 bck squat to 635 parallel (666 partial) squatting once a week. routine first day back squat, hamstrings, second day 6 x 4-6 reps deep leg press, leg curl and extensions/4-5 sets of 8-16.
just today i started thinking about doing 1per week freq, perfect timing
I train monday upper body, tuesday lower body(morely quads focused), wednesday cardio traps calves abs, thrusday push, friday pull, saturday hamstring and glutes focused, sunday same as wednesday and i feel like a god
in few last months i incorporated weekend warrior approach into my training routine and it makes wonders. great training, great weekends and great results. especially as for as power, i am powerhouse now. thinking about mike mentzer and going to train just every odd weekend as it is in accordance with scientific evidence in this video. although there is definitely video on this channel about how high frequency training is superior...
I’ve found that, with my current lifestyle (no alcohol, enough sleep but not always at consistent times, a diet where I always hit my protein goals but will occasionally have outlier days where I under/overeat my caloric goal), my ideal frequency for a 6 week training cycle followed by a deload week is 5 total sessions a week, Training Delts 5 times a week, Arms, Calves and Chest 3 times a week, Quads, Glutes and Back twice a week and Hamstrings once a week. Makes my plans look a bit nuts but it’s fun and it works
Hi Mike, I’d love to see one explaining the best protocol for building muscle whilst training jiu jitsu.👊
So much of what Dr. Mike talks about filters down into my talks with athletes, patients, and parents. The look of surprise and awe when discussing (at this point) basic concepts of nutrition and exercise is staggering. Even moreso when the light dawns on athletes who are dumping all the fuckery that coaches and trainers who grew up in the 80s and 90s is staggering. Keep up the great work Dr. Mike. Applied much of your concepts to my own and my wife’s workouts and nutrition and all i can say is holy shit
PS when dealing with patients i somehow resist the urge to use your analogies and sidebar comments. Otherwise….well let’s just not go there lol
I think it'd also important to find what works for you and your life. For me, a four day split and 2x a week per muscle group works best for me. I also don't have a strict schedule because I like more flexibility to have a life outside the gym. I never know how my next day will unfold so I may need to skip that day, hence I'll hit the gym the next day, etc. Between relationship, family, work, music, my other passions, it helps me have flexibility in my schedule. Been training since 1987 and have done every schedule you can imagine. Plus I've done extreme snowboarding for many years which was hard on my knees. Not to mention martial arts. It all factors in. Years of playing in bands also conflicted with my training at times.
The best frequency is the one you can stay consistent with
I'm just getting to where I'm regular lifting 3 days a week. I have Lupus and my recovery just isn't great but when I have a few months where I feel more normal I'll try to up my frequency. Also just went back to using a pre-workout to motivate me a little more on the days I don't want to lift
I think he's pretty much saying don't up your frequency. 3x a week is good. If you need more exercise, try walking or stairs, low impact and good workout.
@TiberiusX I used to really like hill repeats and I'm hoping I can get back to doing some shorter runs
I go on my days off which equates to 3-4 times a week, however i do thr whole push,pull,legs setup since it helps me stay on it. So sometimes my muscle groups only get hit once a week, however it works for me and i am still seeing progress on the numbers. So im happy so far. Have noticed i think about going to the gym more often now.
I used to go about twice or three times a week for about a year but once i upped my frequency to 4 or 5 times a week i realized i didnt get sore barely at all despite maintaining intensity. I got a lot stronger a lot quicker that way.
I was REALLY upset that i only had time to hit the gym 3x a week with my new job. I work 4 days a week for 10+ hrs so theres just no time or energy after the gym. I was worried 3x a week of training wouldnt be enough since I could only training each muscle once per week. I've honestly NEVER had such bigs gains. Its even better than when I was training each muscle twice per week going 6x a week. I couldnt believe it!
Just a note: Greg’s meta analysis had studies that DID equate for volume between higher and lower frequencies.
Most of Dr. Mike’s rants usually somehow get back on topic, but the way the last one just became the outro for the video was particularily funny to me.