First off, even if you don't plan on using the program (I wouldn't
blame you!), definitely have a read through it. It'll be a learning
experience and it'll change the way you think about training
volume and frequency!

This is going to be a long email but VERY much worth the read.

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I'll be honest...this program is, quite frankly,
NUTS and it's for advanced trainers only.

The reason?

I did 12 TOTAL BODY WORKOUTS a week, training 6 days
a week, twice a day for 3 weeks.

Each week, I would increase the number of sets for each
bodypart while decreasing rest periods between sets....the
idea of which is force myself into overtraining (a.k.a. over-
reaching/accumulation).

And if THAT wasn't enough, I also did heavy partial training
AND negative-accentuated training, in addition to the
"normal" straight set training.

After 3 weeks ramping up to overtraining, I "backed off" to
splitting the body each training day (half am/half pm), still
doing 12 sessions a week, but only working the whole body
through once every day.

I reduced the number of sets per bodypart and increased
the rest periods for the full 3 weeks.

My Results:

Let be clear up front...I did this program when I was in my
early 20's...and I was on vacation at the time (from working
on cruise ships) so I had nothing to do but eat, sleep and
train. My recovery was optimal.

When you look at this program, keep in mind, I was eating
A LOT. Also, I wasn't doing really any other activities that
would take away from recovery for that entire 6 weeks.

If you do decide to give the program a try, be sure to minimize
other stressful activities and make sure you're eating plenty
and getting lots of rest.



My Daily Schedule:

With the training, I followed a pretty set schedule in terms of
when I trained and when I ate. I would wake up about 8:00 am
and immediately down a protein shake. Then I would make
and eat a moderate breakfast, finishing before 8:30. I kept
to foods that (for me) digested without any trouble - that was
6 scrambled eggs, and a bowl of oatmeal with yogurt in it.

At 11:30 am, I went to the gym and started my first training
session of the day. That would last no more than 45 minutes
at the very most. I would bring my post-workout shake and
vitamins to the gym with me (in powder form, so I could just
add water and be good to go immediately after training).

I would be home by 1 pm, and eating a big afternoon meal
by 1:30. Then another lighter snack at 4:00, then dinner at
about 6 pm. My second training session was usually at
about 9:00 pm. I would again train for 45 minutes, take in
post-workout shake, then have a small meal at about 11:30 pm.

Fat gain from late night meals isn't an issue when you've just
trained right before it but I still didn't eat so much that I was
bogged down digesting while I was trying to sleep.

I would actually keep a protein shake beside my bed just in
case I woke up in the night. If I did wake up, I would drink it. If
I didn't wake up, I would just drink it immediately when I work
up in the morning. I would never wake up on purpose just to
drink it.

During this time, for supplements, I was taking creatine,
glutamine and protein, in addition to an assortment of vitamins
and minerals. Nothing fancy - just stuff to support my recovery
and muscle growth. The training is what sets it all off!



The Training Techniques:

PARTIALS - The first part of the training cycle was heavy
partial training in the top range of motion of each exercise for
each bodypart. When you look at these sessions, you'll see
that the training volume (# of sets) isn't high. You make up for
it in the frequency.

Because when you think about it, when you've just done
partial bench with 600 lbs, your muscles are going to be
toast so there's not much point in doing more right then and there.

Partial Training For Full-Powered Results


NEGATIVES - The second part of the training (at night in the
case of the first day) was negative-only training. Since I didn't
have a training partner, I would use many of the techniques
you'll find in these articles:

How to Do Negative Training Without A Training Partner

The Secrets of Negative Training - Dropping Points, Partial
Negatives, 2 Up/1 Down and More!


FULL RANGE - HEAVY - The next session would be full-
range, normal training with heavy weights in the 5 to 7 rep
range.


FULL RANGE - LIGHT - The session after that would be
full-range, higher-rep training in the 12 to 15 rep range.

Basically, this meant while I was still training everything twice
a day, I was using very different styles of attacking the muscles.
I kept to basic exercises for all movements, e.g. bench press,
squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, shoulder presses, barbell
curls, dips, stiff-legged deadlifts, calf raises, etc.



OVERTRAINING:

As you can imagine, training in this fashion will lead to
overtraining. And to be honest, that was actually the goal of
training like this!

Overtraining on purpose is a great way to push the limits of
your body. If you stay from overtraining/overreaching, your
body will NEVER achieve the results it's capable of. Check
out this article for more on overtraining on purpose:

Training on the Edge - Learn How Overtraining on Purpose
Can Get You Maximum Results FAST!

So I did this everything twice a day training for three weeks,
increasing the number of sets of I was doing on each week
and decreasing the rest periods. The last week was brutal!

But after 3 weeks, nothing I did could make me sore. I felt
unstoppable. Now it was time to back off.



The Back-Off Phase:

For the next 3 weeks, I still did my whole body every day,
with partials, etc. but I split the body into 2 sessions, cutting
back on sets and really increasing rest periods a lot. THAT
is when my strength and size really took off.

I also stopped performing negative training to help speed
recovery, and I changed the partial training from low-rep
partial training to high-rep partial training, which is still very
heavy but is a bit easier on the joints and allows for more
time under tension, which helps with increasing muscle mass.

High-Rep Partial Training

I did more "normal" straight-set training and changed the rep
ranges around a little to give a different stimulus to the body.

When you back off, your body is still trying to adapt to the
high-volume, low-rest and very frequent training. With less
to actually recover from, your body starts piling on muscle
and strength in high gear!



The Program Outline:

Below, I'm going to give you an outline of what I did for those
entire 6 weeks as far as training, volume and rest periods
go. If you've got the guts for it, have the time to train and eat
that much and have the ability to recover from it, it's a GREAT
one!



WEEK 1

Rest period - 120 seconds between sets

WEEK 2

Rest period - 90 seconds between sets

Note the decrease in rep range, the decrease in the number of
sets you are doing, and the increase in rest time. This is the easy
(relatively speaking!) phase where your body plays catch-up with
recovery. Don't back off on intensity, however. Keep pushing all
your exercises to muscular failure!

The Abs (normal) means just straight sets of whatever exercise
you choose.

Keep on this phase until your results start to slow down (it can be
longer than 3 weeks) then ramp up again with weeks 1, 2, and 3.
You may find you need to take a layoff for a few days or more
before you start it again, if you do try it. This training strategy
delivers consistent results, taking advantage of your body's
natural physiological response to increased demand.


Once a Day Modification:

If you want to try this on once a day training, you can modify
it. Still work everything every day...just do something like this:

Day 1 - Partials and Negatives, dividing up the sets
between techinques, e.g. 2 sets of partials, 1 set of
negatives.

Day 2 - Low-Rep and High Reps, again, dividing up the
sets, e.g. 2 sets low-reps, 1 set high-reps.

Then just repeat the cycle.

For the second three week period, skip the high-rep partials
and just alternate days of 10-12 reps and 5-7 reps.

---

There you have it!

The results you can get from this type of approach are
literally off the charts. For me, it was one of the most
productive programs I ever used.

The extremely high frequency of hitting the muscles is
offset by the low volume of training you do for each
muscle in each session. Your body can recover from
this and THRIVE on this.

Personally, I'm a HUGE fan of high frequency training.
I think it's one of the best ways to train...it's like taking
a lot of steps forward and only small steps back.

I think it's easier on the body to recover from and
EXTREMELY effective for building muscle and strength...
and my own results and experience proves it to me.

Now, if you're interested in more good information on
High Frequency Training along this line, I've got
something cool for you...it's not quite as nuts as the
program I just outlined above, just fyi :).

This is a program from my friend and colleague Chad Waterbury.

I've known Chad for quite a few years and I have to say,
he's an experimenter, just like me...and willing to throw
out the "rules" when it comes to training.

He's put together a new version of his excellent program
simply called "High Frequency Training" for building
muscle...and it's AWESOME.

I've read through the whole thing and I love the approach.
Very much in line with my own training style.

So if that program above is a bit daunting, I totally understand.

Check out Chad's program and see what his approach
to high frequency training can do for you!

Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"