Grow Stronger Update Report #1: TRAINING FREQUENCY

The Grow Stronger Method is a bare-bones template for building strength.

It truly is the simplest system for growing super strong.

I realize that one program does not fit all people and situations, but there are a handful of principles that everyone should follow to reach their goals.

This update report is one of many that I will share with you on ways that you can modify the basic GSM template to meet your specific needs while

staying.

This update is on modifying the FREQUENCY of training with the GSM. -- It is inspired by a question from one of our fellow “Strength Geeks”,

Mike who posted a comment on HulseStrength.com.

Mike asks, “Since you subscribe to the idea that ʻstrength is a skillʼ and that the patterns must be practiced often to be engrained, why do we only

practice the bend (deadlift) and push (press) patterns only once or twice per week?”

Thanks for the questions Mike. What you are referring to in this question is

the FREQUENCY of training in The GSM.

Youʼll notice that we practice our deadlift variation on Mondayʼs and our

press variation on Wednesdayʼs. We also use Fridayʼs as a “full body density” training day. We hit all movement patterns on this day but we still

keep the intensity and volume high but we drop the length of REST INTERVAL time significantly in order to build density both in the workout

and presumably, within the muscle.

So we hit our most important patterns once or twice for the week but each time using a new set of parameters in order to elicit a different physiological

response.

As per Mikeʼs question, he goes on to ask why, unlike many other coaches whom we both admire, donʼt we hit these patterns 3 to 5 times per week?

Well, first I have an admission...

When I write new books, create videos or workouts for athletes whom I

have never met in person or completed a neuromuscular assessment on, I design it with an assumption that the reader will react in a similar fashion to

the program as I and the majority of athletes I have personally trained do.

Of course this is not fair, since like I said “one program does not fit everyoneʼs needs”. -- But this is where we begin.

In my experience training a pattern with high intensity (90% +) more than

twice per week is counter-productive. And Iʼm sure that any strength coach with his weight in protein powder would agree.

When coaches like Dan John and Pavel suggest training a pattern

everyday (John is known for saying, “if its important -- do it everyday”) they are not suggesting that you lift as heavy as you can for 5 x 2 everyday.

What they are suggesting is that you include the pattern in every workout,

but at a volume and intensity that is low enough to entrain but not overtrain; Pavel calls this “greasing the groove”.

For example, as a part of your daily “warm up” you can include dead lifts

and over head presses for one or two sets of 6 - 8 reps at moderate intensity.

In this way you keep the pattern at the top of your nervous systemʼs

recognized patterns list, yet you donʼt tax the system in the same way as when you do your heavy Monday or Wednesday workout. This is good.

Other Considerations

Training Age is basically how long you have been training. If youʼve

only begun training 2 months ago, then that is your training age. If youʼve been training for 20 years, then you are a more mature trainee.

Of course, the more mature lifter is going to have a different response from

training that the younger lifter.One of the things that a more mature lifter will recognize is that his nervous

system will be taxed far faster than a younger lifter. The reason for this is that he is able to recruit more power and stimulate more muscle fibers with

each repetition than the younger lifter.

The more mature lifterʼs nervous system is more efficient, therefore it gets the job done faster and also tires out faster. This leaves him with less

energy to train with the type of high frequency that a younger lifter may be able to produce.

Here is an analogy... A mature nervous system is like a home that has a

fully equipped electrical system that is capable of lighting every single room with 100 watt light bulbs. In this case the electricity is produced by a

generator, meaning that it is limited.

When compared to a house with a less powerful electrical system, one that

can only light 75% of the rooms and with 60 watt light bulbs, the fully equipped house will “burn out” the generator faster than the lesser

equipped one. -- Get it?

New lifters are like the lesser equipped house and mature lifters are like the fully equipped house.

This would mean that the newer lifter has more energy in reserve to “turn

on all of the lights” again tomorrow while the mature lifter might have to wait several days before the energy to light the house is recovered.

Remember, this is all happening at the level of the nervous system... not

the muscle. So the lifter may or may not feel sore after the workout. But soreness is irrelevant with regards to strength development. What matters

is how much “electricity” is generated.

We can modify the GSM method to meet the needs of a newer lifter in the following way. **The reps and sets would stay the same as in the

main manual, only the frequency would be manipulated in this example.**

Monday - Heavy Bend / Squat + Gymnastics

Tuesday - Heavy Push + GymnasticsWednesday - PLAY

Thursday - Heavy Bend / Squat + GymnasticsFriday - Heavy Push + Gymnastics

Saturday & Sunday - OFF

Again, I would not suggest this template for the advanced or mature lifter. If you are a new lifter, of a training age less than 24 months, this may be a

helpful modification for you.

Iʼll always leave you with this caveat... the ONLY way that youʼll know if something works is by your own personal experience. Nothing that I or

anyone else tells you is 100% true for %100 of the people, 100% of the time.

Seek out the expertise and advice of others who have invested time,

energy and resources on this Journey Of Strength , but always consider your own instinct and experience first.

You know YOU better than anyone else. Even if your ideas turn out to be

wrong, the experience is YOURS and when you share it with others it will

come from an original and authentic place. Regurgitated, copycat “facts”

do not contribute to personal growth in the way that only experience does.

So, get off the computer... and go do the damn thing!

Grow Stronger,Elliott Hulse