There are a lot of popular novice strength training programs. Though people like to obsess about the differences between them, they’re all basically set up the same way (example one, two, three, four).
All of them accomplish their intended purpose relatively well: getting you somewhat proficient with the core barbell lifts. However, they all have two major pitfalls that can be easily remedied to a) make them more effective and b) set you up for greater success when you move on to another training program.
1. Periodize
Periodization is a massive subject, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the minutia. However, in the simplest terms, periodization simply means “having defined times in your training where you emphasize different goals.” The application can get really hairy, but the easiest way to periodize your training without an in-depth knowledge of the theory behind it – changing set and rep schemes.
Yep, it can be that simple, especially for strength training. For most other sports, sequencing strength development, conditioning aspects (both general and sport-specific), and saving enough energy for skill practice can make periodization a complicated chore. For strength training, however, it’s pretty straightforward: include enough variation that training doesn’t become stale (both psychologically, and physiologically. Doing the exact same stuff all the time gets boring, and as your body becomes more adapted to one particular stimulus, it stops responding quite as robustly to it), but keep the parameters narrow enough that you’re not trying to make your body adapt in a dozen different ways at the same time.
So, should you periodize your training? In a word: “YES!”
A 2004 meta-analysis essentially showed that periodized training is almost always better than non-periodized training. To quote the authors, “As a result of this statistical review of the literature, it is concluded that periodized training is more effective than non-periodized training for men and women, individuals of varying training backgrounds, and for all age groups.” That’s about the most conclusive statement you’ll hear from a scientist.
Here’s the easiest way to periodize one of the common beginner training programs: instead of sticking with the kosher 3-5 sets of 5 reps for everything, proceed thusly:
Start with 3×8 for your lifts, adding weight each session until you’re unable to do so. Once you can’t add weight every session anymore…
Switch to 5×5. Repeat the process.
Then 5×3.
You don’t have to switch all your lifts over to the new rep scheme all at once. If you plateau on your bench or overhead press before your squat or deadlift, go ahead to switch the stalled lift to the new rep scheme, and continue as you were with the others.
This setup allows you to stick with the basic progressive overload you would usually get from a beginner’s program, while also implementing some basic periodization, which will almost certainly make the program more effective for you. You’ll be able to linearly add weight for a longer period of time, and odds are very good that you’ll end up with bigger maxes than if you stuck with 3-5×5 for the entire program.
Alternately, you can vary rep schemes within the training week itself. For example, instead of doing sets of 5 for squats three times per week, you could do sets of 8 on the first day, sets of 5 on the second day, and sets of 3 on the third day, adding weight each week This approach is similar to the daily undulating periodization setup in the study I wrote about in this article, which produced dramatically better strength gains than a routine that kept the sets and reps constant for a prolonged period of time.
2. When you finally plateau, add volume
Something I’ve never understood is the stock advice of “when you stall with your linear gains, take 10% off the bar, and build back up using the same progression.”
What’s supposed to happen in the couple of weeks while you build back to your old plateau? Is that when the gains fairy visits to defy the basic principle of progressive overload, thereby granting you a substantially improved response to the exact same stimulus? Yes, I know the reason given is that it’s supposed to help alleviate short-term fatigue so that you can progress to heavier weights when you’re a bit fresher, but that’s not a long-term solution.
Instead, if you decide to stick with the same program, deload a little more than you otherwise would, and build back up with one extra set per exercise. So if you were doing 3 sets, do 4 sets. If you were doing 5 sets, do 6 sets. The scientific literature agrees almost unanimously that more volume is better for both strength and hypertrophy.
If you want to combine these two pieces of advice, deload to about 10-15% below where you switched from 3×8 to 5×5. Build back up by proceeding from 4×8 to 6×5 to 6×3. This will more reliably keep your progress going than sticking with 3-5×5, deloading a bit, and building back up with the same sets and reps. You can do the same thing if you’re varying your rep schemes during each training week as well. If you plateau on the day you’re doing sets of 8 before you plateau on the day you’re doing sets of 5 or 3, just decrease the weights by about 15% of your 8s day, add a set for the exercise(s) that have stalled, and start adding weight again.
This will also help you circumvent a typical problem people run into when they move on to another program once they’re done with the novice phase of their training. Many people find themselves unable to handle the training volume necessary to continue making progress, because low-volume novice programs make them stronger without sufficiently increasing their work capacity, which is the cornerstone of long-term strength development. They end up having to take one step back (building their work capacity) in order to take another step forward (actually getting stronger). If you DO find yourself in that situation, I’ve written about how you can start moving forward again here.
If you’re curious about what you should do next, check out this article, which gives a comprehensive overview of the entire training process from the first day you pick up a bar, until you reach your ultimate potential.
I’m sure if you’re a regular Strengtheory reader, none of this is new to you, BUT it will be new and helpful to a lot of novice lifters. Share it around so they can see better results in their first few months under the bar, and perhaps get their first exposure to the practical application of periodization.
Leeson says
Hi Greg,
Thanks for all the helpful information on your site!
I’m 80kg BW with a 110KG 1RM Bench. I’d say this makes me around intermediate. I’m benching twice a week but stagnated the last 2 weeks and thinking of implementing a couple of your strategies. Not sure which would be more effective for me and I’m hoping for your input:
Option 1:
Intermediate Progression as outlined in: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/2veq5l/why_powerlifters_should_train_more_like/
*
Week 1: Work up to a 10rm, then 2-4×8 with the same weight
Week 2: Work up to an 8rm, then 2-4×6 with the same weight
Week 3: Work up to a 6rm, then 2-4×4-5 with the same weight
Week 4: Work up to a 3rm with no dropbacks (low volume “deload” week)
then start over and try to beat your rep maxes from last month
or
Option 2:
(As outlined above in this article)
“Start with 3×8 for your lifts, adding weight each session until you’re unable to do so. Once you can’t add weight every session anymore…
Switch to 5×5. Repeat the process.
Then 5×3.”
Extra info: I’ve been doing 3 x 8, Tuesdays and Fridays each week for a few months now.
Thanks in advance.
Greg Nuckols says
Probably the first one.
Callum says
Hi Greg, is your recommendation of the first option based on this specific individual, or would you recommend this to anyone over option 2?
Greg Nuckols says
it’s not either/or. It’s both.
Leeson says
Thanks for your reply mate!
I have a couple of questions about that routine if that’s OK:
1. Does “Work up to a (X)rm” mean going pretty much all the way to failure? As in, you would fail if attempting another rep?
2. Does “Work up to a 3rm with no dropbacks” mean stopping at the 3rd rep on a single 3RM set? If you could get 4 or 5 because you’ve gained strength, should you do so?
Greg Nuckols says
1. 9RPE. If you accidentally push it to a 10 sometimes, that’s okay, but usually leave one in the tank, or stop when form starts breaking down.
2. Yeah, if you really feel great, you can do more.
Leeson says
Thanks a lot mate. I really appreciate you responding! You also now have taught me what RPE is and how I can apply it to training 🙂
I will focus on using an 11rm weight for a 10rm set (and so on and so forth for each rep range) so that I can safely leave ‘one in the tank’ at the end.
I train bench twice a week, so I was going to experiment with doing this over a 2 week period like this:
Tuesday: Work up to a 10rm, then 2-4×8 with the same weight
Friday: Work up to an 8rm, then 2-4×6 with the same weight
Tuesday: Work up to a 6rm, then 2-4×4-5 with the same weight
Friday: Work up to a 3rm with no dropbacks
If you think that’s a terrible idea, let me know. Otherwise I will be trying it out and will report back with my findings if that interests you? 🙂
Greg Nuckols says
I think you’d be better served doing something like this on your other day:
Week 1: 4×2
Week 2: 6×2
Week 3: 8×2
Week 4: 4×3
Week 5: 6×3
Week 6: 8×3
Start fairly conservatively (75-80% of your 1rm) and add 5-10lbs each cycle, based on how hard the 8×3 was. If you crushed it, go up 10lbs. If it was pretty rough, go 5lbs.
Leeson says
Thanks Greg. Unfortunately I don’t have time to do 8 sets in one session since I train on my lunch break. At the moment I’m doing 4 sets of bench, followed by 3×8 rows, 2×12 DB OHP, 4×6 chins, 2×15 tricep, 2×10 biceps. The accessory movements are going up nicely so I’m hesitant to drop them in favour of more bench sets. Perhaps the original idea of simply cycling through rep ranges and staying a rep short of failure will help my bench move again and give me some variety for the mental aspect? I can say, I did this for this week and I feel a lot more happier about my training. It’s definitely more motivating when you’re breaking PRs each session, rather than pushing in the same rep range and waiting for adaption.
Greg Nuckols says
Check out some of the options here re: cycling through rep ranges: http://www.strengtheory.com/train-smarter/
Nido says
Hey Greg about to start a novice program and will be implementing your advice. Quick question though, isn’t the drop from 3×8 -> 5×5 actually an increase in volume? 24 total reps to 25, isn’t the volume supposed to decrease? I’m new to all this stuff though so maybe I’m missing something. Thanks.
Marvin says
so I start with 3×8 and when I stall take 10% off and build back up with 5×8
and then when I stall start with 5×5 and build back with 6×5
and the same with 5×3 ?
or Im wrong with that?
Greg Nuckols says
8s, then 5s, then 3s, then start back over with 8s for more sets
Marvin says
thank you Greg for the for the fast answer.
chris says
I still dont quite understand how this works. So if i start out with 3×8 and stall would I switch over to 5×5 without a deload? When i stall on 5×3 then go back to 3×8 do i add a set? So it would be 3×8,5×5.5×3 then 4×8,6×5,6×3? When i start over with 8’s do i use a percentage or something?
Greg Nuckols says
Check the first part of this article out: http://www.strengtheory.com/complete-strength-training-guide/
I’ve changed my thinking on this somewhat
Chin-Hwa says
Greg,
TL;DR Version: Read your Complete-Strength-Training-Guide, especially the beginner and intermediate portions. Which part are you exactly referring to when you say that “you changed your thinking on this somewhat?”
**** Long Version ****
I loved this article when you first wrote it because I felt like it solved most problems associated with a majority of beginner-linear-progression programs.
But now with all these responses coming in 2016, I’m guessing you wish you hadn’t even written it.
I was going to ask you a questions about small minutaes of this program but then I answered my own question by coming to the conclusion that adding volume and recovering is the main key, and the details don’t matter.
Examples of these questions include:
Can I use 12s, 8s, and 5s on rows instead of 8s, 5s, and 3s?
Should I match the volume of 8s and 5s, or if I should just add one set on 8s and 5s regardless of volume?
Example (after 2 cycles of resets)
1). 5 sets of 8, then 8 sets of 5 (matching volume)
2). 5 sets of 8, then 7 sets of 5 (adding two sets to 3×8 and 5×5)
You’ll probably get more of these questions, which are annoying. Therefore, you might need to address this in a separate article.
Especially after you said that you changed your mind on this article.
After reading your Complete Strength Guide, I’m curious as to what exactly you are referring to when you said that you’ve changed your think on this?
Sorry for the long question, and thanks for all that you do!
Greg Nuckols says
It’s not necessarily that I regret writing it. I never really expect to fully agree with something after more than about 6 months. That doesn’t mean I think something is “bad” and reject it entirely – just that I think it could be better (but don’t have time to constantly go back and re-write every article I’ve ever written).
I’m actually planning on running an informal, ongoing study to try to build the best novice training program possible. I should have more details about that in 2-3 weeks.
chris says
would i deload 10 percent every time i stall and switch rep ranges or would i just keep the same weight and go on with a different rep range then deload 10% after I go through a full cycle and start to add sets. So would it be like stall at 3×8 135 lbs then straight to 5×5 @ 135 or 3×8 135 lbs stall then 5×5 @ 120?
Greg Nuckols says
option 1
Marvin says
hi Greg
How many times should I Try the weight from a Stall Lift or should I switch to the new Rep scheme after one Stalling on a Lift ?
Greg Nuckols says
Give this a peek (http://www.strengtheory.com/complete-strength-training-guide/). It answers that, and probably a few more questions you didn’t know you had.
Marvin says
thank you very much Greg
chris says
Im doing jason blahas 5×5 and i have a set of chins that is 3×5-8. what would the other rep ranges be?
Greg Nuckols says
It doesn’t matter too terribly much
Shane Lentz says
Hey Greg,
I’ve had a long layoff (about a year) due to shoulder surgery and life circumstances. I would consider myself completely detrained at this point. I am getting back into lifting this month and am going to use standard linear progression with the few twists that you outlined here. My question is regarding deadlifts. In most of the beginner linear progression programs, they squat 3x a week and work up to only one set of deadlifts (1×5 instead of 3×5). How would I apply the principles in this article to the deadlift? Should i still only do one set still and do the progression like this 1×8, 1×5, 1×3, 2×8, 2×5 2×3? Or should I say fuck it and perform the deadlifts as outlined here as 3×8, 5×5, 5×3, and so on? My only concern with this way is the eventual CNS fatigue that may result, but maybe I’m underestimating the body’s recovery capabilities.
Thank you!
Greg Nuckols says
If you’re not already pretty darn strong, you don’t need to worry about CNS fatigue from pulling multiple heavy sets.
Shane Lentz says
Thanks Greg. So I shouldn’t sorry about squatting 3x a week plus deadlifting every other workout? That is, until i reach a considerable level of strength again.
Greg Nuckols says
yep!
Robert M. says
Hey, Greg!
Love your work man.
One thing made me scratch my head a bit when I was reading this article:
“What’s supposed to happen in the couple of weeks while you build back to your old plateau? Is that when the gains fairy visits to defy the basic principle of progressive overload, thereby granting you a substantially improved response to the exact same stimulus?”
This line reads to me (and perhaps incorrectly), as a refutation of the dual factor (fitness/fatigue) theory. My current understanding is that, by deloading, one allows fatigue to dissipate and expose the fitness that was previously acquired. This would then allow the trainee to increase their loading past the point where they previously plateaued.
What is your position on the dual factor theory?
Greg Nuckols says
I certainly think that plays a role in more advanced lifters. My assumption is that most people reading this article, though, are on one of the “standard” beginner programs out there, which just don’t have enough volume to cause much residual fatigue accumulation in most people.
Otto says
Great article, one question though: does this also apply to deadlifts?
Greg Nuckols says
Yep
Alec says
how do you go about transitioning back to 3×8 from 5×3?
would you use the same weight you originally stalled out on for 3×8 but just add more sets?
Greg Nuckols says
Start back about 15-20% lower than where you stalled last time
Alec says
seems like this process would go pretty slow… especially if you’re trying a given weight like 200 say, for 3×8 for multiple attempts before you admit the stall and change the rep scheme…
So maybe just change the rep scheme after 1 stall out is correct?
Greg Nuckols says
yep. As soon as you fail on one rep scheme, switch to the next one.
Dave says
So you don’t recommend trying the same weight you stalled on after going through the other rep ranges? Like I stalk 140 3×8 but then end up getting to 160 for 5×3…when I stall my 3s I would go back to not 140 but like 120 for 3×8? I feel like I would be wasting my time with such a light weight that I know for sure I can get 3×8….or is it advantageous to do this? My ego is telling me to go try 140 for 3×8 again but your brain is smarter than my ego lol…should I just swallow pride and go for the light weight and build from there?
Greg Nuckols says
Start back a little bit lighter (just so you have a chance to get comfortable with that number of reps again), but in this circumstance, probably somewhere around 130 3×8
numa says
Hi Greg!
Which frequency do you think is viable to work using the novice periodization, considering to use it in overhead press and bench press?
Thanks!
Greg Nuckols says
You could bench and OHP 2x/week apiece pretty comfortably.
Dave says
When increasing the weight for the 3×8 to 5×5 to 3×3 protocol how much do you increase by say for bench? 2.5lbs? 5lbs?
To be more specific 3×8 @ 140lbs success…next session try for 145?
Also when we stall at say 3×8 how much should we attempt 5×5 at? And dame for when we stall 5×5 how much should we attempt our first 3×3 weight?
Greg Nuckols says
just bump it up by the same about your typically would. So if you do 3×8 at 140, then fail 3×8 at 145, move on to 5×5 at 145, and keep rolling. Same thing when you go to 3s.
Dave says
let’s say I try 3×8 @ 140lbs and get 8, 8, 7….is that considered a fail? Or is a fail anytime I don’t get at least 1 more rep?
week 1
140×8
140×8
140×7
should I try next week for 140 3×8 or should I go straight to 5×5?
Greg Nuckols says
Move on to 5s if you don’t get all the reps, unless it just feels like a really major off day.
Steve says
Would this work with your beginners 3x/week squat/bench progams? i.e. if you fail to get the reps on the AMAP set, reset a bit and add another set before the AMAP, leaving the other days the same (if they’re still progressing?)
Greg Nuckols says
yep
Steve says
What would you consider a stall on the 3x/week beginners programs? Failure to get the reps on all 3 days? Just 1 day? I was planning to reset and up volume on each day independently, but I’m wondering if letting one day stay stalled and become a ‘light’ day would be better if one or both of the others are still going up. I’m thinking specifically of the 6s day in the middle. I’m finding myself particularly fatigued on that day for some reason. Thanks 🙂
Greg Nuckols says
Yep, letting the day that’s stalling become a light day is a good call, and just continue trucking with the other two. If another one stalls, though, I’d recommend moving on to something else.
Steve says
Wow, super fast reply. Thanks Greg 🙂
Greg Nuckols says
no problem!
Edward says
Hey Greg, in your examples, why do you go from 3×8 to 5×5? I kind of get that it’s to match total reps, but I don’t get exactly why. Why not 3×5?
Greg Nuckols says
That would probably work just as well. I honestly don’t remember why I said that since this article is almost 2 years old. haha
Edward says
Oh alright then. Thanks for the quick reply!
Greg Nuckols says
Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful! But yep, if you wanted to do 3 sets of 5 instead, that’s absolutely fine.
Edward says
Nah, you were helpful. I was thinking of doing 3×5 then 3×3 anyway, I was just puzzled that it was 5 sets and not 3.
Alex V says
Greg, you’re cool guy. I want to know what you think about this?
M/W/F
Squat
Bench Press
Bent-over rows
Overhead Press
Pull-up
Deadline
I want to work for hyperthrophy, so I was thinking of doing all this for 8 reps.
What do you think about if I started with 1×8 for everything, and then when I stalled, de load by 10-20% and do 2×8, and repeat process until I get to who knows how many sets?
Greg Nuckols says
Assuming those are all pretty challenging sets of 8, I think that would get pretty brutal pretty quickly
Edward Hoblek says
Really thanks for your help.
After reading the article I have some questions:
– The rest time on the 3×8 sets should be a complete rest? (the same than 5×5 or 5×3 (3-5 minutes))
– What do we understand for “plateau”? Not lifting with a proper form or muscular failure?
– Do I have to apply the 3×8 5×5 and 5×3 thing on accesory exercices like facepull, biceps and triceps which on ICF has been programed to do 3×8?
– Do you think that varying every workout sets/reps and adding weight every week is more effective/efficient than using the 3×8 then 5×5 and then 5×3 progression?
I will give you my feedback on my last workout:
I started with 5×5 squat with 60kg (~132 pounds). First set was heavy but I completed it even the last two reps were really slow. The following sets where getting harder and harder, to the point that last reps were really really slow with some nearly pauses on them. I couldn’t complete the last set, I just did 3 reps and moved on to Deadlift. (this was my first try with this weight, following what program says I would keep another workout with it and if I’m not able to lift it, I should decrease (after reading the strengththeory article I won’t and I will move to 5×3)
My sensations after squats was that I was quite blown/burnt out and I had the feeling that I couldn’t perform at my high potential on the ongoing nexts exercices.
Did I pushed too hard on squats or is it completly normal and this is how I should go?
Greg Nuckols says
1) yes
2) Form breakdown
3) Nah, you don’t need to do 5s or 3s for accessory exercises. Stick mostly to sets of 8-12 there.
4) That’s essentially asking whether linear periodization or DUP is better for a new lifter. I think that depends mainly on lifter psychology – do you personally enjoy more frequent variation or not?
Sounds like you pushed a bit too hard on squats.
Edward Hoblek says
Really thank you for your answer,
After reading your article, I have progressed from 5×5 to 5×3 on my squats. Now, I’m in a point where I feel that I’m on plateau. Following your advice, I should move to 4×8. The problem here is that I don’t have a weight reference since I started with 5×5 straight (following ICF 5×5).
Also, something that bothers me is that, if now workouts are ~2h 30′ lenght, when I do 6 sets of each exercice… this is going to be more than 3 hours and it starts to seem to much for me. Is adding volume like this the only way to keep progressing in my case?
Thank you again for all your work
Greg Nuckols says
In general, 80% ~ 8rm, 85% ~ 5rm, 90% ~ 3rm. Since you’re doing multiple sets, just knock 5% off of each of those. So the weight you’re moving for sets of 3 is probably around 85%. So take your current working weight, divide by 0.85, then multiply by 0.65 or 0.7 (that should give you about a 5-10% cushion for getting comfortable with the 8s) to find your working weight to start with for 8s.
My question to you: how are the workouts already that long? Even if you’re taking 5 minutes between sets, you should be able to get in and out in an hour and a half or so. In general I’m a proponent of longer rest times, but it sounds like you probably need to pick up the pace.
Also, once the workouts start getting too long, check out this article: http://rippedbody.com/intermediate-training-greg-nuckols/
Edward Hoblek says
Thank you!
Following some Bodybuilding’s user advice, since I still did not do 8s, I switched to 3×8 since it might still work to keep doing progress. My idea is to do this “second” process of 3×8 5×5 and 5×3 and then do 4×8 6×5 6×3
About workouts duration, this is how I do an example of my “Workout A”:
~7 minutes cardio on the trendmill
~5 minutes general articulation mobility and dynamic stretches
Exercice one (Squats) Example workout load: 70 kg 5×3
Warmup (approaching sets)
1×5 only bar
30″ rest
1×5 40 kg
1′ rest
1×3 50 kg
2′ rest
1×1 65 kg
2′ rest
1×1 72,5 kg
2′ rest
5×3 70 kg resting ~4′ between sets
I do more or less the same approach for the other compound exercices. (Bench press and Bent Over Row)
3×8 Facepull (resting around 2-3′ between sets)
3×8 Biceps curl (resting around 2-3′ between sets)
3×8 Tricpes exercice (resting around 2-3′ between sets)
I’m around 2h30′ doing this…
Greg Nuckols says
To save some time, you can superset a lot of that stuff. i.e. squat, rest 2 minutes, bench, rest 2 minutes, squat, etc. Ditto for bent over rows and triceps. Then ditto for face pulls and curls. That should roughly cut your workout time in half. Supersetting upper and lower body lifts shouldn’t detract too much from either of the exercises. That’s the only way I could make it through some of the sheiko routines without needing to be in the gym for 4 hours.
Edward Hoblek says
Greg, just one last question:
I have been thinking and I think that I’m going to follow your second article’s advice and instead of staying for long periods of time with same rep scheme, I will switch rep’s schemes into each week. The reason is that I’m a bit bored about the routine and maybe this makes it more effective and refreshing for me.
So it’s ICF 5×5 and the new scheme that I would do is:
Monday (3×8)
Wednesday (3×5)
Friday (3×3)
I will keep doing A B A scheme but what I have doubts is if I should keep doing accesory exercices: Facepull, Biceps curl and Triceps extensions everyday day as the program would do or I will benefit more about focusing on compound exercices and just doing them on Monday 3×8 or other form…
My goal is stetical propouses, I’m doing an strength routine since I read that it is more effective for novice people like me.
Regarding my strenght marks, on bench press I’m near intermediate but in squats, DL and rows I think that I’m still novice, but I’m not a begginer at all
What do you think about all of this?
Greg Nuckols says
Give it a shot. If it’s working for you, stick with it. If not, then make adjustments.