Putting together a training program

How often, how much, and how hard should you train?

Get the answers right and you’ll optimize your results. 

The goal of this article is for you to gather your starting points - based off your individual requirements - to get the most out of your training.

Training volume and frequency are indicative of your commitment and the goal you want to achieve. Both of these factors must be considered before putting together a program. If you cannot commit to the program, it is useless, no matter how well it has been written.

Frequency considerations

• Beginner: When you’re starting out, training 3-4 days per week is the best option. For example, you can always start with 3 days and build up to 4, or do a combination of 3 days strength + 1 day cardio, then increase to 4 days strength training over time. 

• Intermediate: 4-5 days per week is feasible once you start to make decent progress and reach an intermediate level. Greater commitment, better skill and recovery means you will be able to do more work.

• Advanced: At the higher levels, training 4-6 days per week can be effective. It will depend on the goal, since commitment is high and skill + recovery should be exceptional. If you are at the advanced level, training is a high priority for you.

Volume considerations

How much work (specifically, sets) you can do in a workout is highly indicative of your training age and recovery status. 

Here are some examples of starting values:

Strength volume starting point:

• Beginner: 50-70 sets per week. Healthy beginners may benefit from higher volume, as skill and maximal effort is low.

• Intermediate: 50-70 sets per week. Healthy intermediates who are not as strong, may benefit from higher volumes 60-70 sets per week. Stronger intermediate lifters may benefit from a lower amount of sets, of 50-60 per week.

• Advanced: 50-70 sets per week, depending on the training phase and strength levels. Expression and sub max phases will be closer to 50 sets per week, where hybrid and hypertrophy phases will be higher.

Body composition volume starting point:

• Beginner: 65-80 sets per week. Beginners don't need as much work because they are new to training. Recovery is important to ensure workout performance is high.

• Intermediate: 80-100 sets per week. Intermediate lifters need higher volume because their conditioning has improved, and they are training more frequently so their recovery capacity is higher.

• Advanced: 80-125+ sets per week. Depending on the training phase, the volume will vary from a maintenance amount of around 80 sets per week, all the way up to maximum recoverable volume which could be 125+, depending on your recovery status.

Rest intervals

The time duration between sets is specific to the adaptations that you are trying to achieve.

As a general guide:

Body composition:

Compound exercises: 

• 1-5 reps: 3-5 minutes

• 6-12 reps: 2 -3 minutes 

• 13-30+ reps: 2-3 minutes

Larger muscle groups:

• 1-5 reps: 3-5 minutes

• 6-12 reps: 2 -3 minutes 

• 13-30+ reps: 2-3 minutes 

Smaller muscle groups:

• 1-5 reps: NA unless using rep modifiers 

  6-12 reps: 2 minutes  

• 13-30+ reps: 30-120 seconds

Energy expenditure / aerobic-specific training:

• Dependent on the energy system being trained i.e. anaerobic or aerobic

Strength:

• Max to sub max effort (1-3RM): 5-7 mins

• Non sub max effort training (3-5): 3-5+ mins

• Hypertrophy specific (6-12reps): 2-3 mins

• Skill-based movements: 1-2 minutes

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