Periodization for bodybuilders: part 2

Periodization helps bodybuilders train smarter, not just harder. In this part, we look at how to combine Fred Hatfield’s holistic training, a strength phase and different rep ranges so that muscle grows without strength disappearing.

Translated by Janar Rückenberg

Why periodization matters for bodybuilders

The first part covered the principles of periodization and its better-known proponents. One name was left out, though: Fred Hatfield, whom many know as Dr. Squat. Hatfield is the founder of the holistic training concept, and the idea was simple: for maximal muscle development, you have to train the different properties and components of the muscle, not just one favorite range.

Hatfield’s original scheme was very good in its day. However, cycling it in an ABC regime became quite complicated. It was hard to follow and even harder to manage precisely. According to the article’s author, Lyle McDonald, the biggest flaw was that the scheme left out a pure strength training phase.

This is where the practical question begins. If a bodybuilder’s goal is appearance and muscle mass, is there any place for strength training at all? Honestly, yes. A stronger bodybuilder can later do work with heavier weights in the medium rep ranges too. That means a stronger stimulus, better tolerance of training load and, ultimately, more opportunity to grow muscle.

Periodization and holistic training

According to Hatfield’s holistic training scheme, three intensity and rep ranges are used. These aren’t random numbers but zones designed to influence different muscle fibers and adaptations.

1. Rep range 4-6, performed explosively.
2. Rep range 12-15, performed rhythmically.
3. Reps 15-40, performed with a moderately slowed tempo.

In short, such a system tries to cover the muscle’s different working modes. Sets of 4-6 reps affect primarily type IIx fibers. In the 12-15 range, type IIa muscle fibers carry the main load. Longer sets of 15-40 reps involve type I fibers more.

When talking about fiber types, the usual classification is type I, IIa and IIx. Type I, or slow oxidative fibers, don’t develop great strength and have lower growth potential, but they are resistant to fatigue. Type II fibers as a whole can develop greater strength and have greater growth potential, but they fatigue faster. Older classifications also spoke of type IIb fibers, but in humans, the fast fibers with the highest excitation threshold are, under the newer classification, called type IIx fibers.

For Hatfield, it also mattered what kind of growth we are chasing in the first place. Myofibrillar hypertrophy means an increase in the contractile part of the muscle, i.e. the contracting proteins. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy means an increase in the amount or density of glycogen, water, minerals, mitochondria and the capillary network. Both matter to a bodybuilder. A simple truth: a different component needs a different stressor.

How to divide periodization into zones

When periodizing training, understanding the intensity zones is key. Rep count alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Charles Poliquin stressed that equally important is the time the muscle is actively working, i.e. time under tension. 5 reps over 60 seconds is not the same as 5 reps over 30 or 5 seconds. The first may emphasize sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, the second myofibrillar, and the third pure strength.

Strength training

The goal of strength training is to improve strength mainly through neural adaptation. The resistance used is 85% or more. Set duration is up to 20 seconds. Typically, up to 5 reps are performed. The eccentric, or negative, phase lasts 2-3 seconds, and the concentric phase is performed explosively and as fast as possible.

Neural adaptation means that intramuscular and intermuscular mechanisms improve. As a translator’s note, it can be split into three parts.

1. The number of active motor units increases.
2. The timing regulation and synchronization of motor units improve.
3. The regulation of motor unit firing rate improves, and the excitation threshold of large motor units drops.

The strength phase mainly uses basic compound exercises: squat, bench press, deadlift and standing press. Isolation exercises can be added, but with heavy weight and a low rep count, technique has to be very clean. Otherwise, injuries come quickly.

Weightlifters and powerlifters often do 6-10 sets per body part or lift, with sets of 2-3 reps. A bodybuilder has to divide this volume more wisely, because one workout usually covers several muscle groups. If chest, shoulders and triceps come together in a mass phase, that doesn’t automatically mean 10 sets for each body part, or 30 sets in total. Something like 10 sets for chest, 6 sets for shoulders and 6 sets for triceps, or 8/8/6, may make more sense.

Intensive bodybuilding

The goal of the intensive bodybuilding phase is to increase muscle mass and density, mainly through myofibrillar hypertrophy. This zone also improves strength, though not as much as a dedicated strength phase. The resistance used falls between 80-85% of 1RM, and a set lasts 20-30 seconds.

Sets are usually 4-6 repetitions. The tempo can be a 3-4 second eccentric (lowering) phase and a 1 second concentric, or positive, phase. Rest intervals are about 3 minutes. Depending on the person, the number of exercises and volume tolerance, this phase involves 2-8 sets per body part. Basic exercises are still the main work, but isolation exercises can be used when your technique is good.

Extensive bodybuilding

Extensive bodybuilding produces both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The overall rep range is 6-12, but bodybuilders often split it into even smaller parts. The lower end, 6-8 reps, emphasizes myofibrillar growth more and brings noticeable strength gains. The upper end, 10-12 reps, sometimes even up to 15, emphasizes sarcoplasmic hypertrophy more.

This phase uses 70-80% resistance. Sets last 30-45 seconds, sometimes even 60. Rest intervals are 1-2 minutes. A classic tempo for the 6-12 rep range can be 3 sec. down and 2 sec. up. Usually 4-6 sets per body part are done. The exercise selection is an even split between basic and isolation exercises.

When you train in a longer rep range, muscle glycogen stores are depleted. During recovery, carbohydrates and water are stored back with a small surplus. This is called supercompensation, and it is the practical side of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

Ultra-extensive bodybuilding

The goal of the ultra-extensive method is sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The emphasis here is less on increasing glycogen volume and more on the number and volume of mitochondria and on improving the capillary network. The resistance is lighter, about 40-50%, and the exercise is performed continuously for 1-2 minutes.

An isolation exercise is usually chosen for this. The goal is to reach your limit within those 2 minutes. This method suits the last sets of the final exercise better than serving as the backbone of the whole workout.

Periodization in practice: volume and maintenance

You can’t train all the zones at full volume at the same time. If you tried to squat 6 sets of sets of two in one workout, add 4-5 sets of 4-6 repetitions, do another 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps and finish with a squat lasting 2 min. continuously, it would simply be overload for most people. The result would not be better periodization, but fatigue that is hard to progress under.

In practice, the zones don’t have such sharp boundaries either. For some people, the rep range of intensive bodybuilding may be 3-6, 3-5 or 4-7 instead of 4-6. Likewise, one phase doesn’t mean only one outcome. When you train in intensive bodybuilding, you don’t only gain strength. Muscle mass grows too. When you train with 12-15 reps, the effect partly overlaps with the ultra-extensive method.

That’s why emphasized and maintenance training loads are used. Within a single 6-8 week cycle, you focus on 1-2 components at most. The other components don’t disappear from the programme but are kept at a maintenance level. In the next cycle, the emphasis changes.

For example, if a strength phase is under way, you can squat 2 x a week, that is, every 5-6 days. Both workouts include sets of two, for example 6 x 2. When the next phase is hypertrophy, the strength work is brought down to a maintenance level: still sets of two and still two times a week, but now only 2 sets, i.e. 2 x 2. The remaining 4 sets can stay in the 6-10 rep range.

The same logic can be applied to other muscle groups and components. The important thing to understand is that maintenance volume is usually much smaller than the volume used for building. When the goal is currently mass, you don’t have to drop strength to zero. When the goal is strength, you don’t have to push hypertrophy aside completely.

For the volumes, the author of the article assumed that each muscle is trained two times a week, on average every 5 days. That’s why the number of sets per body part in one workout may seem small. But considering that the work is repeated two times a week and the intensity is high, the total volume is by no means small. If you use a different split, for example training each body part once a week, you need to add sets accordingly.

Training volume in sets for developing and maintaining a training component:

1. Strength training: training volume 6-10 sets, maintenance volume 2-3 sets.
2. Int. bodybuilding: training volume 2-8 sets, maintenance volume 1-2 sets.
3. Ext. bodybuilding: training volume 3-6 sets, maintenance volume 1-2 sets.
4. Ultra-ext. bodybuild.: training volume 1-2 sets, maintenance volume 1 set.

FAQ: periodization in bodybuilding

Does a bodybuilder need to do pure strength training?

Yes, at least to some extent. Pure strength training may not add visible muscle mass right away, but greater strength later lets you use heavier weights even in sets of 6-8 or 8-10 reps. This supports hypertrophy indirectly.

Does 6-8 reps build strength or mass?

Both. The 6-8 rep range falls in the zone where the effects overlap. It can build muscle mass while maintaining or improving strength, especially if you add 1-2 sets of strength-range reps to your program, for example 3-5, 2 x 4, 3 x 3 or 2 x 5.

Why shouldn’t you use all the methods in one workout?

Because the volume would become too high. Training every zone at full volume in the same session would mean 3-4 hours in the gym, and recovery would start to limit your progress. It’s better to choose one main focus for each cycle and keep the other qualities going with a smaller, maintenance volume.

Specific schemes and training programs will follow in the third installment of this article series.

Author: Janar Rückenberg

Source: WHO – physical activity.

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