ABS Audio Newsletter: Volume and Frequency in Programming.
Issue 27: How volume and frequency influence each other in program design.
ISSUE 27:
What is the relationship between volume and frequency?
Welcome to the 27th edition of the ABS audio newsletter. Today we will discuss two programming considerations. These are the tightly related variables: volume and frequency. Generally, the frequency is heavily influenced by the total volume being performed both per session and per week.
Firstly, lets briefly discuss volume. Volume can be measured in two main ways. The first is the more empirical of the two and known as volume load. This is referred to as volume-load and is calculated via: VL= sets x reps x load. The second, more shorthand of the two, is simply a count of the number of hard sets performed. These “hard sets” are generally sets that are generally of an RIR 4-0.
Fig 1: Graphical Relationship of Volume and Hypertrophy
Next we have frequency which essentially modulates our volume across sessions during the week. Our goal here is to structure our volume and spread it out appropriately across the week to increase the number of productive stimuli. This also has implications on other variables but for the purpose of this newsletter discussion we will focus on the volume relationship.
Fig 2: Expected Hypertrophic Stimulus Relative to Sets in a Single Session
Lets discuss this in a bit more detail related to programming considerations below!
The outline of our conversation:
1. General intro.
2. Volume intro.
3. Frequency intro.
4. Why should we increase frequency.
5. Why we shouldn’t increase frequency.
6. Closing and motivation sendoff!
I greatly appreciate your viewership; catch you all in the comments. Stay tuned for the 28th issue next week!