Anyone done PPL once a week with success?

@darksoul999 I'm doing UL once a week using an HIT approach for a few weeks now. So far, I'm progressing nicely but it's still early to draw conclusions. Why not simply try it, it doesn't cost much? Make sure to log your progress so you can measure the program's effectiveness instead of having to guess.
 
@darksoul999 I would agree with another comment I saw that most peope would better off training 3 days than 6, but making sure to really up their intensity and quality of each set. Ben Howard one of the best natural BBers in the world has done a 3 day PPL for years. Also theres a plethora of options between 3 and 6, you dont have to make such a harsh jump. For years I did a 2 on/1 off rotating PPL which iirc averages 4.75 sessions/wk. There's a ton of different rotating schedules between 3 and 6. Or you could literally just train the same 4 or 5 days each week and cycle through the sessions (if you want a specific day off each week). Or you dont even have to abide by a sched at all and just train the next session in line when you want to.
 
@darksoul999 I train PPL 3 days a week. i get much better results, bigger stronger, and less joint pain than 6 day PPL. LUL can be good as weel but I prefer that as LULU. 6 days is not sustainable for very long. either is 5 days. no more than 4 days of training for long term growth without joint\CNS issues. and the 4th day better be an easy day like a full body workout. Full body is trash unless you're a beginner or just want to maintain what you have. If your not getting results on a 3 day PPL program than your not training hard enough on your working sets and you have to know how to program it properly.
 
@dsmallcpa I do Legs on Tuesday, Push on Thursday, Pull on Saturday. Legs GHR 3 sets to failure. Leg curls 3 sets. 2 to RIR of 1 and last to failure. Squats- I work my way up to heavy set of 5 or less then one to two drop down sets of 6 to 8 to 1 RIR. add more weight if you hit those numbers. Hack squat- 4 sets of 10 to 20 reps to failure each set. Leg extension or Bulgarian sqlit squats. high reps to failure.

Push on Thursday- Bench press and Shoulder, Tricepts press same format as above. secondarys same format as above. so 1 heavy and hard on main lift and 2-3 secondary with medium to high reps. at least going to failure on one of those sets on each. So is basically 3 working sets for all heavy lifts

Pull on Saturday - Deadlift work my way up to one realy heavy set. less than 5 rep max. one backdown set of 6-8 reps. one secondary like stiff legged DL, then some form of a vertical and lateral pull. 2 excercises per, 4 working sets of 8 -12 reps. biceps 6 working sets to failure.
 
@dsmallcpa Your looking at this wrong. your goal is not to save yourself for the rest of your workout. you work hard on every set of your workout. secondary exercises to failure wont tire you out. its why i keep the DL to a minimum and squats sets to a minimum. or it will mentally fatigue you. every 5th week you probably need a deload.

your question on this points to my orginal statement. "if your not getting results on a 3 day PPL program than your not training hard enough on your working sets and you have to know how to program it properly. "
 
@dburks Sorry I’m a bit slow. So what types of exercises do you do 4 sets of and what types of exercises do you do 3 sets of? And are warmup sets included in that number?
 
@darksoul999 PPL just isn't a good routine if you only want to work out 3 times a week. The entire idea is that PPL makes it very easy to hit all muscles twice a week, which is optimal. Look into a full body routine instead.
 
@thebelovedofgod Ive tried both, when you’re big and have been training awhile hitting every muscle 3 days a week is difficult and hard on your joints. 3 day PPL gave me far better results.
 
@htb33rod There's no reason why 3 day full body should be harder or more taxing on your joints unless you train poorly or have seriously sabotaged your recovery capacity via poor nutrition or poor sleep
 
@thebelovedofgod Agree to disagree at the upper level intermediate and advanced level. Benching 275-315 on monday and then coming in again on wednesday to do anything serious for chest is laughable. Its hard enough to survive even twice a week for those trainees, 3 is complete overkill.
 
@htb33rod Your standard 3 day full body program would have you do something like heavy bench Monday, relatively light chest work on Wednesday, heavier (but not as heavy as Monday) on Friday.
 
@thebelovedofgod Periodization doesn’t solve the problem. Still taxing on the joints regardless, and has the potential for overuse. Also a light day isnt doing shit for growth, so you’re basically only getting good stimulus on the heavy day and maybe a little on the medium day. At that point, you minus well just hit everything hard with proper intensity 1-2x a week.

Look, i’m glad you’re happy with a full body routine, you should do what works for you. But it absolutely is harder on the joints and connective tissue. Perhaps when you’re older (and possibly bigger/stronger) you’ll understand.
 
@htb33rod I don't even do full body, it's just a good option when you only can/want to work out 3 days a week. It has its weaknesses (though the joint concerns are a meme), but every 3 day program has significant downsides.
 
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