Easy Waveloading

Easy Waveloading

You already know that good programming requires structure. You've run 5/3/1, you understand block periodization, and you can calculate RPE automatically without overthinking. But here's the problem: most periodization models lock you into rigid progressions that don't account for life getting in the way or your body needing a break.

Wave loading fixes this. It gives you a structured progression with built-in flexibility to adjust, deload, or recycle your training based on what your body actually needs. No complicated calculations. No decision paralysis. Just simple three-week waves that let you focus on one fitness quality at a time.

How Wave Loading Works

The concept is simple: you create three-week training waves (you can make longer waves but I like 3 week intervals) where you progressively increase one variable (reps, sets, or load) each week. At the end of those three weeks, you have a natural checkpoint to assess where you are and decide what comes next.

This checkpoint is what makes wave loading powerful. You're not locked into a 12-week block that might crush you by week 8. You can continue building, recycle back and reload, or take a planned deload. The structure is there, but you maintain control.

Building Your Waves

Each three-week wave focuses on progressing a single variable while holding the others steady. The simplest approach targets volume first, then load.

During your volume wave, you keep the weight constant and add sets each week. During your load wave, you maintain your working sets and add weight incrementally. This focused approach prevents the common mistake of trying to increase everything at once and burning out.

The beauty of this system is that you're only planning three weeks ahead. That limited focus lets you push hard without worrying about sustainability for an entire training cycle. If you need to back off after three weeks, you do. If you're crushing it, you keep building.

A Practical 9-Week Example

Let's walk through a complete nine-week cycle using the squat. This example shows how the waves connect and how you can manipulate them based on your response to training.

Wave 1: Volume Accumulation (Weeks 1-3)

Week 1: 3 sets x 5 reps at 315 lbs  

Week 2: 4 sets x 5 reps at 315 lbsWeek 3: 5 sets x 5 reps at 315 lbs

You're holding weight steady and adding one set per week. By the end of week three, that fifth (NOT THE FIRST SET) set should feel like an RPE 8. Not easy, but manageable. If you're dying by set three, the weight was too heavy to start.

Wave 2: Load Progression (Weeks 4-6)

Week 4: 5 sets x 5 reps at 325 lbs

Week 5: 5 sets x 5 reps at 335 lbs

Week 6: 5 sets x 5 reps at 345 lbs

Now you maintain the five sets of five you built in wave one and add 10 pounds per week. You've already adapted to the volume, so now you're teaching your body to handle heavier loads with that same work capacity. This is why it’s important to start lighter with the volume and build work capacity first before you add load. Otherwise you’re going to run out of runway for progression and have to recycle back.

Wave 3: Reset and Reload (Weeks 7-9)

Week 7: 3 sets x 5 reps at 295 lbs (Deload)

Week 8: 5 sets x 5 reps at 325 lbs (Back to Wave 1, Week 3 volume)

Week 9: 5 sets x 5 reps at 335 lbs (VOLUME FOCUS) OR 4x4 at 355 (LOAD FOCUS)

Week seven is your deload. You drop back to three sets and reduce the weight by 50 pounds from your peak. This gives your body a break after six straight weeks of progression. Week eight picks up where wave one left off (five sets of five), but at a heavier weight than you started. Week nine provides your next option for either prioritizing volume or continuing to prioritize load. So depending on the difficulty of week 8 you can continue to build work capacity or continue to adapt to increasing load.

The Flexibility Factor

This is where wave loading separates itself from rigid linear progressions. At the end of any three-week wave, you have options.

If wave one crushed you and you finished week three at RPE 9, you don't add load. You recycle the volume wave at the same weight and finish it in better condition. If you crushed wave two and still feel fresh, you can run another load wave instead of deloading. If your body is beat up after wave one, you deload and rebuild slightly higher.

The system adapts to you. You're not fighting the program. You're using it as a framework to make smart decisions about your training.

Planning Multiple Fitness Qualities

The real power of wave loading shows up when you're planning longer training blocks. Let's say you have 12 weeks to train. You can dedicate waves one and two (six weeks) to hypertrophy and higher rep work, then shift waves three and four to strength and lower rep ranges.

Each quality gets focused attention for 3-6 weeks. You're not trying to build everything at once. You build volume capacity, then you convert that capacity into strength. If you need to peak for a meet, wave five becomes your realization phase where you practice heavy singles.

This modular approach means you always know what you're training and why. Your squat programming isn't some random collection of rep schemes. It's a planned progression through specific adaptations.

Why This Works for Self-Coached Lifters

Most programming fails because it's either too rigid or too vague. Cookie-cutter percentages don't account for your recovery, your job stress, or the fact that you slept four hours last night. Pure autoregulation leaves you making daily decisions with no long-term structure.

Wave loading gives you both. You have a clear three-week plan, but you're reassessing every three weeks based on how your body actually responded. You're not guessing what to do next or blindly following percentages that might be inappropriate.

For coaches working with multiple athletes, this system scales beautifully. The framework stays the same, but each athlete's waves adjust based on their individual response. You're not writing custom programs from scratch every month. You're manipulating simple variables within a proven structure.

Getting Started

Pick one lift. Choose a weight you can hit for 3 sets of 5 at RPE 6-7. Run the volume wave (3x5, 4x5, 5x5) at that weight. After three weeks, assess. Did you finish strong? Run a load wave. Did you barely survive? Run the volume wave again at the same weight.

That's it. No spreadsheets. No complex formulas. Just progressive waves with regular checkpoints to keep you honest.

The best programming isn't the most complex. It's the system you can be consistent with and that adapts to your recovery needs. Wave loading gives you that system. So go Ride the Wave!