The Ultimate Guide to Daily Undulating Periodization [DUP]

A guide to daily undulating periodization – find out what it is, who it is right for, and what a sample routine looks like.  

Have you ever thought about why you train the way you do? It’s an interesting question. A lot of it has to do with those around you when you start.

It’s fascinating how our training beliefs develop. For instance, if your first exposure to lifting were in high school with the football team, your training would look different from someone who started at Gold’s Gym. The same is true for those whose first exposure to a barbell came in a CrossFit class. Each experience leaves an impression.

Timing also plays a role. For example, if you started powerlifting in the 90s and early 2000s, I bet you hold conjugate training in high regard. Westside Barbell was powerlifting during that time. Every new piece of training information you receive will likely get filtered through a Conjugate lens.

My conjugate was Daily Undulating Periodization, also known as DUP. It was what people “in the know” were doing when I started. Similar to Westside and Conjugate, it had an almost cult-like following.

Although it’s less popular today, I made some of my best gains when I followed a DUP program. So, what is DUP? Let’s find out.

What is Periodization?

Before we dig into DUP, let’s first discuss periodization. Periodization is the logical and systematic process of sequencing and integrating training interventions in order to achieve peak performance at appropriate time points (Haff & Triplett, 2016). It’s just a way of organizing your training. Periodization is having a plan.

When using a periodized structure to organize our training, we typically use three-time points: microcycle, mesocycle, and macrocycle. A microcycle lasts 1-2 weeks, a mesocycle 2-6 weeks, and a macrocycle several months, up to a year. Think of a microcycle as a week of training, a mesocycle as a training block, and the macrocycle as the program, consisting of a few mesocycles grouped together.

There are two main types of periodization: linear and non-linear. Linear periodization gradually increases the intensity (weight) and decreases the volume (reps) over time, following a straightforward, step-by-step progression. On the other hand, non-linear periodization varies intensity and volume more frequently, often within a week, allowing for different types of training on different days. By this definition, DUP is non-linear.

Although classifying periodization models in these terms makes them easy to understand, it’s not entirely accurate. Both methods share concepts.

What is Daily Undulating Periodization?

Let’s apply what we know about periodization to DUP. Daily Undulating Periodization sounds technical and confusing, but it is a simple concept. Since we’ve already covered periodization, let’s focus on undulation.

In training, undulation refers to regularly changing or varying the intensity and volume of workouts. If it was a graph, picture a wavy line, not a straight line. Daily undulation varies the intensity (load) and volume (sets/reps) on a workout-to-workout basis.

Non-linear periodization has been well-supported scientifically and in practice for quite some time. The Bulgarian National Weightlifting team began using it in the 1970s. However, it caught on with the powerlifting community in the 2010s.

There are multiple ways to set it up, but here is a basic example to help you understand what it looks like.

Monday: Day 1

• Back Squat: 4 sets x 8 reps at 70% 1RM

Wednesday: Day 2

• Back Squat: 4 sets x 3 reps at 75% 1RM

Friday: Day 3

• Back Squat: 4 sets x 5 reps at 80% 1RM

Day one is a hypertrophy day, day two is a recovery/speed day, and day three is a strength day. Notice how the intensity and volume change throughout the week. By increasing the load in the coming weeks, you could add a linear component to the program. 

Daily Undulating Periodization Core Principles

Although DUP is not a strict program and has flexibility, there are a few core principles to running the system effectively.

Multiple Rep Ranges

One of the fundamental points of DUP is the use of multiple rep ranges in a single week. A DUP training week could have you hitting reps of 10, 5, and 1 in consecutive training days.

Every rep range has benefits. You should never find yourself married to one specific rep range because then you will miss out on the benefits of the others. In practice, you see this all the time. Some people love 5s and perform all their main compound work for five reps. Others prefer the 8-10 rep range and keep everything tightly there.

To maximize strength gains, work primarily in the 1-5 rep range. Fives are not better than fours, which are not better than threes. If anything, singles are probably best. For muscle-building, do 6-20 reps. Research shows you can build muscle with lighter weights than previously thought (Schoenfeld et al., 2021).

High Training Frequency

Frequency is the one concept of DUP that the evidence-based fitness community got wrong. Back in the day, there was an ongoing debate between the science guys and the bros.

The bros hit each muscle group once a week, while the evidence-based community swore up and down that higher-frequency programs, hitting muscles and lifts multiple times a week, worked better. Their argument went something like this. More frequent exposure to the lifts increases motor learning capabilities. Lifting is a skill, and like any skill, you get better at it with more practice. Getting better at the lifts allows you to dial in your form and become more efficient with the movement patterns. As your form gets better and more efficient, it becomes easier to make progress.

Another benefit claimed by higher-frequency proponents is that the more often you stimulate a training response (through muscular contractions), the more often you create an anabolic response and boost protein synthesis.

It turns out that as long as volume is the same, training frequency is not a significant driver of progress (Schoenfeld et al., 2018). That’s not a great selling point for DUP, right? Well, not exactly. Although there doesn’t seem to be a benefit to higher frequency programs under normal conditions and volume requirements, it’s not an open and closed case.

In my years working with competitive powerlifters, training each lift (squat, bench press, and deadlift) is almost mandatory. With only one exposure per week, getting enough volume to progress the lifts is hard, especially for squats and bench presses. So, if you need to squat and bench press two or three times per week, varying the reps throughout the week using a DUP system is an effective strategy. 

Prioritize The Main Lifts

I’m not fond of the question, but let me ask it anyway. If you could only do one exercise for the rest of your life, what would you pick? The squat? How about the deadlift? Or a bodyweight exercise such as the pull-up?

I know that question is unrealistic, but it’s just to get you thinking. There are many good answers, but I bet seated calf raises or facepulls didn’t immediately come to mind.

It’s not that assistance exercises don’t work—they do. But the main lifts offer more bang for our buck when building muscle and strength. So, if we know this, it makes sense to prioritize them.

Cables and machines have seen a resurgence in popularity over the past year. A lot of it stems from the surge of social media biomechanics experts. I love biomechanics and use it to improve my lifting and coaching. However, it shouldn’t be an excuse to avoid the main lifts.

With DUP programs, doing the squat, bench press, and deadlift multiple times a week is not uncommon. You can still fit in assistance work on a DUP program, but it will take a backseat to the big compound lifts.

Add assistance movements to hit areas of the muscle that don’t get enough stimulation from the main lifts. A great example is the leg extension. As great as squats are, they have a weakness. They don’t train the rectus femoris (one of the four quad muscles) very well. The good news is that leg extensions do, making them a great compliment to the squat to optimize quad growth.

Progressive Overload is the Key to Progress

When I discuss progressive overload, I’m essentially emphasizing the importance of ‘beating the logbook.” As I mentioned earlier, DUP should have a linear component. There’s no magic in the DUP setup by itself. It’s simply a method to distribute volume. However, the key to progress is consistently doing more work.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. DUP training is hard. Somewhere along the way, hard training got shamed, but it’s making a comeback. Training hard fell out of favor around the same time the fear-mongering around overtraining started. It compounded when people told you that you didn’t need to train to failure to make progress.

Overtraining is real, but 99% of people do not need to worry about it. I have trained in gyms all over the country, worked with hundreds of clients, and talked to other coaches who have also worked with hundreds of clients. I have come to this conclusion: far more people undertrain than overtrain.

Let me put it another way. If you are training hard enough to overtrain, chances are:

1- You are an elite athlete and need to push the boundaries to compete at the highest level.

2 – You are experienced enough to overreach on purpose. It’s called super-compensation. You train hard for a period of time, pushing your training to the limit, possibly even past your recovery ability (overreach), and then deload to reap the rewards of the training cycle.

Speaking to the failure point, yes, you can get away with not training to failure. However, you need to train close to failure and to do so consistently; you need to know what actual failure feels like. The only way to know that is to push it there on occasion. 

Benefits of Daily Undulating Periodization

Here are a few benefits to expect from a DUP program.

Allows You To Train Multiple Things At Once: One of the downsides of traditional periodization is that you typically only train one thing at once. So, while in a strength phase, you do strength work, while in a hypertrophy phase, you do muscle-building work. However, gaining strength and building muscle take time. This often means 3-6 months focused on one thing. With DUP, you can work on multiple things at once. So, while you are in a strength phase, you can keep enough higher rep stuff in the program to maintain or even gain muscle.

Variety: Doing the same rep ranges every day of the week can get boring. To counteract this, people often change exercises. But that’s not always the best option particularly when you want to get stronger on a specific exercise.

Improved Technique: I like to equate lifting weights to swinging a baseball bat. Of course, they are not the same, but it works in this context. As a baseball player, there are two main ways to hit more home runs. You can build muscle (get stronger, more powerful, increase the rate of force development, etc.) and improve your swing—the same applies to hitting a bench press PR. To bench press more weight, you can build muscle or improve your bench press technique. Like a baseball swing, practicing is the best way to improve your bench technique. The increased frequency of a DUP program can help you get more practice than just benching once a week.

Sample Daily Undulating Periodization Program

Here is a sample week of a DUP program. These are from the OG Absolute Strength program I wrote in 2016.

You can get an updated version of the program, Absolute Strength 3.0, which I wrote in 2024, here: https://kylehuntfitness.shop/collections/programs/products/absolute-strength.

4-Day DUP Program: Phase 1

Monday:

• Back Squat: 4 sets x 9 reps
• Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets x 9 reps
• Dumbbell Lunges: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Leg Curl: 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Tuesday:

• Bench Press: 4 sets x 9 reps
• Bench Press Variation: 3 sets x 9 reps
• Dumbbell Row: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Seated Dumbbell Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Thursday:

• Back Squat: 4 sets x 5 reps
• Deadlift: 3 sets x 5 reps
• Leg Press: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
• Glute Ham Raise / Back Extension: 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Friday:

• Bench Press: 4 sets x 5 reps
• Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
• Chest Supported Row: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Bench: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Cable Facepull: 3 sets x 12-15 reps

6-Day DUP Program: Phase 1

Monday:

• Back Squat: 3 sets x 9 reps
• Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets x 9 reps
• Dumbbell Lunges: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Leg Curl: 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Tuesday:

• Bench Press: 3 sets x 9 reps
• Bench Press Variation: 3 sets x 9 reps
• Dumbbell Row: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Seated Dumbbell Press: 2-3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 2-3 sets x 12-15 reps

Wednesday:

• Back Squat: 3 sets x 7 reps
• Deadlift: 3 sets x 7 reps
• Leg Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Glute Ham Raise / Back Extension: 2-3 sets x 12-15 reps

Thursday:

• Bench Press: 3 sets x 7 reps
• Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets x 7 reps
• Seal Row: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Bench: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Cable Facepull: 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Friday:

• Back Squat: 3 sets x 5 reps
• Deadlift: 3 sets x 5 reps
• Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Ab Exercise of Choice: 3 sets

Saturday:

• Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
• Overhead Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
• Barbell Row: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dips: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Cable Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets x 12-15 reps

Daily Undulating Periodization FAQs

Q: Can beginners use Daily Undulating Periodization?

Yes, but it is generally better for intermediate to advanced lifters. Beginners can get great results with a simple linear periodization setup.

Q: Who should use Daily Undulating Periodization?

DUP is ideal for competitive powerlifters, powerbuilders, or even team sport athletes.

Q: Can you use undulating periodization for fat loss?

Yes, undulating periodization can be used for fat loss if paired with a diet that puts you in a caloric deficit.

Q: What is the best periodization method for strength?

There isn’t one “best” method; however, linear periodization works well for nearly everyone, while more advanced lifters may benefit from incorporating DUP or even conjugate periodization.

Q: How do you create a DUP program?

A DUP program involves setting up different training days focused on varying intensities, such as a heavy day, a moderate day, and a light day, or a hypertrophy day, a speed day, and a strength day. The idea is to set up the program so each day targets a specific rep and weight range for the same exercises.

Is DUP For You?

After reading this, are you ready to jump into a high-frequency squat program like it’s 2011? If not, that’s okay. However, DUP can be a fun way to train. It’s not for everyone and is not necessarily the best way to get strong, but it is effective.

As always, if you have any questions about DUP or anything else, feel free to email me.

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Author: Kyle Hunt

Email: KyleHuntFitness@gmail.com

Hire Kyle as your coach: http://www.kylehuntfitness.com/services/

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References:

Haff, G., & Triplett, T. (2016). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning (4th ed.). Human Kinetics.

Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., & Krieger, J. (2018). How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(11), 1286–1295. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1555906

Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W., & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: a Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports, 9(2), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020032