Strength
GZCL UHF
By Cody Lefever · With Permission
Also known as: gzcl · uhf · ultra high frequency · gzcl uhf · cody lefever · high frequency
Cody Lefever's Ultra High Frequency block: five days in a row each week for five weeks, every session full body. Each day has a heavy T1 lift (squat, bench, deficit deadlift, Sling Shot bench, front squat) with a set for as many reps as you can every session, a T2 lift from the other half of the body, and three T3 exercises taken to a fresh rep max each session. Percentages are of a 2-rep max you could hit on any day, and the deadlift day works down from a 3-inch deficit to the floor by week 5.
Advanced
5 days/week
5-week plan
~40–55 min/session
Free to use · auto progression, rest timers & PR tracking built in
The coach
Cody Lefever
Cody Lefever is the creator of the GZCL Method and General Gainz training frameworks: a World Championship caliber lifter and coach, and a Marine veteran. Owner of Alma's Gym, North America's highest gym, he works with clients in person in Alma, Colorado and online around the world.
Overview
What is GZCL UHF?
UHF stands for Ultra High Frequency: Cody Lefever's GZCL block where each session is full body and every lift is trained, or a close version of it, several times a week. This is the five-week version from his free GZCL Program Compendium, which he describes in GZCL Applications & Adaptations (2016) as an introduction to the nine-week model. You train five days in a row, then rest two.
Each day has one heavy T1 lift, a T2 lift from the other half of the body, and three T3 exercises. Day 1 is squat with incline bench, Day 2 bench with pause squats, Day 3 deadlift from a deficit with legs-up bench, Day 4 Sling Shot bench with paused deadlifts, and Day 5 front squat with close-grip bench. The deadlift day starts from a 3-inch deficit and works down to 2 inches, then 1 inch, then the floor in week 5. The T1 lift ends in a set for as many reps as you can at every session.
Who it's for
Is GZCL UHF right for you?
Lifters who can train five days a week and recover well, and who know their 2-rep maxes. You need a Sling Shot for Day 4. The heavy work comes back often, so honest, repeatable rep-max estimates matter more than an all-out 1RM. Sessions take about 40–55 minutes.
Progression
How progression works
Every percentage is of a training max Cody defines as 'an estimated daily 2RM at cycle start', for T1 and T2 alike, and Durata asks for each lift's 2-rep max when you start. The variations work off the lift they come from, as in his sheet: deficit and paused deadlifts off your deadlift, Sling Shot, close-grip and legs-up bench off your bench (the Sling Shot at percentages 5% higher), and pause squats off your squat. Incline bench and front squat have their own. The maxes stay fixed for the five weeks.
The T1 waves in his order: 85% for 3 sets of 4, 90% for 4 sets of 3, then a climb of a triple, two doubles and three singles at 87.5, 92.5 and 97.5%, then 5 singles at 95%, and in week 5 a triple, a double and one set for as many reps as you can at 90, 95 and 100%. Incline, legs-up and close-grip bench go 4 sets of 10, 4 of 8, 4 of 6, 5 of 5 and one set for as many reps as you can; pause squats and paused deadlifts go 7 sets of 3, 8 doubles and 10 singles before the squat and deadlift themselves take over for 5 sets of 5 and one set for as many reps as you can. T3 work is a rep max found fresh each session, then more sets with that weight for as many reps as you can: 12-15 reps then four more sets in weeks 1 and 2, 10-12 and three more in week 3, 8-10 and two more in week 4, and a single heaviest 10 in week 5.
Fixed % of Training Max for the block — the TM holds; retest and re-run to move it% of the parent lift's Training Max — moves when it moves
Durata runs this progression for you — every session's weights are computed from your training maxes, and your logged AMRAP sets are what move those maxes.
The program
GZCL UHF — every set, every session
Percentages are of your training max (TM). AMRAP = as many reps as possible on the sets marked AMRAP.
Week 15 sessions
Deadlift
Wednesday~35–50 min
Sling Shot Bench
Thursday~40–50 min
Front Squat
Friday~35–50 min
Week 25 sessions
Deadlift
Wednesday~40–55 min
Sling Shot Bench
Thursday~45–65 min
Front Squat
Friday~45–60 min
Week 35 sessions
Deadlift
Wednesday~45–60 min
Sling Shot Bench
Thursday~60–80 min
Front Squat
Friday~50–70 min
Week 45 sessions
Deadlift
Wednesday~50–70 min
Sling Shot Bench
Thursday~45–60 min
Front Squat
Friday~45–60 min
Week 55 sessions
Deadlift
Wednesday~25–35 min
Sling Shot Bench
Thursday~25–35 min
Front Squat
Friday~25–35 min
FAQ
GZCL UHF — common questions
Why train every lift so often?
Cody built UHF to test whether daily undulating periodization works with his three tiers. Every session is full body, and the work changes from one session to the next instead of from one week to the next, so you practise the main lifts far more often while each session stays recoverable.
What is a Sling Shot, and can I skip it?
A Sling Shot is an elastic sleeve worn over the arms for the bench press. It helps out of the bottom, so you can handle more weight than your raw bench and train the top half of the press. Cody's Day 4 T1 is Sling Shot bench, at 5% more than the bench day. The app builds it as he wrote it; if you have no Sling Shot, you can swap the exercise in the planner.
What does "2-rep max at cycle start" mean?
The heaviest weight you could lift for two reps on any day at the start of the block, not your best-ever single. Cody's GZCL programs work off rep maxes like this so the percentages stay within reach on an ordinary day.
How long should I rest?
His sheet gives 3 to 5 minutes between T1 sets, 2 to 3 minutes for T2 and 60 to 90 seconds for T3, and asks you to follow it fairly closely because the rep-out sets depend on it. Durata ramps the timer with the load: the low end in the lightest week, the top in the heaviest.
What if I feel run down?
Cody's sheet says to leave 2 to 3 reps in the tank on every T1 and T2 rep-out set for the rest of that week, drop one set from every T3 exercise, eat a little more and sleep longer, then go back to normal the next week.
What comes after the five weeks?
Retest your 2-rep maxes and run it again, or move to Cody's nine-week UHF, which this five-week block was built to introduce.
Is there an app that runs GZCL UHF for you?
Yes. Durata runs GZCL UHF as written, free: the 5-day-a-week schedule, every set and rep, and the progression built in. Log your sets and the next session's weights are worked out for you, with the stalls the program calls for; a tap on any lift shows why the weight moved. It is on iPhone and Android, works offline, and your history from Hevy or Strong imports free.
Source: GZCL UHF by Cody Lefever, from his GZCL Program Compendium and GZCL Applications & Adaptations (swoleateveryheight, 2016)
With permission from Cody Lefever, who gave Durata permission to carry this program.
Ready to lift?
Run GZCL UHF in Durata
Training-max calculation, AMRAP tracking, automatic progression, plate calculator, rest timers and PR tracking — the whole program, ready to log.
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