The “daily undulating periodization” is an effective training method, even though we do not care for the name. First, “undulating” is just a fancy word for “wave.” Second, many methods other than the DUP employ wave load dynamics.
Here is an example of the DUP: Monday—5/5, Wednesday—3/5 (reps/sets), Friday—2/3.
One problem with the traditional “daily undulating periodization” is it does not vary the effort from day to day. All serious strength coaches and athletes know that going all out on the same exercise three times a week is unsustainable. Without cycling the effort, rapid progress is followed by a crash.
Soviet research showed that when following the traditional progressive overload, you should train a target lift hard once every 5-7 days. With that in mind, to make the DUP more reliable, introduce light and/or medium days. Here is how to do it using the above example.
| Week | Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
| 1 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 2/3 |
| 2 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 2/3 |
| For each set/rep scheme, alternate “heavy” and “light” days. In the latter use the same sets and reps as the heavy day but 20% less weight. | |||
E.g., after hitting 405×5/5 on Monday in week one, lift 325 for the same sets and reps next week. After lifting 455×2/3 on Friday, put up 365×2/3 on Friday of week two.
For maximal effectiveness, introduce cycling (linear, wave, or step) into your heavy day progression.