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Here's an interesting method I might use in my upcoming mass cycle-
German Volume Training
A New Look at an Old Way to Get Big and Strong!
By Charles Poliquin
Supersets and tri-sets allow you to perform a lot of work in a short period of time. The rest-pause method allows you to use heavier weights, so you can recruit the higher threshold muscle fibers, and eccentric training enables you to overcome strength plateaus. The bottom line is that almost any training method will work (provided you do it with intensity!), at least for the few weeks it takes for your body to adapt to it. There is, however, one training system that stands above all the rest. It's brutally hard, but I've found it to be a very effective way to pack on muscle fast!
In strength-coaching circles, this method is often called the "ten sets method." Because it has its roots in German-speaking countries, I like to call it German Volume Training. To the best of my knowledge, this training system originated in Germany in the mid-'70's and was popularized by Rolf Feser, who was then the National Coach of Weightlifting. A similar protocol was promoted by Vince Gironda in the U.S., but regardless of who actually invented it, it works.
In Germany, the ten-sets method was used in the off-season to help weightlifters gain lean body mass. It was so efficient that lifters routinely moved up a full weight class within 12 weeks. It was the base program of Canadian weightlifter Jacques Demers, Silver Medalist in the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Jacques was known in weightlifting circles for his massive thighs, and he gives credit to the German method for achieving such a spectacular level of hypertrophy. The same method was also used by Bev Francis in her early days of bodybuilding to pack on muscle.
The program works because it targets a group of motor units, exposing them to an extensive volume of repeated efforts, specifically, 10 sets of a single exercise. The body adapts to the extraordinary stress by hypertrophying the targeted fibers. To say this program adds muscle fast is probably an understatement. Gains of ten pounds or more in six weeks are not uncommon, even in experienced lifters!
Goals and Guidelines
The goal of the German Volume Training method is to complete ten sets of ten reps with the same weight for each exercise. You want to begin with a weight you could lift for 20 reps to failure if you had to. For most people, on most exercises, that would represent 60% of their 1RM load. Therefore, if you can bench press 300 lbs for 1 rep, you would use 180 lbs for this exercise.
For lifters new to this method, I recommend using the following body-part splits: Day 1: chest and back, Day 2: legs and abs, Day 3: off, Day 4: arms and shoulders, Day 5: off.
When using this program or any other, for that matter, you should keep a detailed journal of the exact sets/reps and rest intervals performed, and only count the repetitions completed in strict form. Here are a few more guidelines to ensure optimal progress:
Rest Intervals: When bodybuilders start with this method, they often question its value for the first several sets because the weight won't feel heavy enough. However, there is minimal rest between sets (about 60 seconds when performed in sequence and 90-120 seconds when performed as a superset), which incurs cumulative fatigue. (Interestingly enough, you might find you get stronger again during the eighth and ninth sets. This is because of a short-term neural adaptation.) Because of the importance of the rest intervals, you should use a stopwatch to keep the rest intervals constant. This is very important, as it becomes tempting to lengthen the rest time as you fatigue.
Tempo: For long-range movements such as squats, dips, and chins, use a 4-0-2 tempo; this means you would lower the weight in four seconds and immediately change direction and lift for two seconds. For movements such as curls and triceps extensions, use a 3-0-2 tempo.
Number of Exercises: One, and only one, exercise per body part should be performed. Therefore, select exercises that recruit a lot of muscle mass. Triceps kickbacks and leg extensions are definitely out, squats and bench presses are definitely in. For supplementary work for individual body parts (like triceps and biceps), you can do 3 sets of 10-20 reps.
Training Frequency: Because this is such an intense program, it'll take you longer to recover. In fact, if you're familiar with the writings of Peter Sisco and John Little, you'll find that the average "Power Factor Rating" of the 10-sets method is about 8 billion. Consequently, one training session every four to five days per body part is plenty.
Overload Mechanism: Once you're able to do 10 sets of 10 with constant rest intervals, increase the weight on the bar by 4% to 5%, and repeat the process. Refrain from using forced reps, negatives, or burns. The volume of the work will take care of the hypertrophy. Expect to have some deep muscle soreness without having to resort to set prolongation techniques. In fact, after doing a quad and hams session with this method, it takes the average bodybuilder about five days to stop limping.
Then here is a revision of it done by the writer at T-mag.
It's been almost 5 years since Coach Poliquin introduced German Volume Training to the modern American bodybuilding audience. Granted, even back in 1996, the method wasn't new — it was just new to Baby Boomer and Gen-X bodybuilders. By Poliquin's own admission, the technique had been used successfully for years in German speaking countries.
And, even in this country, career curmudgeon Vince Gironda practiced a similar method back in the forties and fifties.
For those of you who haven't had the pleasure — or pain — of ever having tried GVT, it involves, rather simply, doing 10 sets of the same exercise, with the goal being to do 10 reps per set. Of course, the goal is more or less theoretical, because if you can actually do ten full sets of ten, you're not using a heavy enough weight.
The time-honored way to determine your starting weight was to choose an amount of resistance that you could do 20 times, and for most mortals, this equates to a weight that's roughly 60% of your 1RM (the maximum amount of weight you can lift one time on any given exercise).
Most trainees are able to do 3 or 4 sets of 10 before the number of reps starts dropping like the Dow Jones after Greenspan raises interest rates. And then, around the 7th, 8th, or 9th set, the trainee invariably experiences some sort of neurological rebound that allows him to suddenly do more reps than he did during the middle sets. Pretty nifty, I must say.
Scientifically speaking, by exposing a group of motor units to such a high volume of work, the body adapts to the incredible amount of stress by growing the targeted fibers at a pretty fast rate. And, along the same lines, the large training volume appears to contribute not only to increased mass, but decreased body fat (Hather, et al, 1992; Stone, O'Bryant, and Garhammer, 1981).
In practice, many trainees were able to put on as much as 10 pounds of muscle mass after doing the program for only a few weeks (provided they increased their protein intake).
Unfortunately, I've found that the original program had a couple of problems. Given my job position as editor-in-chief of a strength-training/bodybuilding mag, I'm able to either work with, or get feedback from, thousands of athletes world wide, many of which've tried the GVT program. As such, I started to see where the program had some shortcomings.
First of all, doing 10 sets of 10 of the same exercise caused people to overuse/overstress certain joint angles. Furthermore, the volume, considering that you were advised to add on a couple of other sets for the same body part using more traditional rep schemes, was just too great for most people, unless they had the advantage of training with a pharmaceutical warehouse in their gym bags.
Thirdly, the program, because of its dependence on doing essentially one exercise per body part wasn't that much of a bodybuilding program. Furthermore, doing one exercise for each body part isn't that great an idea. Say, for instance, your goal is to do 10 sets of leg curls for 10 reps each. Well, the hamstrings don't just flex the lower leg; they also act as hip extensors, and the way you target those muscles is through good mornings and straight-leg deadlifts. Just doing the leg curls completely ignores the other function of the hamstrings.
And lastly, the original German Volume Training program was boring as hell.
So, I experimented. I talked to people like Ian King. I hunkered down in my bodybuilding lab, put together pieces of dead tissue, invoked lightning to strike, and created life out of what was for me and many others, a dead program.
In essence, I kept the purity of the program intact. It still has the theoretical goal of doing 10 sets of 10, but with some major differences.
The program still requires you to use the same weight for all the sets, but instead of doing just one exercise for 10 sets, we're going to be doing 4 different exercises so that we use slightly different joint angles and work the muscle, hopefully, in as many ways as possible.
Here's an example of a chest workout:
Incline Bench Press… 3 sets of 10
Decline Bench Press… 3 sets of 10
Bench Press… 3 sets of 10
Dumbbell Flies… 1 set of 10
What I've done is put the "weakest" position first, and the strongest position third. Then, since pressing movements aren't, by the strictest definition, pure chest movements, I've thrown in another movement that works the chest in a way that duplicates one of the physiological functions of the chest, which is to adduct the arms (the dumbbell flies). True, it's by no means a completely balanced program — affording equal "work" to all muscle groups — but it at least comes close, and it's certainly more balanced than the original program.
You might find yourself only hitting 8 or 9 reps on the 3rd set of the inclines and then "rebounding" and hitting 9 or 10 reps on the first set of the declines, but that's okay. We're after volume here. And, obviously, although you should use the same weight for the first 9 sets, you'll be using dumbbells for the flies and the weight you use will be different.
I devised similar schemes for every major body part:
Back
Wide Grip Pull-ups… 3 sets of 10
Medium Grip Pull-ups… 3 sets of 10
Narrow Grip, Semi-Supinated Pull-ups… 3 sets of 10
Barbell Rows… 1 set of 10
Again, the latissimus dorsi is a very wide muscle (hell, it means "widest back muscle" in Latin), so it only stands to reason that doing nothing but pull-ups would stimulate only a portion of the muscle. And, since the muscle fiber ratio of the upper lat is different than that of the lower lat, we definitely need to throw in at least one set of barbell rows to work the muscle from a completely different angle.
Note: If you aren't strong enough to do chins, use the pulldown machine.
Quads
Front Squats… 3 sets of 10
High Bar, Narrow Stance, 1 and 1/3 Squats (bar high on back)… 3 sets of 10
High Bar, Medium Stance Squats… 3 sets of 10
Leg Extensions… 1 set of 10
Squats are an incredible "total body" movement, working the quads, glutes, trunk muscles, etc., but they don't address the primary function of the quadriceps, which is to extend the lower leg. Hence the leg extensions.
Hamstrings
Good Mornings… 3 sets of 10
Straight leg deadlifts off box… 3 sets of 10
Straight Leg Deadlifts (from floor)… 3 sets of 10
Leg Curls… 1 set of 10
The first three movements work the hip extension function of the hamstrings, but they don't work the other function of the hams, which is lower leg flexion. Hence, the leg curls.
Shoulders
Medium Grip Presses (in front of neck)… 3 sets of 10
Medium Grip Presses (behind the neck)… 3 sets of 10
Very Wide Grip Presses (in front of neck)… 3 sets of 10
Lateral Raises (using dumbbells)… 1 set of 10
Two notes here. First, some trainees might be stronger in the second movement rather than the third, so you'll need to do some experimentation here. Secondly, as far as lateral raises are concerned, I'd prefer that you do them "Jerry Telle" style, but an explanation is beyond the scope of this article. If you want to read more about them, refer to "Tellekinetics: a New Way to Work Shoulders," from issue #50.
Biceps (using dumbbells)
Preacher Curls… 3 sets of 10
Incline Curls… 3 sets of 10
Standing Curls… 3 sets of 10
Reverse Curls… 1 set of 10
Although the first three movements work the biceps brachii, they largely neglect the brachialis; hence the reverse curls.
Triceps (using EZ curl bar)
Lying Extensions (to top of head)… 3 sets of 10
Lying Extensions (to chin)… 3 sets of 10
Seated Overhead Extensions… 3 sets of 10
Reverse Grip Pushdowns (on pulldown machine)… 1 set of 10
Although we blast the long and medial heads of the triceps pretty well in the first 9 sets, we pretty much ignore the lateral head; hence the Reverse Grip Pushdowns.
The Poliquin version of the original program stressed a certain tempo, and I'd like to preserve those tempos. Trouble is, almost no one I ever see train pays attention to these tempos, which is a pity because it's the difference between a moderately successful program and an incredibly successful program.
I urge you to use a 402 *tempo on the movements for the larger muscles (legs, chest, back) and a 302 tempo on the movements for the smaller muscles (shoulders, biceps, triceps).
*For those of you who are newbies, the first number refers to how many seconds it should take to lower the weight, while the second number denotes the pause before reversing the direction of the movement, and the third number, of course, refers to how many seconds it should take to raise the weight.
I also urge a rest period of between 60 and 90 seconds, and I urge a frequency of no more than one training session per body part every five or six days. Here's a sample split that I've found to work pretty well:
Day One… Quads
Day Two… Chest and Triceps
Day Three… Off
Day Four… Hamstrings and Shoulders
Day Five… Back and Biceps
Day Six… Off
Day Seven… Repeat
You probably noticed that I didn't include abs or calves. I don't ignore them; it's just that given their special needs as far as muscle fiber ratios are concerned, I work them in a more conventional way than GVT 2000. You can choose to work them any day, but I like throwing them in after working quads.
Here's a brief synopsis of the more important points of the GVT 2000 program:
• Ten sets of ten, albeit using 4 exercises that stress the muscles from different angles
• The weight you use for the first 9 sets stays the same.
• When you can actually do 10 sets of 10, it's time to add more weight.
• Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets.
• Pay strict attention to tempo, using 402 for chest, back, and leg movements; and 302 for shoulder, bicep, and tricep movement.
This is a great program, but much the same as any other program, it'll only work for awhile. In fact, this is probably even truer of this type of high-volume training. I'd recommend that you do GVT 2000 for three or, at the most, four weeks. If you keep on doing high-volume work for much longer than that, you'll reach a point of diminishing returns and your other lifts will start to suffer.
Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, too many people undertake a mass-building program without adjusting their diet one lick. They think that muscle will materialize out of thin air! It's like trying to build a house without any material except sweat!
You need to supply more building material, and that building material is protein!
So, if you try this program, do me a favor, okay? Eat! And if you're not anal enough to keep tabs of everything you eat, just throw in at least one extra meal a day, whether it be a protein drink, a meal replacement, or a hunk of turkey meat you ripped off the carcass in the fridge before heading out to wash your car or meeting your buds.
This is a brutal program that leads to deep-seated soreness, so let's do it right. I've no doubt in my mind that you'll grow.
Sorry this is so long, I just found it interesting. Has anyone ever tried this method? I think i'm gonna use it the last 4 weeks of my cycle to shock my muscles and squeeze out those last few pounds. What's everyone else's favorite methods to put a little hot sauce in their burrito?
German Volume Training
A New Look at an Old Way to Get Big and Strong!
By Charles Poliquin
Supersets and tri-sets allow you to perform a lot of work in a short period of time. The rest-pause method allows you to use heavier weights, so you can recruit the higher threshold muscle fibers, and eccentric training enables you to overcome strength plateaus. The bottom line is that almost any training method will work (provided you do it with intensity!), at least for the few weeks it takes for your body to adapt to it. There is, however, one training system that stands above all the rest. It's brutally hard, but I've found it to be a very effective way to pack on muscle fast!
In strength-coaching circles, this method is often called the "ten sets method." Because it has its roots in German-speaking countries, I like to call it German Volume Training. To the best of my knowledge, this training system originated in Germany in the mid-'70's and was popularized by Rolf Feser, who was then the National Coach of Weightlifting. A similar protocol was promoted by Vince Gironda in the U.S., but regardless of who actually invented it, it works.
In Germany, the ten-sets method was used in the off-season to help weightlifters gain lean body mass. It was so efficient that lifters routinely moved up a full weight class within 12 weeks. It was the base program of Canadian weightlifter Jacques Demers, Silver Medalist in the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Jacques was known in weightlifting circles for his massive thighs, and he gives credit to the German method for achieving such a spectacular level of hypertrophy. The same method was also used by Bev Francis in her early days of bodybuilding to pack on muscle.
The program works because it targets a group of motor units, exposing them to an extensive volume of repeated efforts, specifically, 10 sets of a single exercise. The body adapts to the extraordinary stress by hypertrophying the targeted fibers. To say this program adds muscle fast is probably an understatement. Gains of ten pounds or more in six weeks are not uncommon, even in experienced lifters!
Goals and Guidelines
The goal of the German Volume Training method is to complete ten sets of ten reps with the same weight for each exercise. You want to begin with a weight you could lift for 20 reps to failure if you had to. For most people, on most exercises, that would represent 60% of their 1RM load. Therefore, if you can bench press 300 lbs for 1 rep, you would use 180 lbs for this exercise.
For lifters new to this method, I recommend using the following body-part splits: Day 1: chest and back, Day 2: legs and abs, Day 3: off, Day 4: arms and shoulders, Day 5: off.
When using this program or any other, for that matter, you should keep a detailed journal of the exact sets/reps and rest intervals performed, and only count the repetitions completed in strict form. Here are a few more guidelines to ensure optimal progress:
Rest Intervals: When bodybuilders start with this method, they often question its value for the first several sets because the weight won't feel heavy enough. However, there is minimal rest between sets (about 60 seconds when performed in sequence and 90-120 seconds when performed as a superset), which incurs cumulative fatigue. (Interestingly enough, you might find you get stronger again during the eighth and ninth sets. This is because of a short-term neural adaptation.) Because of the importance of the rest intervals, you should use a stopwatch to keep the rest intervals constant. This is very important, as it becomes tempting to lengthen the rest time as you fatigue.
Tempo: For long-range movements such as squats, dips, and chins, use a 4-0-2 tempo; this means you would lower the weight in four seconds and immediately change direction and lift for two seconds. For movements such as curls and triceps extensions, use a 3-0-2 tempo.
Number of Exercises: One, and only one, exercise per body part should be performed. Therefore, select exercises that recruit a lot of muscle mass. Triceps kickbacks and leg extensions are definitely out, squats and bench presses are definitely in. For supplementary work for individual body parts (like triceps and biceps), you can do 3 sets of 10-20 reps.
Training Frequency: Because this is such an intense program, it'll take you longer to recover. In fact, if you're familiar with the writings of Peter Sisco and John Little, you'll find that the average "Power Factor Rating" of the 10-sets method is about 8 billion. Consequently, one training session every four to five days per body part is plenty.
Overload Mechanism: Once you're able to do 10 sets of 10 with constant rest intervals, increase the weight on the bar by 4% to 5%, and repeat the process. Refrain from using forced reps, negatives, or burns. The volume of the work will take care of the hypertrophy. Expect to have some deep muscle soreness without having to resort to set prolongation techniques. In fact, after doing a quad and hams session with this method, it takes the average bodybuilder about five days to stop limping.
Then here is a revision of it done by the writer at T-mag.
It's been almost 5 years since Coach Poliquin introduced German Volume Training to the modern American bodybuilding audience. Granted, even back in 1996, the method wasn't new — it was just new to Baby Boomer and Gen-X bodybuilders. By Poliquin's own admission, the technique had been used successfully for years in German speaking countries.
And, even in this country, career curmudgeon Vince Gironda practiced a similar method back in the forties and fifties.
For those of you who haven't had the pleasure — or pain — of ever having tried GVT, it involves, rather simply, doing 10 sets of the same exercise, with the goal being to do 10 reps per set. Of course, the goal is more or less theoretical, because if you can actually do ten full sets of ten, you're not using a heavy enough weight.
The time-honored way to determine your starting weight was to choose an amount of resistance that you could do 20 times, and for most mortals, this equates to a weight that's roughly 60% of your 1RM (the maximum amount of weight you can lift one time on any given exercise).
Most trainees are able to do 3 or 4 sets of 10 before the number of reps starts dropping like the Dow Jones after Greenspan raises interest rates. And then, around the 7th, 8th, or 9th set, the trainee invariably experiences some sort of neurological rebound that allows him to suddenly do more reps than he did during the middle sets. Pretty nifty, I must say.
Scientifically speaking, by exposing a group of motor units to such a high volume of work, the body adapts to the incredible amount of stress by growing the targeted fibers at a pretty fast rate. And, along the same lines, the large training volume appears to contribute not only to increased mass, but decreased body fat (Hather, et al, 1992; Stone, O'Bryant, and Garhammer, 1981).
In practice, many trainees were able to put on as much as 10 pounds of muscle mass after doing the program for only a few weeks (provided they increased their protein intake).
Unfortunately, I've found that the original program had a couple of problems. Given my job position as editor-in-chief of a strength-training/bodybuilding mag, I'm able to either work with, or get feedback from, thousands of athletes world wide, many of which've tried the GVT program. As such, I started to see where the program had some shortcomings.
First of all, doing 10 sets of 10 of the same exercise caused people to overuse/overstress certain joint angles. Furthermore, the volume, considering that you were advised to add on a couple of other sets for the same body part using more traditional rep schemes, was just too great for most people, unless they had the advantage of training with a pharmaceutical warehouse in their gym bags.
Thirdly, the program, because of its dependence on doing essentially one exercise per body part wasn't that much of a bodybuilding program. Furthermore, doing one exercise for each body part isn't that great an idea. Say, for instance, your goal is to do 10 sets of leg curls for 10 reps each. Well, the hamstrings don't just flex the lower leg; they also act as hip extensors, and the way you target those muscles is through good mornings and straight-leg deadlifts. Just doing the leg curls completely ignores the other function of the hamstrings.
And lastly, the original German Volume Training program was boring as hell.
So, I experimented. I talked to people like Ian King. I hunkered down in my bodybuilding lab, put together pieces of dead tissue, invoked lightning to strike, and created life out of what was for me and many others, a dead program.
In essence, I kept the purity of the program intact. It still has the theoretical goal of doing 10 sets of 10, but with some major differences.
The program still requires you to use the same weight for all the sets, but instead of doing just one exercise for 10 sets, we're going to be doing 4 different exercises so that we use slightly different joint angles and work the muscle, hopefully, in as many ways as possible.
Here's an example of a chest workout:
Incline Bench Press… 3 sets of 10
Decline Bench Press… 3 sets of 10
Bench Press… 3 sets of 10
Dumbbell Flies… 1 set of 10
What I've done is put the "weakest" position first, and the strongest position third. Then, since pressing movements aren't, by the strictest definition, pure chest movements, I've thrown in another movement that works the chest in a way that duplicates one of the physiological functions of the chest, which is to adduct the arms (the dumbbell flies). True, it's by no means a completely balanced program — affording equal "work" to all muscle groups — but it at least comes close, and it's certainly more balanced than the original program.
You might find yourself only hitting 8 or 9 reps on the 3rd set of the inclines and then "rebounding" and hitting 9 or 10 reps on the first set of the declines, but that's okay. We're after volume here. And, obviously, although you should use the same weight for the first 9 sets, you'll be using dumbbells for the flies and the weight you use will be different.
I devised similar schemes for every major body part:
Back
Wide Grip Pull-ups… 3 sets of 10
Medium Grip Pull-ups… 3 sets of 10
Narrow Grip, Semi-Supinated Pull-ups… 3 sets of 10
Barbell Rows… 1 set of 10
Again, the latissimus dorsi is a very wide muscle (hell, it means "widest back muscle" in Latin), so it only stands to reason that doing nothing but pull-ups would stimulate only a portion of the muscle. And, since the muscle fiber ratio of the upper lat is different than that of the lower lat, we definitely need to throw in at least one set of barbell rows to work the muscle from a completely different angle.
Note: If you aren't strong enough to do chins, use the pulldown machine.
Quads
Front Squats… 3 sets of 10
High Bar, Narrow Stance, 1 and 1/3 Squats (bar high on back)… 3 sets of 10
High Bar, Medium Stance Squats… 3 sets of 10
Leg Extensions… 1 set of 10
Squats are an incredible "total body" movement, working the quads, glutes, trunk muscles, etc., but they don't address the primary function of the quadriceps, which is to extend the lower leg. Hence the leg extensions.
Hamstrings
Good Mornings… 3 sets of 10
Straight leg deadlifts off box… 3 sets of 10
Straight Leg Deadlifts (from floor)… 3 sets of 10
Leg Curls… 1 set of 10
The first three movements work the hip extension function of the hamstrings, but they don't work the other function of the hams, which is lower leg flexion. Hence, the leg curls.
Shoulders
Medium Grip Presses (in front of neck)… 3 sets of 10
Medium Grip Presses (behind the neck)… 3 sets of 10
Very Wide Grip Presses (in front of neck)… 3 sets of 10
Lateral Raises (using dumbbells)… 1 set of 10
Two notes here. First, some trainees might be stronger in the second movement rather than the third, so you'll need to do some experimentation here. Secondly, as far as lateral raises are concerned, I'd prefer that you do them "Jerry Telle" style, but an explanation is beyond the scope of this article. If you want to read more about them, refer to "Tellekinetics: a New Way to Work Shoulders," from issue #50.
Biceps (using dumbbells)
Preacher Curls… 3 sets of 10
Incline Curls… 3 sets of 10
Standing Curls… 3 sets of 10
Reverse Curls… 1 set of 10
Although the first three movements work the biceps brachii, they largely neglect the brachialis; hence the reverse curls.
Triceps (using EZ curl bar)
Lying Extensions (to top of head)… 3 sets of 10
Lying Extensions (to chin)… 3 sets of 10
Seated Overhead Extensions… 3 sets of 10
Reverse Grip Pushdowns (on pulldown machine)… 1 set of 10
Although we blast the long and medial heads of the triceps pretty well in the first 9 sets, we pretty much ignore the lateral head; hence the Reverse Grip Pushdowns.
The Poliquin version of the original program stressed a certain tempo, and I'd like to preserve those tempos. Trouble is, almost no one I ever see train pays attention to these tempos, which is a pity because it's the difference between a moderately successful program and an incredibly successful program.
I urge you to use a 402 *tempo on the movements for the larger muscles (legs, chest, back) and a 302 tempo on the movements for the smaller muscles (shoulders, biceps, triceps).
*For those of you who are newbies, the first number refers to how many seconds it should take to lower the weight, while the second number denotes the pause before reversing the direction of the movement, and the third number, of course, refers to how many seconds it should take to raise the weight.
I also urge a rest period of between 60 and 90 seconds, and I urge a frequency of no more than one training session per body part every five or six days. Here's a sample split that I've found to work pretty well:
Day One… Quads
Day Two… Chest and Triceps
Day Three… Off
Day Four… Hamstrings and Shoulders
Day Five… Back and Biceps
Day Six… Off
Day Seven… Repeat
You probably noticed that I didn't include abs or calves. I don't ignore them; it's just that given their special needs as far as muscle fiber ratios are concerned, I work them in a more conventional way than GVT 2000. You can choose to work them any day, but I like throwing them in after working quads.
Here's a brief synopsis of the more important points of the GVT 2000 program:
• Ten sets of ten, albeit using 4 exercises that stress the muscles from different angles
• The weight you use for the first 9 sets stays the same.
• When you can actually do 10 sets of 10, it's time to add more weight.
• Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets.
• Pay strict attention to tempo, using 402 for chest, back, and leg movements; and 302 for shoulder, bicep, and tricep movement.
This is a great program, but much the same as any other program, it'll only work for awhile. In fact, this is probably even truer of this type of high-volume training. I'd recommend that you do GVT 2000 for three or, at the most, four weeks. If you keep on doing high-volume work for much longer than that, you'll reach a point of diminishing returns and your other lifts will start to suffer.
Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, too many people undertake a mass-building program without adjusting their diet one lick. They think that muscle will materialize out of thin air! It's like trying to build a house without any material except sweat!
You need to supply more building material, and that building material is protein!
So, if you try this program, do me a favor, okay? Eat! And if you're not anal enough to keep tabs of everything you eat, just throw in at least one extra meal a day, whether it be a protein drink, a meal replacement, or a hunk of turkey meat you ripped off the carcass in the fridge before heading out to wash your car or meeting your buds.
This is a brutal program that leads to deep-seated soreness, so let's do it right. I've no doubt in my mind that you'll grow.
Sorry this is so long, I just found it interesting. Has anyone ever tried this method? I think i'm gonna use it the last 4 weeks of my cycle to shock my muscles and squeeze out those last few pounds. What's everyone else's favorite methods to put a little hot sauce in their burrito?
