German Volume Training - My Experience
Between all of the recent posts on GVT in MFW and the concomitant noise they have created, you would think that it is some new wonder-routine. Fact is, German volume training has been around for some time. There's no real mystery about it - plainly stated, you do ten sets of ten reps on each exercise. For some reason Poliquin's article has generated two interpretations - I'll talk about my own routine first.
I used the two on/one off/one on/one off schedule for my own routine, as Poliquin suggests. I hadn't tried this rotation before, so I thought I'd give it a try. I also kept the one primary/one secondary exercise scheme for body parts. I didn't do the modified superset Poliquin mentioned, just took 60 second breaks between each set. Ten sets of ten pull ups wasn't about to happen so I fiddled with exercise selection and came up with:
|
Day 1 |
Incline Bench 10x10 |
Close Grip Bent Over Row 10x10 |
Close Grip Flat Bench 3x10 |
Good Mornings 3x10 |
|
Day 2 |
Squats 10x10 |
Leg Curls 10x10 |
Weighted Crunches 3x10 |
Hanging Leg Raises 3x10 |
OFF
|
Day 3 |
Upright Rows 10x10 |
Barbell Curls 10x10 |
French Press 3x10 |
Bent Over Lateral Raise 3x10 |
OFF
My observations after the cycle:
Day one -
I really like doing push/pull - rows and bench together, for instance - and only slightly modified Poliquin's workout on this one. I do close grip bent over rows with a super curl bar so my palms face each other. I get a better burn in my lats this way than with regular barbell rows, and it seems to be easier on my bum forearm.
The close grip flat bench was a nice finish after the inclines and rows.
The good mornings didn't happen. While they would have provided the second back exercise, I had major DOMS in my lower back from the squats so I decided to forego them and allow more recovery so I could get more out of the squats rather than take a chance getting sloppy with my form from fatigue in either the good mornings or the squats.
Day Two -
I think I saw Hotei every squat day while on this routine. Between squats being an all around ball buster and the burn I got from doing lying leg curls after the squats, I was a happy masochist. Topping it all off, my abs were fatigued from the squats so when I got to the crunches I was smoked.
The hanging leg raises were a real bastard as my hamstrings kept cramping up. This workout I varied the cadence - I supersetted the ab work. In retrospect, I probably will change this one next time around. I'd probably change it to: Squats 10x10/Weighted crunches 10x10/Leg curls 3x10/Hanging leg raises 3x10.
Day 3 -
I chose to do upright rows for a couple of reasons:
------- I didn't want any more pressing exercises in the routine - didn't want to overtrain shoulders or triceps. Upright rows let me hit my delts and traps and avoid the triceps.
------- With all of the bench work I decided to treat my shoulders like I do my triceps and biceps and not hit them as hard when they are already getting a lion's share of work.
-------- Upright rows don't seem to bother me. I've been doing them since around 1983 and I've never had a shoulder problem. I think the main problem with them is people using too much weight and doing crappy partial power cleans instead of controlling the movement.
Doing the 10 sets of barbell curls was almost as fun as 21 curls. The upright rows already had the ole biceps good and warmed up and by the time I was done, I was done.
For the French press I once again resorted to my trusty super curl bar. The palms inward grip relieves the elbow pain in this movement. Doing French press with the lower weights brought me back to liking them. Unfortunately I don't have a high pulley or dumbbells so I am limited to what I can accomplish with my two bars and squat cage. Could be worse - could have a bowflex....
Determining starting weight
Depending on the article, you usually see starting weights recommended at either 65% of 1RM or a 20RM. I used the 65% formula and came in right on. I achieved momentary muscular failure on every exercise at around set six or seven, and got a second wind on set seven or eight. This was right in line with most of what I've read on the topic.
Supplementation
The only supp's I used were Creatine and a multi-vitamin. I laid off of ECA for the duration as I dropped almost all cardio for the entire cycle.
More Notes
DOMS abated after the second rotation of the GVT cycle and I started making performance gains. I tended to add between 5 and 10 pounds to at least one of the lifts for each group. I don't believe that this is from any functional increase in strength in this short a time period, but rather from adaptation to the training routine. All of the insta-grow claims about GVT aside, I think it is useful as a tool to help break through plateaus. I feel that at least in the case of the schedule I used, GVT could result in overtraining fairly quickly without ......enhancement. After four of the five day cycles I switched back to a lower volume schedule for awhile.
What about the super sets?
The Poliquin article in Muscle Media recommended alternating exercises. As I saw it, he proposed splitting the 4 exercises into two groups. You would do ten reps of one movement, rest, then do ten reps of the second exercise and rest again. I chose the straight sets of ten for a couple of reasons.
First of all, switching exercises would be a burden for me. My weight room has a flat/incline bench and a squat cage, and olympic bar and the super curl bar. If you look at the exercises listed you'll see switching from exercise to exercise would involve moving iron, bar, bench, or some combination of the three. I lift alone so it wasn't really feasible to do that. Take for example the upright rows/barbell curls. I would have to unload or re-load the bar after each movement. Definitely not something I'm up to while reconciling with gravity after a set of squats.
Second, I don't see any real benefit to combining the exercises when you take breaks between each movement. There is no time saved to speak of and the break between exercises is too long to qualify for what I think of as a classic superset. I welcome any other opinions on this topic - email them to me and I'll post 'em when I can..
