Working in a commercial gym as I do I’m asked daily if not hourly…….. “What’s the best workout to get big?”.
Well, here you are the best workout I know of to get big! Warning the workout below is deceivingly simple and brutally hard as well as mind-numbingly monotonous!
Volume Training
To squat a lot, you must squat a lot……as in shitloads of them! That’s what I was told in broken English when I visited the national training facility in former Czechoslovakia in the early 1990’s.
The athletes that I met in Eastern Europe followed this dictum with a deranged monk-like dedication. I watched amazed as these men (and Women) did set after relentless set of high bar squats and front squats and cleans.
The coaches and trainers later explained to me in graphic detail the failings of western thought on the subject of strength training and how their athletes would never “forget” to be strong!
"To squat a lot, you must squat a lot……as in shitloads of them!"
In modern strength-coaching circles, this method is often called the “ten sets method.” This methodology seemingly has its roots in German-speaking countries so; it is most often referred to as German Volume Training.
I’ve seen dozens if not hundreds of variants on this theme, so for the sake of simplicity, we will limit our discussion to the original as much as possible.
This training system originated in Germany in the mid-’50’s and was popularized by Rolf Feser throughout the 1960’s & 70’s. Feser was the German National Weightlifting Coach and prototype for all modern thinkers in the field of strength and sports performance.
A similar training protocol was being promoted by Vince Gironda on the west coast of the U.S. at or around the same time, but likely he gleaned it from one or more high profile ‘exchange” athletes he was famous for working with.
In Germany and the eastern bloc, this volume based method was used in the off-season to help athletes gain lean body mass and provide repetitive skill at the basic weightlifting movements.
It was found to be so efficient at promoting lean body weight gains that lifters routinely moved up a full weight class within one off-season.
Arnold Schwarzenegger himself mentioned squatting for ten sets of 10 in some of his earliest interviews as the only thing that helped developed his legs.
The program works because it targets a group of motor units, and exposes them to an extensive volume of repeated efforts.
The body adapts to this extraordinary and specific stress by hypertrophying the targeted fibers and developing a deep neurological connection (coordination) to the targeted motion.
Protocol
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
Rest Intervals
Rest 90 seconds between sets. Because of the importance of the rest intervals, you should use a stopwatch to keep the rest intervals constant.
Number of Exercises
One exercise should be performed, with little or no assistance work.
Training Frequency
One training session every seven days per body part is plenty.
Progressive Overload
Once you’re able to do ten sets of 10 with constant rest intervals, increase the weight on the bar by 5lbs and repeat the process.
Application
A simple 3-day split provides plenty of stimulation and adequate rest.
Day 1:
Squat 10×10 Leg curls 3×10 (Rotate the kind used every 2-3 weeks) Calf raise 3×10 (Rotate the kind used every 2-3 weeks)
Day 2:
Bench Press 10×10 Overhead Press 3×10 Triceps Pushdowns 3×10 (Rotate the kind used every 2-3 weeks)
Day 3:
Barbell Cleans 10×10 DB Row 3×10 Biceps Curls 3×10 (Rotate the kind used every 2-3 weeks)
*Note: Day 3 utilizes cleans rather than deadlifts due to the similar neurological recruitment patterns and muscular/skeletal overlap between squats and deadlifts. If a trainee need to perform volume training for deadlifts insert deadlifts in place of cleans, drop squats in favor of machine hack squats and flip the position of days 1 & 3.
B.”EvilGenius” Chavez