Luis Berrios - German Volume Training

[webmaster]

Charles Poliquin gave permission to Bodybuilding.com to republish his German Volume Training principles! Learn what to do to be the best bodybuilder you can be from one of the best!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/luis13.htm

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[cjszip]

sounds an awful lot bill phillips 1997 sports supplement review of the exact same thing, infact, there's quite a few paragraphs that are exactally the same as what bill had written about.

-cj

[webmaster]

German Volume Training was produced by Charles Poliquin! You can read more on his website!

We need to separate who is real in this business. This system was originated in Germany in 1970. Charles Poliquin proved to the bodybuilding community the type of knowlege that he have. Who is Bill Phillips? Who copied who? We need to belive in the people with experience and knowlege. Bill Phillips didnt proved anything yet, he still learning.

[Complete Muscle]

Of course it was a great article.

I have been doing a max-OT type program for quite some time and am ready for a change. I am torn between this type of program and HST... decisions, decisions...

[drstrangepimp]

I incorporated the concept of GVT into my training for lagging bodyparts and it works great.

One question. Why 3 sets of 10 for calves for instance as if calf raises were merely a finishing excercise for your quads? 10*10 works great for standing calf raises. Through in some seated raises for 3 sets of 10 2x a wk. Wheelchair not included.

Good article!

on my first week of the german volume training and it is kicking my ***. i have been training for 16 years and am now 33 years old. i have been a solid 215 for the last 2 years and have been in a real training rutt. this workout i think is great and i feel like my workouts are so much better and more focused on getting real gains. i like the website and found it informative. thanks

[planokidd]

This type of workout seems to burn a lot of calories.......which is not what you want if you're bulking. I am a lean guy (5'10" 173lbs) and trying to bulk up.......this program cut me up more than anything else. It works GREAT! But I noticed more cuts than actually gaining muscle mass.

I'm going to be started a mass gaining program tomorrow and not sure if this program is good for me because it burns so many calories.......any suggestions or feedback?

Originally Posted by planokidd

This type of workout seems to burn a lot of calories.......which is not what you want if you're bulking. I am a lean guy (5'10" 173lbs) and trying to bulk up.......this program cut me up more than anything else. It works GREAT! But I noticed more cuts than actually gaining muscle mass.

I'm going to be started a mass gaining program tomorrow and not sure if this program is good for me because it burns so many calories.......any suggestions or feedback?

EAT - One of the most important things for the mass gain phase of your training in intermusclure FAT!! - Bulk up THEN cut up... This is a great bulking workout, very good for a change for those who have gotten into a rut, but you gotta EAT

I followed this type of routine years ago (gironda's 8 x 8 and 10 x 10) and it worked wonders..i'd have to say the best overall program i ever used for growth. i agree, you need to eat a lot, as it burns a ton of calories for some reason, more than you would think. but i love the program.

[QUOTE=cjszip]sounds an awful lot bill phillips 1997 sports supplement review of the exact same thing, infact, there's quite a few paragraphs that are exactally the same as what bill had written about.

-well guess what even poliquins name is mentioned big deal fat head

Originally Posted by planokidd

This type of workout seems to burn a lot of calories.......which is not what you want if you're bulking. I am a lean guy (5'10" 173lbs) and trying to bulk up.......this program cut me up more than anything else. It works GREAT! But I noticed more cuts than actually gaining muscle mass.

I'm going to be started a mass gaining program tomorrow and not sure if this program is good for me because it burns so many calories.......any suggestions or feedback?

am your weight have done advanced sets although just getting back and my chest is has grown unbelievable foll lee haney and arnold with incline bench 10sets 10 reps till failure flat bench 3 sets decline 3 sets with dumb bells to finish off each set 3-5 reps normally then stretch it out with dumb bells it may be over training but i dont give a damn i see results in this combined with creatine is great.

[2-Champ-0]

Im not quite sure if i follow how this goes...are u supposed to superset the "A" and "B" excercises for German Volume Training? ....ex. would you superset decline dumbell press with chin ups and then superset incline dumbell flies with one arm dumbell rows?

[The Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by 2-Champ-0

Im not quite sure if i follow how this goes...are u supposed to superset the "A" and "B" excercises for German Volume Training? ....ex. would you superset decline dumbell press with chin ups and then superset incline dumbell flies with one arm dumbell rows?

You perform your Decline Bench wait 90 seconds and do your set of Chins wait another 90 seconds and so for, if very easy to follow.

So, you wouldnt perform a set of decline, immideatly followed by a set of chins, THEN take the 90 seconds rest? 90 seconds between both in a superset seems a little much...

[BodybuildingPro]

Originally Posted by webmaster

German Volume Training was produced by Charles Poliquin! You can read more on his website!

Didn't Charles Poliquin invent that 104 sets for arms eight hour workout?

i`m 41 and have been doing this type of training for years.
i`ve done 33 sets of 8 reps on squats in my younger days,
i continually do a lot of supersets with chest and back,arms and quads becouse it works. great work out article!!!!!!!

isn't this a bit overtraining?????

[drstrangepimp]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

isn't this a bit overtraining?????

You can't really do it more than a few weeks but it puts on size better than those hardgainer programs that supposedly arent' overtraining you.

The cool thing is in six weeks when you go back to 5x5 or whatever you like to use for strenght gaining, the added mass you gain will have you lifting more than ever before once you get over the initial loss of strenght from neurological inefficiency..

Strength training and volume training really compliment each other and should be alternated every couple months.

The strength you gain with the strength training helps you put more tension on the muscle during volume training = more mass.

The added mass you gain from volume training allows you to break through plateus on your lifts = more strength.

You'll notice in Poliquin's program he has you on strength training after about six weeks to avoid overtraining and build some strength before the next phase. Same principle.

Ok, so if on one day your able to do 10x10. According to the workout plan you should then increase the weight by 5% so do you do that and then (in the same day) attempt the 10x10 with the increased weight or wait until the next workout day to do that?

[bigbrit]

I'm keen to give this a go, i've just recently done some rest/pause training and saw some great strength gains but longed for higher repping sets. One extreme to the other i know.

What i want to know is the article shows no presses in the sample routines, so what about BB shoulder press, flat BB bench and such? Can i put them in? e.g. do flat bench and Inc DB press.???

[tinotriste]

I am very pleased with this workout.
I'm on the 5th week of the first phase and I have gain a good amount of mass and have increased my load by 60%.

Excelent will do it until the end.

tino

[tinotriste]

I have read some replies saying that is overtraining.

In my opinion is not, as I said in my previous post I have been doing this for 5 weeks.

I'll tell abit about myself...
I always had the problem of not lifting as much weight as i'd like too, i was getting trimmed but for some reason i couldn't increase my weight load. So i decided to give GVT a go.

In the first few weeks I didn't noticed much difference and i was lifting pretty much the same. e.g. Decline Dumbbell Presses - 14kg / Incline Dumbbell Flyes 12kg
5 weeks on: Decline Dumbbell Presses - 18kg / Incline Dumbbell Flyes 18kg
And I feel that I will increase by 2kg per 1-2 weeks.
And my body is just getting bigger and bigger and still trim.

Is not overtraining at all, because you rest 90 secs between supersets. I'm not an expert but what I think it happens is, the strain caused by the high number of sets will make the muscles stronger and cause hypertrophy.

I have to confess that I'm having a little help of No Xplode (which is excelent to combine with this workout).

I'm looking forward to start the second phase, I'm confident that by the end of it I might be lifting more than double the weight from when I started.

If you wanna gain mass and strength this is the workout to go for.

A question to the ones who have been doing this workout. What does 5x2 mean, which appears next to some of the exercises like the Turkish get-up or the barbell curl? Does it refer to doing the 5x5 for that exercise 2 times with a 3 minute break in between, so an overall of a 10sets x 5reps for those exercises? This is the only thing I can think of...

[jjones474]

Does anyone have the specifics for doing this program? It is a little unclear.
For instance, it has exercise A1 & A2 and it says rest 90 secs between each A exercise and each superset. Now if you perform A1 and rest 90 secs before going to the next set of A1, or perform A1, rest 90 secs, then "superset" A2, for 10 sets, in addition to doing B1 & B2, you will be there forever! I strict superset A1 & A2, then rest 90 secs and repeat the cycle for the next 9 sets, then move to B1 & B2 and do it the same way. Is this the way Polquin set it up, or did he really want all that rest time in there? I can't believe he would call anything a superset with 90 secs of rest in between exercises. Any answers here? Or thoughts at all?

Ok I am not reading all the responses.
GVT is basicly and Overlaod technique designed to fatigue the muscles. But to do the GVT I would suggest instead of 10x10 for one excersice, try 5x10 for perhaps flat bench press, then do 5x10 for declines.
Works much better for me and others who have tried it. I also believe TC at Biotest wrote something like this in an older article.
I love ( no homo) Charles, but some of his stuff is way too outdated or just plain way too much.

[mr. ed]

Hi everybody,

I have been working out for about 1 year and am now considering the German Volume Training but have a few questions about it if you wouldn't mind answering!

I understand the first phase of the workout is divided in:
day 1: chest, lats, biceps (chin-up with palms facing you is manily for the bics, right?)
day 2: legs
day 3: chest (parallel bar dip is mainly for the chest, right?), triceps, biceps, shoulders.

If this interpretation is right, then my questions are:

1. Aren't some proper exercises for the BACK missing?

2. Aren't some proper exercises for the triceps, slightly hit only by the parallel dip, missing?

3. The 2 exercises for the shoulders are only 3 sets x 12 reps, compared to other muscle's 10x10: won't this lead to a misproportion between some big heavy trained muscles and small shoulders?

Thank you all for your help!

Ed

[wadester911]

instead of doing chip ups palms facing you could you do palms facing out? seems like i work my back more doing that instead of my bi

[BigWeir]

I just want to clarify that I am understanding this correctly. Between phase 1 and Phase 2 you do 3 weeks of recovery training where you do 6-8 reps of no more than 4-6 sets on any body part? If so what sort of weights and excersises.

cheers

[cwelsh76]

Light weights and any exercise you want to experiment with. Don't over think this. This is recovery so med-low intensity and good deep stretches with good form. The idea here is to keep your metabolism running while giving your CNS/joints/organs a break from the intensity.