WEEK EIGHTY-SIX :: What Is The best Volume Training Program For Muscle Gain?

[webmaster]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Note: How can I win? Answer all questions in the order that they are asked.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOPIC: What Is The best Volume Training Program For Muscle Gain?

For the week of: 6/04-6/10
Sunday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even though this is the time of year people are aching for fat loss most would also like to keep gaining in muscle size and strength. We know a little about GVT but aren't there others? Let's find out what those are and who they would be best for.

What is the best Volume Training program for muscle gain? List exercises, sets, frequency, etc.

Who would benefit the most with this type of training?

Who would benefit the least with this type of training?

Bonus Question: Have you used volume training? How did it work for you and would you recommend it to others?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

----------------------------------
NEW PRIZE MONEY!!!!!
----------------------------------

The best response will get $75 in credit, and second place will get $50 in credit to use in our online store and will have their workout posted on our main site for the world to see!

----------------------------------
NEW RULE!!!!!
----------------------------------

* New Rule: Any exercise not listed on our exercise listing (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm) must be accompanied by a full and complete description and pictures (or a link to the exercise(s) where pictures and description are given).

Thanks,
Bodybuilding.com

[jmknight1]

There are numerous approaches for forcing muscle growth but one of the most unusual ones I have ever heard of is the Condensed High-Volume Training Program. This is a 21 day program consisting of only 9 brutally intense workouts. I gained 8 pounds of lean muscle on this program! Eight pounds may not seem phenomenal but that is roughly 5% of my bodyweight. I only wish I had measured my body parts before and after the program to know my exact improvement for each part.

You are to perform an average of only four exercises each workout on a rotational schedule, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The key to this condensed method of training is to work the involved muscle group with a high number of sets with maximum poundages that correspond to the particular multiple-rep set. Your workout tempo (rep speed) should be a medium speed, which means niether slow intensity or rapid-fire (two opposite extremes in workout tempo). With regard to rest periods between sets this could vary from five minutes, when using low reps and heavy weight, to a minimum of one minute when using higher reps. The workout ethic should be to maintain a maximum concentration of mind on your training effort with perfect execution of movement each and every rep of every set. To avoid frustration, you must allow for proper physical and mental recovery by resting & relaxing on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. This keeps your body and mind from becoming over trained.

My workout days were not written in stone. If, for example, I came into Monday's workout in a negative frame of mind - perhaps through lack of rest or extreme muscle soreness from lactic acid accumulation - and I feel that it would take away from my maximum concentration on a particular exercise (or the total workout as a whole) I will move the exercise or workout ahead to Tuesday. This is known as the 24-hour float method. If only one exercise was affected the Wednesday and Friday workouts remain the same. However, if the total workout on Monday would be moved up to Tuesday, and the Wednesday and Friday workouts moved to Thursday and Saturday respectively. Here is the exact training schedule (exercises, sets, reps etc.) I used.

Condensed High-Volume Training Workouts

Monday
1. Flat bench press - Using a barbell (or occasionally dumbbells) I would do one set each of 15, 10, 8, 4 and 1 reps, then rests for 5 minutes. Next was 10 hard work sets of 5 to 6 reps each. When these were completed I would take another short rest and finish up with one set each of 10, 15, and 20 cheated reps.
2. Leg press ?I would take a somewhat wide foot placing on the platform where my feet are 18 to 24 inches apart and angled out at 45 degrees or slightly more. I began by doing one set each of 30, 20, 15 and 10 reps. Then I did 10 sets of 15 reps each. Finish off this leg press program with two quick pump-out sets of 20 and 30 reps. The last two pump sets for this and other exercises were done with light weights and helped to relieve the congestion of the muscles and restore normal circulation. This should hasten recuperation and muscle growth.
3. Lat machine pulldown ? I performed this exercise using either a conventional straight and/or angled Lat- bar.
I began this exercise by first taking a wide enough hand spacing (palms forward) on the bar so that my forearms were never parallel during the movement. I then take the path of most resistance by first pulling my shoulders down. Then I began the actual pulling motion with my elbows, making sure that my arms rotated out to the sides. Just these actions alone will stimulate more lat involvement and minimize biceps and forearms action. As the bar touches the base of your neck you must try desperately to touch your elbows at an imaginary point behind the back. This action must be done without hunching over and, if done correctly, the shoulder blades will rotate inward. I imagined myself squeezing a tennis ball between them. This is the feeling you want to achieve for maximum contraction of his lats. I bombed my lats by opening with one set each of 25, 20, 15, 12 and 10 reps. These were followed up with a 12-set blitz of 10 reps each. Again, I finished off with a pump-out set of 15 to 25 reps.

Wednesday
1. Barbell press behind neck - I began by performing one set each of 15, 10 and 8 repetitions and then, after a rest, I got into the serous muscle growth by attacking my delts with 10 brutally hard sets of 6 full reps each, finishing up with a final blitz set of 25 lightweight reps.
2. Barbell shoulder shrug - One set of 20 and one of 15 reps were performed then it was on to 8 sets of 10 to 12 muscle-searing reps, finishing off with a lightweight flush set of 15 to 20 reps.
3. Leg extension - Like everything else this exercise was done very strictly and smoothly, holding the legs out in the contracted position for two seconds on every rep. I began with a set of 25 reps, then 20 reps followed by 6 sets of 15 reps each, then a pump set of 20 and one of 30 reps.
4. Machine leg curl - Lying prone on the machine, with my upper body and legs on the same plane, I would bend my legs and try to touch my heels to my glutes. One set each of 30, 20 and 15 reps, then 6 sets of 10 to 12 reps were performed, followed by a final 20-to-30-rep set. When this exercise is executed in a flowing full contraction-and-extension manner, it is to the hamstrings what the barbell curl is to the biceps.

Friday
1. Neck extension - The exercises for this muscle group were of manual type resistance, performed with the help of a training partner. Anterior flexion (front of the neck), posterior extension (back of the neck) and lateral contraction (for the sides of the neck) are performed for a combined 10 sets of 20 reps each.
2. Close-grip triceps extension - This exercise is performed in a supine or flat position on an exercise bench, using an EZ-curl bar. One set each of 20, 15 and 10, 6, 3 and 1 were completed and this was followed up by 11 sets of 5 or 6 power reps and a usual 20-rep pump set.
3. Close-grip standing wall curl - On this exercise I began by grasping a loaded EZ-curl bar with a 4-to-6-inch hand spacing. I then leaned back against a wall so that my back was flat against it for support. I used the same sets and reps as in the triceps extension exercise (Exercise #2 above).
4. Stiff-legged deadlift - On this exercise I used an Olympic barbell so I can grasp the lip edge of the 45-pound plates. With the knees in a semi-locked position, arms locked straight at the elbow joints, one 45-pound plate in each hand, and using the muscles of my lower back and hamstrings, I raised up to a vertical position where I rotate my shoulders back and thrusts my chest out. I did one set each of 20, 12, 8, 4, 1, 5, 10, and 15 reps.
5. Donkey calf raise - I used one of two basic foot positions on a calf block.
Position #1: (toes 12 to 16" apart with heels 4" apart) develops the inner calf, but only coming up on the ball of the foot and big toe.
Position #2: (toes 8 to 12" apart with the heels much, much wider, as if assuming a pigeon-toed stance) it is most important to come up on the lateral or outer edge of the foot for maximum outer-calf stress.
He then bent over until his upper torso was perpendicular to the floor and supported himself by placing his elbows on another bench or on a horizontal bar which is about waist height and 30 to 36" away from the calf block. I began with a set of 30 reps. I rested for a minute between sets then continued into the pain zone by doing one set each of 20, 12, 15, 20 and 30 reps.


Any bodybuilder would benefit from this program if they are familiar with all the lifts and movements. This is more of an advanced program, not exactly made for a beginner. Although a beginner could go through this program, it would probably be borderline overtraining. I recommend this program to anyone whom has hit a plateau in their training. It isn?t easy, but four days off and three days on is nice! I hope I win because I only have a few days worth of my protein powder left, lol.

[pk-gargoyle]

What is the best Volume Training program for muscle gain? List exercises, sets, frequency, etc.

The program calls for ten sets of ten reps on compound exercises.
You start of with about 60% / 65% of your 1 rep max and you don't increase the weight until you can do ten sets of ten reps. Tempo should be normal. Many have added 10 to 15 pounds of muscle in six weeks.

The program is 3 days on 4 days off

Tuesday: Chest and Back

A-1: Bench Press
A-2: Bent-over row

Thursday: Shoulders and Abs

A-1: Military Press
A-2: Pull-up
B-1: Weight sit-up (just three sets)
B-2: Hanging leg raise (just three sets)

Saturday: Legs

A-1: Barbell Squat
A-2: Stiff Legged Deadlift
B-1: Calf Raises (three sets)

you'll be doing ten sets on all of the exercises(unless indicated).
Each workout contains a pair of antagonistic muscle groups.
While you're training one group, the other one is getting a break.
Take two-minute breaks in between each set. In other words,
do a set of A-1, wait two minutes and do a set of A-2.
Then wait another two minutes and do a set of A-1 and so forth.
Keep going back and forth until you've performed ten sets on each exercise.

high volume program should be a maximum of six to eight weeks.
After eight weeks, switch to lower volume training for four weeks before
doing another high volume program.



Who would benefit the most with this type of training?

Any bodybuilder who reached a plateau, but mostly people that are dominated
by slow twitch muscles respond better to higher rep sets with moderate weights.

Who would benefit the least with this type of training?

People who are fast twitch dominant probably didnt respond well.
Keep in mind every body responds differently so try it and see.

[max_d_]

Just a heads up Will, the first entry (jmknight1) is plagiarism:

http://www.criticalbench.com/mmp.htm

I'm working on my article now..

[max_d_]

What is the best Volume Training program for muscle gain?

Volume Training is a great way to put on some size and make great gains in strength in a very short period of time. The basic principle of Volume Training is to all of a sudden overload the muscle and try to break out of that long plateau you may have been having, or just gain strength immediately. I will first give you a routine and then tell you the specifics on how to do it, rest periods, and all that good stuff.

Day 1 - Chest + Back

(A1) Dumbbell Bench Press - 10x6
(A2) Straight-Arm Dumbbell Pullover - 10x6
(B1) Bent-Over Barbell Row - 3x10-12
(B2) Barbell Shrugs - 3x10-12

Day 2 - OFF

Day 3 - Arms + Shoulders

(A1) Barbell Lying Tricep Extensions (AKA Sullcrushers) - 10x6
(A2) Dumbbell Curls - 10x6
(B1) Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise - 3x10-12
(B2) Arnold Dumbbell Press - 3x10-12

Day 4 - OFF

Day 5 - Legs + Abs

(A1) Barbell Squats - 10x6
(A2) Leg Press - 10x6
(B1) Flat Bench Lying Leg Raise - 3x10-12
(B2) Weighted Sit-ups - 3x10-12

Day 6 + 7 - OFF

Alright, a couple things you need to note while doing this workout. Make sure you have OPTIMAL REST! AT LEAST 8 HOURS OF SLEEP! If you don't have this kind of time to devote to getting rest, don't bother with this workout. It's going to be hard, but it'll pay off in the long run if you REST! I cannot stress that enough.

-The A exercises will be supersetted together. For example, on Day 1 you will be supersetting DB Bench Press with the DB Straight-Arm Pullovers. And the same goes for the B exercises. You'll be supersetting A1 and A2 together and B1 and B2 together each workout.

-Make sure to get 90-120 sec. of rest between sets

-And again, GET AT LEAST 8 HOURS OF SLEEP EVERY NIGHT!

Who would benefit the most with this type of training?

Somewhat advanced lifters and lifters that have reached a plateau would benefit most from this type of training. Lifters that have reached a plateau will benefit from this program because they need a quick spurt of strength to get them past their plateau and this overload of work will do it for them.

Who would benefit the least with this type of training?

Pure beginners and lifters with bad recovery time would benefit the least on this program. Pure beginners and lifters who don't recover as quickly as others would not benefit greatly from this program because it's just too much of an overload for them. New lifters would be overwhelmed by all this work and probably burn out after 3 weeks on this type of program.. and the same goes for lifters with bad recovery time.

Bonus Question: Have you used volume training? How did it work for you and would you recommend it to others?

Yes, I have used volume training before. As a matter of fact, I used this same program. It worked well for me. I had reached a plateau on my Squat and just couldn't seem to lift one more pound than I had the last time I went in the gym.. this continued for 3 and a half weeks straight. I decided I NEEDED to get over this plateau, so I decided to go with volume training. It worked magic! I not only got over my plateau, I added an extra 25 lbs. on my squat in just 6 weeks on this program. I would definetely recommend this program to anyone looking for some quick strength or if there looking to get over that stall in weight.

[Sain]

Here we go