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German Volume Training
(10 sets of 10 reps)
by Lee HaywardIf you are at a plateau in your training or would just like to try something different, you should give the "German Volume Training" method a try. This is a great program for packing on muscle mass quickly. Gains of ten pounds or more in six weeks are not uncommon!
The "German Volume Training" method is easy to follow. The goal is to do ten sets of ten reps with the same weight for each exercise. You need to start off with a light weight, approximately 50-60% of your 1 rep max weight. For example, if you can squat 300 lbs for 1 rep, then you would use between 150 and 180 lbs for working out with this exercise.
For this workout you do only 1 compound exercise per body part. Some good exercises include:
Chest:
Barbell or Dumbbell bench press
Back:
Barbell rows or Cable rows
Legs:
Squats or Leg press
Shoulders:
Seated barbell or dumbbell press
For smaller muscle groups such as biceps, triceps, calfs, abs, etc. you can do 3 sets of 10-15 reps. (i.e. 3 sets of bicep curls, 3 sets of tricep push downs, 3 sets of calf raises, etc.)
Here is a sample workout schedule that you can follow:
Monday:
Chest & Back
- one exercise for each and do 10 sets of 10 reps
Wednesday:
Legs, calfs, and abs
- 10 sets of 10 reps for legs
- 3 sets of 15+ reps for calfs and abs
Friday:
Shoulders, biceps, and triceps
- 10 sets of 10 reps for shoulders
- 3 sets of 10+ reps for biceps and triceps
Do not workout on Tuesday, Thursday, and weekends. This will give your body plenty of time to rest and grow.
Rest only 60-90 seconds between sets. The first few sets will feel easy, but as you progress through the workout the sets will get harder as you fatigue. When you can complete all 10 sets of 10 reps with good form increase the weight by 5%.
Give this program a try for 6 weeks and I am sure that you will be pleased with the results.
all the best,
Lee Hayward