Thread: German Volume Training

There's a two-month-old thread about GVT which I posted in. I tried it out and posted some initial experiences in that thread, but I'll add more here.

I did squats. I started light, as suggested. Still, got a bit of soreness after day one. I did GVT squats every 5 or 6 days, adding 5 kilos every workout.

I was getting a 'second wind' around the 6th or 7th set.
If your form is off, any deficiencies will quickly show up. I felt the squats in my lower back from leaning forward too much, it really taught me to straighten up.
100 reps REALLY tests the endurance of your accessory muscles that help the lift.
HEAT! Holy hell, the amount of heat generated by squatting is a lot, and only allowing 60 seconds rest between sets meant I really built up a lot of heat. I had to increase my rest between sets to 90 and finally to 120 seconds just to cool down.
Speaking of heat, my first 'failure' was on the fifth rep of my eighth set because I felt a cramp coming on in my right ham. That was when I upped my rests to 120 seconds.

I finished it up last week, I just kept adding weight and doing as many sets of 10 reps as I could. I wound up with a 20kg increase in my 10rm weight, however my max only increased by 10 kilos. BUT..... I do cardio after lifting, and yes even after GVT I did cardio. On leg day my cardio is either an alpine climber or bike. On the bike, I do a type of HIIT where I max out for a minute and then fall back to a midrange effort until my pulse falls down to 145, then hit it hard again. After that one minute at a resistance of 22 on the bike, I used to be gasping for air, praying for the timer to hurry up to the next minute. But after a few weeks of GVT, and biking right after the GVT session, I was hitting 2 minutes at a 25 resistance! My leg stamina was really through the roof.

Overall, I'd say it definitely improved my squat form, and my endurance, however it really didn't help with my max weight as much as I'd hoped.

That workout will beat the shit out of you, but it will make you a Beast...