Thread: High volume routine

I think high volume can be fine but I'm not a fan of the body-part training going on. While bodypart training sounds like a fun and interesting way to train, it just isn't sound from a physiological standpoint.

why is it that most pro bodbuilders bodypart train then? can you elaborate a bit? Each muscle gets hit pretty well twice a week the way I do it...

Pro bodybuilders have two things that your average person does not:
1.)amazing muscle building genetics
2.)drugs

These two things allow them to train whatever the hell way they want to.
What works for them is probably not going to workout for your average person.

Now let's pick apart the workout scheme from looking at it in general:
1.) It has you train 6 days a week with weights. Where is the recovery time? One day off every sunday? Ridiculous

2.)54 sets per workout. That is a ridiculous way to train, you're going to have to train at such a low intensity to complete all those sets. That's horrible efficiency.

3.)This would lead to overtraining so fast.

Now to the bodypart bit:
1.) It isn't physiologically sounds because, a.) when the body performs a movement with resistance, you can't choose what muscles are being worked, there are several muscles that come into play and it is inevitable. Example -
Workout A says it is trainings your quads, then it gives squats as movement used. Well, the glutes and hamstrings are also involved in the squat to a pretty large extent if you are doing them properly. Next day it says to train hamstrings. Well, they were just trained the day before...and what is this? The only way you are training your hamstrings is doing the single joint movement leg curl. The leg curl does not train the hamstring as well as a squat trains the quad. There is no hip extension involved in this program, things like RDL's will train the hamstring in a more effective and functional way because they body works in multi-joint movements, not in isolation. Also, the leg training is out of balance.

2.)Then workout C has you train your shoulders/tris, then the next day it has you train you chest. Well during the chest press your shoulders and tris play a huge role. Because remember - the body works in movements. The shoulders/tris are involved in all pressing movements to some degree, some greater than others. Then when you don't compensate for these kind of things it can lead to overtraining and imbalances which lyes in the very workout you linked us to.

Hope that helps.

Very few people respond well to high volume AND high frequency.

Originally Posted by fufu

Pro bodybuilders have two things that your average person does not:
1.)amazing muscle building genetics
2.)drugs

These two things allow them to train whatever the hell way they want to.
What works for them is probably not going to workout for your average person.

Now let's pick apart the workout scheme from looking at it in general:
1.) It has you train 6 days a week with weights. Where is the recovery time? One day off every sunday? Ridiculous

2.)54 sets per workout. That is a ridiculous way to train, you're going to have to train at such a low intensity to complete all those sets. That's horrible efficiency.

3.)This would lead to overtraining so fast.

Now to the bodypart bit:
1.) It isn't physiologically sounds because, a.) when the body performs a movement with resistance, you can't choose what muscles are being worked, there are several muscles that come into play and it is inevitable. Example -
Workout A says it is trainings your quads, then it gives squats as movement used. Well, the glutes and hamstrings are also involved in the squat to a pretty large extent if you are doing them properly. Next day it says to train hamstrings. Well, they were just trained the day before...and what is this? The only way you are training your hamstrings is doing the single joint movement leg curl. The leg curl does not train the hamstring as well as a squat trains the quad. There is no hip extension involved in this program, things like RDL's will train the hamstring in a more effective and functional way because they body works in multi-joint movements, not in isolation. Also, the leg training is out of balance.

2.)Then workout C has you train your shoulders/tris, then the next day it has you train you chest. Well during the chest press your shoulders and tris play a huge role. Because remember - the body works in movements. The shoulders/tris are involved in all pressing movements to some degree, some greater than others. Then when you don't compensate for these kind of things it can lead to overtraining and imbalances which lyes in the very workout you linked us to.

Hope that helps.

Best post ever.

Totally agree.

54 sets per workout is fucking insane. I dont do a great deal more than that in a week.

A while back I was testing a program written by Twin Peak. The first phase was volume loading, where we kept increasing the number of sets per workout. We topped out at 56 sets (8 sets each of 7 different exercises). There were two 56-set workouts. It was brutal to say the least. I can't imagine doing 50+ sets per workout for any length of time.

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

A while back I was testing a program written by Twin Peak. The first phase was volume loading, where we kept increasing the number of sets per workout. We topped out at 56 sets (8 sets each of 7 different exercises). There were two 56-set workouts. It was brutal to say the least. I can't imagine doing 50+ sets per workout for any length of time.

That sounds kinda like the whole density training thing, where you concentrate on getting more work done in X amount of time per workout, rather than on adding weight to the bar.

I think that many sets would kill me, lol.

What sort of rest intervals were you using for that phase? How long did the workouts last, roughly? Surely well over an hour? You'd never fit 56 sets + rest intervals into 60 mins, hahaha.

We had 2 different workouts and alternated them. Worked out 4 days per week. Started with 2 sets per exercise and topped out at 8. Sets were never taken to failure. The 56 set workouts took about 2 hours to complete.

Originally Posted by fufu

Pro bodybuilders have two things that your average person does not:
1.)amazing muscle building genetics
2.)drugs

These two things allow them to train whatever the hell way they want to.
What works for them is probably not going to workout for your average person.

Now let's pick apart the workout scheme from looking at it in general:
1.) It has you train 6 days a week with weights. Where is the recovery time? One day off every sunday? Ridiculous

2.)54 sets per workout. That is a ridiculous way to train, you're going to have to train at such a low intensity to complete all those sets. That's horrible efficiency.

3.)This would lead to overtraining so fast.

Now to the bodypart bit:
1.) It isn't physiologically sounds because, a.) when the body performs a movement with resistance, you can't choose what muscles are being worked, there are several muscles that come into play and it is inevitable. Example -
Workout A says it is trainings your quads, then it gives squats as movement used. Well, the glutes and hamstrings are also involved in the squat to a pretty large extent if you are doing them properly. Next day it says to train hamstrings. Well, they were just trained the day before...and what is this? The only way you are training your hamstrings is doing the single joint movement leg curl. The leg curl does not train the hamstring as well as a squat trains the quad. There is no hip extension involved in this program, things like RDL's will train the hamstring in a more effective and functional way because they body works in multi-joint movements, not in isolation. Also, the leg training is out of balance.

2.)Then workout C has you train your shoulders/tris, then the next day it has you train you chest. Well during the chest press your shoulders and tris play a huge role. Because remember - the body works in movements. The shoulders/tris are involved in all pressing movements to some degree, some greater than others. Then when you don't compensate for these kind of things it can lead to overtraining and imbalances which lyes in the very workout you linked us to.

Hope that helps.

That was pretty well written. Give yourself some cat nip, you deserve to get high!

OOOOOHP! Spelling error.

Originally Posted by AKIRA

That was pretty well written. Give yourself some cat nip, you deserve to get high!

OOOOOHP! Spelling error.

thank you, took me a bit to write/think about.

Damn it! I knew that fucking word was iffy, I had to right initially.

I know I respond pretty well with high volume, but more than 3 times a week I am spinning my wheels.