Why LOW VOLUME Works (DC, Heavy Duty, Squats & Milk, programming fully explained!)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2020
- Low volume training has been used by many people over the past decades very successfully, by naturals and otherwise. It's important to realize that both high and low volume training can work, but they are very different and must be approached in totally different ways.
Volume is often described as the primary driver of hypertrophy. But is that really true? Enough people have had success from low volume that I think it's worth not only examining, but trying out. This video explains how to do just that, in full detail, tackling every concern that you might have-frequency, intensity, overloading, exercise selection and more.
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Yates:
jackedgorilla.com/dorian-yate...
Mentzer:
www.muscleandfitness.com/flex...
DC training:
www.t-nation.com/workouts/how...
Squats and Milk
• OLD SCHOOL PROGRAM! Su...
Rubish Rows: (because they're awesome)
• 13x500 Cheat Rows
• PEDs in Sports & 500 P...
• 2 5 Weeks Out: 600 lb ...
• Three Weeks Out: Broke...
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Low volume has always worked very well for me. I seem to only respond to extremes. Either I have to do super high volume such as smolov or 20 rep squats or I have to max out every day. And maxing out every day just fits me much better. Good vid so far.
I think alternating them is a good call. Also, try to find a balance, sometimes. You probably don't need extremes as much as you think you do, and that middle ground can be VERY effective and safe and sustainable. I'd reconsider that.
Maxing out everyday seems very extreme lmao that's litterally bulgarian program
I love messing myself up in the gym, so high volume, taking all my isolations, rows, or safe movements beyond failure, 20 rep squats and I’m thinking of adding rest pause lunges. I do 8*5 on my deadlifts. It’s addicting to push it to the brink but I counter it all by resting once every 3 days
OMG the girl beside you shadow boxing with weights was somehow hilarious to me xD
She works there, lol.
Why?
Doesn’t look like shadow boxing, looks like punching with weights
She punch like an NPC from GTA San Andreas
Asians be like that
Just to save myself time at the gym, I've been running a low volume program based loosely around 5/3/1, and then committing to some bodyweight work at home every single day (3 sets of pushups, fat man rows, neck curls, and bodyweight squats) with the main purpose being active recovery through pumping blood into the muscles. It's actually working great and I'm seeing strength rise while still cutting. I think it's also made me realize how different what we do outside the gym can make our requirements in the gym. If I was a warehouser stacking boxes all day, I probably would not benefit from these pushups at all. But I work a mostly sedentary teaching job and this little extra bit of activity seems to go a super long way.
It's so true, what you said about short attention span in today's day and age.
I often see analytics on my channel & people can't seem to focus for more than 3 minutes LOL
always look forward to your videos dude
Glad to hear that!
As always, enjoy your informative content as I look forward to ordering your book
I love how u comment my attention span as I listen to u in 1.5 speed
I think the Mike Mentzer method is different than how you described it. The reason why i think it would make sense is because training on less gear would require more recovery which is why a set to failure would be sufficient depending on the individuals recovery ability. A person on gear can do a set to failure or even more on every body part and be ready the next day or two since recovery is very fast. Wouldnt a natural lifter crush their nervous system this way and be forced to rest more days in between in ordsr to recover from that? There was a training schedule he mentions where you would do a 3 day where you would rest 72 hours in between every workout. Day 1 was a set of flyes followed by incline barbell presses, a set of pulldowns followed by barbell or dumbell rows, and a set of shrugs. Day 2 was a set of lateral raises, a set of rear delts, a set of barbell curls, a set of tricep pushdowns followed by dips. Day 3 was leg extensions followed by leg press or squats superset.
There would be a lot of room for progressive overload in this routine and also a lot of rest in vetween workouts.
How would a person on gear do on this low volume workout compared to a natural lifter?
Mike Mentzer/Dorian Yates were also the ones who started and used the rest pause method.
You’re right, I’ve been following Heavy Duty as prescribed by Mentzer for 2,5 months now, 72hr rest between workouts, but life’s been getting in the way sometimes, about to get married, and unfortunately there are times in which it takes me 96h or even more to get back into the gym. This has nothing to do with recovery, bear in mind, just life and schedule.
However, even after an 18 day hiatus (I keep a log as GVS says in the video) between my last chest/back workout, I still managed to increase weight and reps in ALL my lifts. Bear in mind I know this is not “optimal”, but if weight and reps were increased, something’s gotta be working.
Moving forward though, as everything settles, I want to start testing different rest periods within the 48-96 hour range and see how it goes.
This is very good information! I find that on some bodyparts like biceps where I have very good mind muscle connection and I get fatigued very quickly I respond much better to low volume where on lets say back I'm the complete opposite and I would need alot more volume for optimal growth!
Makes sense!
It does make sense considering all that back volume is providing considerable bicep volume
Good content. Of notable mention is the OG Arthor Jones. One set to failure, About 15 exercises, 3 times a week. A lot of his writing is free on the net. Nautilus principles. He also advocated 2 sets per exercise with about 10 movements 3 times a week. Then there is also Ellington Darden.
Yes, that's where Mentzer originally got his ideas, I believe. The thing is, a lot of them were on steroids, without disclosing it, and Arthur Jones was just using it to sell machines. Ellington is good though. Have read a bit of his stuff and it's always very rational and on point.
Geoffrey, you've gained an incredible amount of size over the last years! Very impressive!
Just subbed to your account. The gym you're at is pretty cool. I love being able to workout outdoors, not enough places to do it in the states.
It's great. Except when it rains. I told them the barbells are going to rust.
Guess what?
They are starting to rust.
But yea, it's pretty great. Except for those barbells.
Very informative. Will try to implement. Low volume still could be scary for unscientific guys like me who think low volume means losing your muscles
Volume definitely correlates with growth, but there are a lot of considerations, and I think being able to progress off of low volume is a very useful skill! I say give it a 2-3 month shot and see how far it gets you, at the very least it's a good lesson in how to push just one set really, really hard.
Very interesting take, you do seem to be arguing against the mainstream of ‘science based trainers’ but it’s a pretty strong argument.
I was wondering about those wide stance squats from earlier, thanks for clarifying
I knew I'd get questions on that. Not something I usually do, I'm always experimenting. They're a bit stressful on the knees, probably won't do them very often or in high volumes.
Hi Geoff, I'm watching those older videos, which are in my "muscle building" list. One thing I've noticed is that you grew a lot over those 2 years. And I think it would be a great experience to listen to you talking about which bodybuilding techniques and other routines (like diet, sleep) you followed along the way. I mean, I imagine that you could have changed a lot and that created the variety, which is possibly the most important part in lifetime bodybuilding.
Thanks and once more, a great video!
Best resource would probably be my latest book, that's where I've put the majority of that information.
@@GVS I was afraid you're gonna say that ;) Thanks!
I agree with GVS, i hv been training for 4+ yrs, for me its about giant sets, 1 set to failure for multiple times per week, especially for isolation work. Like bicep+tricep or shoulder+hamstring or pushup+pull up. Also the beauty of giant sets is that they don't interfere with ur traditional programming that much.
P.S. i learned about giant sets from Natural Hypertrophy(allo Utube)
Bravo on the glycogen mention! So many fail to mention this. I'm no expert, but it's the one thing I encountered a few years ago and realised that it was false gains from 12 set biceps curls with 45 seconds rest. My biceps ballooned, until I stopped, then deflation was rapid!
Excellent video!
Every single bit of commentary was essential!
Great video,! Keep up the good work
Thanks, I'll do my best :)
Great content, should have way more views
These programs are the hardest to me. The effort is just so high.
I used to train Heavy Duty, 30 minutes in and out, one working set per movement with rest/pause, partials, and some strip sets. I got very strong but it took me like a week to recover a body part. I probably should have been eating and sleeping twice as much.
whats was your program?
Great video!!!
Man I love your videos so much 😍😍😍
Happy to hear that :)
Thanks for the compliment on my old school attention span
The 75lb dumbbell punching chick was too good 🤣
Over the years I've responded to lower volume. Not hit but say 3-5 sets per body part twice a week. I will sometimes stray away and hit a muscle once a week with 9-12 sets. Just really as a break. I don't go hard and just need a break. When I truly put as much effort as I'm willing to afford I'm shot after 3 sets of squats, 2 sets of hinge and maybe a high rep set of an uni. After that my legs are shaking. Upper body I can handle a little bit more. I was taught it's the opposite but in practice I just don't see the legs being able to take more volume. Oh and for years I was the guy who said bs to lower volume. I respond to it and still sometimes have a hard time accepting it. I have the I should do more and then I realize I just dig a bigger hole really.
Great video
Inspired by John Heart (natty disciple of Mentzer), I've been using a variation of the heavy duty concept. I realized at some point that I had been training like a younger man getting... endocrine assistance.
I'm taking a Big 6 approach, with one all-out set followed by a drop set, with alternating exercises to hit everything from slightly different directions. (I've been wondering about the DC approach instead of drop sets.)
It's been weird to let go of the volume, but it's been working. Since I also work some fairly demanding full-body cardio in with the lifting, I'm taking more complete rest days than ever before.
It will be interesting to see how it works out in the long run. For now, though, less is more.
Any update? This is very interesting to me.
@@rockrock3505 I’m seeing steady (if incremental) strength gains across the board. The increases have been more notable in the squat, but that is probably because I only started in with squats fairly recently. My squat numbers are laggy compared to my upper body work, but they’re also improving faster, which all makes sense.
I’m maybe slightly leaner, but it’s hard to tell because I’ve started up on creatine again (more for the secondary, protective benefits than for the extra reps). There have been moderate mass gains around the body (again hard to measure because of the extra water in the muscle), but my legs are visibly bigger. I assume this is because my squats are coming along, and my legs had more room for growth.
My mobility is getting better, because I train for that. I’m more interested in being able to do stuff than in muscle size. My cardio endurance is very good, but that’s been my focus through most of my life.
Anyway, things are all working out pretty well, especially since I’m north of 50.
@@steelmongoose4956 Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. Do you think it has been successful or do you think you would have had better gains on a more traditional program. I know it’s impossible to truly know, however it you surely have a gut feeling on this.
@@rockrock3505 Four years ago, I was doing high volume work with a lot of heavy cardio. I wasn’t doing squats or deadlifts, though, because I working legs and core so hard away from the weight room. I cut way down, but my strength stalled. It’s not exactly apples to apples, but it did illustrate how I was breaking things down too much, and that was without the heavy compound lifts.
My lifting weights right now are higher than they’ve ever been. When I’ve tried to go with higher volume more recently, I haven’t been able to balance it with much cardio. There’s a clear zero sum in my training.
It’s possible that I might have made marginally better strength gains if I had focused entirely on weights, but that’s not what I want to do. I’m not a bodybuilder. The current low-volume program has me gaining strength while maintain speed and endurance. It’s also much easier on my back and joints.
It seems to me that I can easily cross into diminishing returns by increasing volume, especially since I’m not great at pulling up short of failure. Since I’m still improving while maintaining a balanced program, I can’t imagine high-volume working very well for me.
i feel like when I was doing 225# x 5 x5 type stuff on squat that volume and doing 15-20 sets per week were great, but when I got up to around a 500# x 1 max squat I just kept getting buried by the volume i was trying to do at that point. Maybe that's just as far as I can go, but I'm building back with a low volume high intensity approach now hoping that I can be stronger than last time.
Leroy Colbert split (full body every other day) but done with intensity.
My magic formula 😁
On my planned failure ser, sometimes Injust count each rep as “1, 1, 1….” And it seriously surprises me how many I get sometimes. I feel like it unlocks more reps. It’s a mind game.
I'm a tall hardgainer and i'm having the best gains of my life (i'm 40 now) with one set of 10-12 reps of 5 seconds up and 5 down, rest-pause for 10 seconds after TRUE failure (not more lifting but holding from eccentric the maximum) and repeat. Done for that muscle group. 7 days later, a new workout. I tried GOMAD, high volume, fitness workouts, etc, with some decent gains, but one set to true failure (pain + quick breathing) is way more cost effective for me. Also plenty of time to get more calories, train Jiu-jitsu, etc.
hey Geoff, great video, huge fan of your work. I don't agree with the frequency bit. M-W-F full body with 1 set to failure is a lot and very hard to fully recover from Monday in order to do Wednesday. I agree with the premise of big movements (5-6 for me per workout, 1 set each) but I have to space out the workouts to 4-5 days between them.
I can't go to actual failure, or really grinding out the last rep, as it burns me out and I lose strength straight away. But going to the poing where you know you can't complete another rep in good form, or where you think you just about could do that, is a great place to stop. And that approach using just one work set has always worked at least as well (if not better) than doing more sets for me.
In this case use pre exhaustion to target the muscle you need
I’ve long thought of intensity vs volume in terms of continuum. I was weaned on Nautilus style training. And I suspect that the only time I ever truly trained to failure was the time I was pushed to nausea, by a sadistic trainer at the Arthur Jone’s Nautilus Training Center. In any case, I muddled along, for years, training one-set per muscle group, seeing only modest results. It wasn’t until I added a second or third set, while maintaining intensity, that I saw appreciable (for me) gains. In my case, it required only a conservative slide along the continuum.
Great way of thinking about it!
Maybe you should start a series about nutrition full depth part 1,2,3 ???
Yea. Was going to title it "FOOD". I don't do enough nutrition videos as honestly the training is more interesting to me, but yea a lot of people ask me about it.
Despite what Mentzer wrote in his books (and I have all of them), it has been said by his training partners that he trained trained his whole body three times a week with one pre exhaust set per body part, taken just to positive failure.
That would be the greatest fitness troll ever.
Didn't Mentzer advocate for warm-up and pre-exhaust?
@@steelmongoose4956 Yes he did. There is no way to generate that much intensity in a cold muscle. The work outs in his original Heavy Duty pamphlets was something he did when Ray and him went to California to train. When he was home in Pennsylvania I heard he did the original Arthur Jones routine (one pre-exhaust set to failure per body part, whole body routines, 3X a week). Also the work outs in those pamphlets are completely different from the books he wrote in the nineties.
So he cycled the volume and intensity of his work outs which makes sense to me.
He always said he developed Heavy Duty after he retired and started training people and doing more research. It was a gradual thing he developed over years, for example the original versions had normal rep speed, not 4 second raise/lower.
I like doing this once a week, then heavy once then a more athletic once. So 3 full body workouts per week.
Mentzer described his MOST PRODUCTIVE routine which was also his personal lowest volume routine and it amounted to an average of 63 sets per week taken to failure. He also did 2 sets of almost all of his exercises. Prior to that routine he was doing 100-120 sets per week in 3 total body workouts per week when it became too hard to recover from. Arthur Jones recommended 3 total body routines per week (or up to every 2 days).
Yates did an average of about 60-70 sets to failure per week on his 4 way split up through 1992. That doesn't count another 60-70 sets that would be very heavy by most standards.
Good thoughts! Progressive overload makes you muscles grow. Super high intensity super series make your muscles grow. High volume makes your muscles bloat.
I made great gains with first two methods. With volume methods I always lose gains when I lower the volume again. High intensity super series make great gains, but they require perfect conditions: lots of food, perfect warmups or at least train every other day to hit the same muscle, lots of rest. Progressive overload is for me the standard now, because I can do it in a slightly caloric deficit. Super high intesity methods are great, but they disturb my eating patterns, sleep and mood.
Know thyself :)
I have to do high volume 70-80% of max every day. I’m always pushing it.
This explains why my training which i did initially to help my narcolepsy and some other health issues has until recently been actually very good for strength increasing. Now to figure out a new routine because ive hit a wall twice in the last couple months where for days my rep count would decrease.
Can this work when training for purely strength and how? Im ok with gaining muscle but it’s not my goal
DC training is good, I will revisit it soon.
Yes it's one of the best. Very underrated.
@@GVS Are Are you doing the stretching? It's much more important than people think...
@@onionpeel Occasionally hip flexors, and adductors. The rest I do not unless there is a specific reason.
i found low volume works best for beginners. doing 1 set of deadlifts a week, increasing the deadlift by 5 lbs each week, is a staple of 5x5 programs, and 1 set of heavy deadlifting is all beginners need to increase their deadlift for potentially hundreds of pounds over 6 months to a year. but if an advanced deadlifter tried to only do 1 set of deadlifts a week, without doing any similar hip hinge exercises either, their deadlift would likely get stuck and not improve (like i mean if they just do 1 set of deadlifts and they aren't cheating by doing high rep good mornings or RDLs or something).
Great info. Those behind the head tricep ext are just poor ROM and defo low on effectiveness.
This what I've been doing myself. If I don't almost pass out from doing pistol squats then I didn't actually do a set😆. I only do between 1 and 2 sets. Yea it's noob gainz but I'm getting stronger everytime I come back so fck it🤷
Nice work- agree completely.
Greetings from Shanghai, hope you’re enjoying China- I’m ready to get outta here.
Ah cool I'm in Shenzhen. And yes, a lot of expats are...done with this place, and I totally get that haha.
Very good video. A little confused though, in the video I'm seeing multiple sets to failure of the same exercise.
Background footage...I wasn't following low volume at the time, sorry for any confusion.
@@GVS thanks for clearing that up..... Lol. I've been following this protocol..... One set to failure and do 2 rest pause sets at the end with 30 secs rest between to push even more to failure. Do this 3 times a week, Mon, Wed and Fri. I also use a lot of bands and get really good workouts, and can do like mini drop sets from releasing the tension and pushing the failure more. You should try bands or weights and bands combo. ..... Excellent tension!!!!!
Just a question (kinda unrelated)
Is there any validity to doing an alternating set scheme relative to a traditional straight set scheme.
For example, doing 4 sets of squats then 4 sets of RDL compared to alternating the exercises while keeping rest times constant (so instead of one set of squat rest 3 min then another, one could do one set of squats rest 3 min then one set of RDL etc)
Yes, I often write programs this way for upper body. Rows alternated with bench, for example. For lower body, however, there's a lot more overlap. Both squats and RDLs use the glutes and lower back. Squats are more quads, RDLs are more hamstrings, but that overlap is significant enough that there's minimal time saving benefit in alternating.
I’m starting to think HIT style training overlapped with a high frequency high volume low intensity training may be best. It’s kinda like DUP, just broken up differently.
If you work a muscle once per week you will not lose gains in the later part of that week long rest. Muscle de-adaptation start 2 to 3 weeks after a workout. It looks like you are losing gains due to reduction of water and glycogen size, but the actual gains, the changes in myofibril and sarcoplasmic structures, are not lost. Working a muscle twice or three times per week does bring more gains, or to be precise quicker gains, it moves us towards us maximal genetic potential of muscle building faster than working the muscle once a week, but they both move us towards that goal.
I was interested in exploring the idea of using volume or "the pump" to say stretch out the fascia or break up adhesions deep in the muscle belly.
I don't know if that's an original idea but in my mind it makes sense.
DC training is very into that. It can be effective but also I wouldn't do it for some areas (chest or biceps) as the risk of injury seems high.
What do you think of doing a more standard high volume approach with the compound movements and then finishing each Session off with 1-2 normal sets then one long drop set on isolation work?
Seems reasonable. Isolation work is good with drop sets.
Do you have a video that covers the starting strength / greyskull / etc linear progression style of training?
not yet
@@GVS looking forward to it!
Not optional but as long as you don't mind leaving gaiins on the table it can kinda work.
Low frequency HIT + high frequency sub max volume = success.
do you recommend Smith Machine for squats? I don't use it all for anything
Not really. This gym doesn't have a power rack yet. So...gotta make due. I can hang power clean up to MAYBE 90kg but can't squat super heavy yet. So the smith machine is a good option in this case. They have TWO...and no power rack. Nuts.
When you did the DC training, did you do the extreme stretching after the rest pause?
Yea. But I don't think it's as great for natural lifters. Maybe enhanced ones need that fascia stretching but nattys...meh.
Would I lose strength if I do once a week and have competitive basketball games 3times a week?
Could it be that some people are predisposed to low volume program? I usually do better with low volume but high intensity training, i switch between low volume and high volume but found that low volume higher intensity do better for me as i progress better with it. Maybe recovery issues but always jealous seeing bodybuilder in my gym getting jacked doing higher volume.
Definitely, there's a lot of individuality.
Ive tried alot of diffirent workout plans/splits, and everytime i go back to push/pull/legs with low volume, low frequenzy and very high intensity, i make the best gainz. Adding weight/reps every week, or so, is the only thing that really matters. Volume dont mean shit next to adding weight progressively.
Volume means alot. Too much and you can overreach, not enough and you aren't stimulating growth
Like this?
Push pull legs, rest, push pull legs?
Low volume for the win
about how much weight do you use for bicep curls and do you recommend going heavy or light on bicep curls?
If u want bulging biceps do chin-ups.
I have a bulging disk in my lower back so I can't squat or anything like that. Can't go to the gym because of my personal medical decisions so no leg press. But I would like to try that DC workout plan. What would you recommend be the quad exercise(s) on workout B?
Maybe bulgarian split squats or lunges but honestly if you aren't going to the gym DC training is not really viable.
@@GVS Damn, was hoping to try it out, guess I'll just stick with my mentzer routine.
I know this is an old video but for anyone passing by I want to mention Mentzer has a program for naturals which asks you to work out every 3-4 days, this is after years of coaching both nattys and roidheads.
Do you know the actual program?
Why do you keep your heels elevated . Is it for more quad activation or ankle mobility issue?
Quads
Some people’s ankles do not allow ‘ass to grass’ squats with a bit of heel elevation.
It wasn't that he lost the 80 Olympia it was how he lost it. I don't know if he should have placed first but I do know Arnold shouldn't have though.
Would 20 rep bench rows and squats work 2 to 3 days a week work?
Prefer lower reps on bench esPECially but up to you.
I get as close to failure as I can without killing myself. I set a rep range for the movement and try to get stronger in that range.
Say BB Incline Bench I'll do a 5-8 range. If my Incline goes from 185 for 8 to 225 for 8 I'm gonna look bigger.
Maybe I leave 1 rep in the tank. But I hit chest 3x a week. 1 set per exercise
Mon - BB Incline (5-8)
Wed - Weighted Dips (8-12)
Fri - DB Low Incline (6-10)
I do full body 3x a week. 6 total sets per bodypart
Legs 6 sets
Back 6 sets
Chest/Shoulders 6 sets
And I'll throw in a few isolation for 1 set higher reps.
Do you still train the same way if so are you progressing?
Geoffrey, why would you say that slow twitch fiber guys would be better off on a more volume-based approach? No hate, just curious.
Tend to get less stimulation per set, so can both handle and require more.
A lot of factors, though, fiber type is only part of that, and I think sometimes people put too much weight on it.
@@GVS Ah, interesting. Pretty much my experience. Definately slow twitch for life, but I enjoy HIT-oriented training a la DC. I make more progress though since I added volume ON TOP of the regular approach. (Not crazy, but still more than prescribed)
6 to 10 hard sets a week is all 95% of lifters need to progress as fast as possible
Why do you keep saying "nope" to everyone ? What is your problem ?
Pavel tsatsouline tells the exact opposite of what you said from 8:00-11:00, that low volume training as you say, triggers sarcoplasmic hypertrophy or the "ballooning" as you say and that high volume is what actually builds "real" muscle.
Why would LOW volume training trigger sarcoplasmic hypertrophy? That's completely backwards.
You can build muscle either way, but the high volume is going to preferentially cause sarco growth, think of it like your "fuel tank" which is needed for high volumes.
@@GVS ""Myofibrillar hypertrophy20 can be thought of as growth for maximal strength. The myofibrils in the muscle fiber increase in number, adding primarily strength and some size to the muscle. This kind of muscle growth is achieved by high tension-doing one to five reps at 80-90% of your one-repetition maximum, for example. The strength output is limited to brief intervals, as you’re developing fast-fatiguing type 2 muscle fibers.Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy can be thought of as growth for maximal size or anaerobic fatigue resistance. The volume of fluid in the sarcoplasm increases instead of the myofibrils, adding primarily size and some strength to the muscle. This kind of muscle growth is achieved through metabolic adaptations-doing 8-12 reps to failure at a submaximal 60-80% of your one-repetition maximum, for example."
My chest workout is Bench, Incline, Machine Flys all for 2 sets to positive failure once per week. Is that good for growth?
It's impossible to assess a program just through that info.
Are you getting stronger almost every workout and, getting bigger?
( some days I do 3 sets of flat benches to failure, 1-2 sets of inclines, 1-2 sets of dips, 1-2 sets of pec machine flies, but I usually let the total be about 7-8 sets. If doing 4 sets of benches, maybe just 1 set of each of the others. Flat bench is always the staple!
Low volume is not low volume. It's what has worked for nattys for over 100 years, and what made the great strength athletes of the pre-steroind era. So if anything call it normal volume or proper volume. High volume came about mid 60's early 70's thanks to steroids, weider, and arnold.
Is there a program you would recommend as far as a split or full body and what frequency would you use?
@@steelphantom9105 Goal, age, natty?
@@oldnatty61 Size & strength, 60, yes.
@@steelphantom9105 joint issues?
@@oldnatty61 None.
9:24 that s how i f'ed up my lower back. Disk hernia at 28. Careful buddy
Is low rep high weight not worse for your joints?
Sure, sometimes. But this is talking about volume in terms of sets, not how many reps. A single set program doing 10-15 reps is still low volume.
There is no way possible you could hit a workout stimulate growth, repair to where you were previous then overcompensate then on top of that loose what you just gained in just 1 week. Mike Mentzer discovered this in his trainees and mentioned that he knew the potential could be greater so he started putting 4 days rest in between workouts and the results were staggering, so I would say listen to your body and gauge on your progress, marathon not a race👍
I throw in an extra day off every 3-4 workouts, sometimes throwing in a lighter weight/ fewer sets type of deload, take another 5-6 days between workouts, and * always* come back stronger…
Thailand?
I've made good progress with low volume high intensity but as I'm getting older (35yrs) I am not recovering well from the heavy weight :/...I still haven't come to terms with this bc I really like pushing heavy weights but am starting to think I need to make a switch to high volume low intensity
I'm over 50 and what I do is week long phases where I only do 20 rep sets, sometimes even up to 35. Then I go back to 12 rep and 7 rep on main lifts, but all assists with 15 or 20 reps, except where I can't (nordic hamstring curls or pistol squats)
@@tilfliegel thanks for the info!
It's not your age. Your stronger than when you first started so you're going to accumulate more fatigue now.
Did this guy really say you lose muscle training lower frequency? Not me, I get better results with more test days …. I used to do it that way but I always felt tired, I never recovered.
Call it anecdotal or bro science, whatever. BUT its easy to see , who does what . Volume lovers are ballooned , often deflated, while intensity lovers are more bulky /denser / powerlifter like
How much is a "low volume" workout? 1, 2 sets? or even 3 sets are considered "low volume" ?
There's no fixed definition from what I can tell. Perhaps under ~5 working sets/muscle group/week. Under 3 certainly would be.
I train full body 3 sets per body part, would you say this is considered low volume?
Not really, no.
Medium Volume.
Low volume is like
What do you think about going one per failure 1- 2 times per week and doing a volume day . So all together 2-3 sets per week where one would be high volume and the other low volume once/twice per week?
Can work, just be sure to track the progression accurately.
Thats the words TRUE FAILURE. And very few know what that means.
I’ve had some success using a low volume approach. Question though-in your video you are performing squats without safety bars. Failure isn’t shown in the video. It would be very unsafe to perform squats to true failure without safety bars or 2 strong spotters. And not with other people walking around nearby, equipment laying on the floor, etc. When I did high rep squats to failure-20+ reps with relatively heavy weights-I pushed until I had to lay the bar down on the lower bars and crawl out from underneath.
Those rows were difficult to watch.
You mean jumping calf deadlift row? Lol
Heavy Duty Gang
Have never tried it, but DC was great. Really enjoy getting amped up for one set and just getting after it.
Can someone save that woman who is punching with the dumbbells?
looks like an Athlean X workout
She told me that she almost got to the actual workout, last time. Her dream is to complete all the needed Athlean-X prehab movements before a workout, she's gotten 1/5 of the way there so far.
@@GVS seriously?
@@anirudhtd7193 of course not
LOL “seriously?” HAHAHAHAHHAHAHFAGAHDSGSHAH
IF someone had a gun to my head I will get more reps but might also injure myself doing so with bad form and will also end up with tendonitis.
Depends, everyone has their own level of risk aversion.
@@GVS Yeah I'm a huge pussy haha
High intensity training is the way to go for beginners, but for more advanced trainees, high volume/pump work must be added in the program. It's no coincidence that almost all(if not all) big bodybuilders since the 70s until today swear by the pump and mind-muscle connection. A beginner has no muscle to speak of, therefore heavy compound lifts are more productive, but a larger individual must isolate the muscles and increase the blood flow as much as possible to keep growing.Mechanical tention builds mass, but pump work makes the muscle cells bigger, allowing for more future growth.
"It's no coincidence that almost all(if not all) big bodybuilders since the 70s until today swear by the pump and mind-muscle connection."
They have something else in common, too. Starts with "ster" and ends in "oids". I'm not saying the pump is useless or that volume isn't potentially important, but there's a reason why the 70s and onwards had a massive change in training style. I myself train with fairly high volume, at times. I do put value on a mind-muscle-connection and good technique. But it's certainly possible to overemphasize those thing by overconsuming enhanced lifter content.
@@GVS check out James Tiny Vest on YT.He has some great bodybuilding content and he is a big proponent of the pump.
@@harrymitsis254 will do
Mike israetel recommends increasing RPE along with increasing volume AND frequency over a mesocycle. This seems counterintuitive and counter to what he says as well.
Adding weight is not the driver of muscle growth - the workload is. If you do a 5x5 at 75% and then next week you come back to that movement and you gained a quarter lb of muscle so your one rep max is 5 lbs higher, you should add 5lbs - not because it will make you stronger, but because you already are stronger. You will simply be keeping that dose of stress at 75% as prescribed in your program. Telling a novice to just add 5lbs works great because they will grow - they're novices. As an intermediate and advanced lifter, you should be focused on increasing workload for 2-4 weeks and then taking a deload before coming back and running another increasing volume block - either the same block for increased muscle growth or a block at a higher percentage to lead you on your way to hit a new max.
Also, I've been watching some of your videos recently and I think it is a massive mistake to spend so much time and effort on your "warmups". If you want to hit a 3x5 at 75% but you end up being so tired with near meaningless sets that you can only use 65%, you are massively decreasing the tension your muscles could have.
Right, except you don't know me, and by experience those warmups might make me lose 1-2% strength, not 10%. Plus, as you stated, they are extra volume which matters.
Volume correlates very well with hypertrophy, but in the long term (NOT 10 weeks or whatever) I'd say that whoever gains the most strength is going to be bigger than someone who always stuck with the same weights but just added tons of sets. Keep in mind I'm saying this EVEN as someone who does high volume.
@@GVS I really do think you'd be surprised at how much stronger you would be for a one rep max attempt, for example, if you followed a better warmup. For example, if you wanted to hit a 300lb bench, I would do 5 reps with the bar,3 with 95lbs, 3 with 135, 1 with 185, 1 with 225, 1 with 250, 1 with 270, 1 with 285, and finally the 300. In the video where you did smolov, your deadlift warm ups were very tiring. There is no way you can hit multiple rep maxes and then hit the same 1 rep max.
I do believe that strength is what the trainee should focus on. It is easier to see 5lbs on your bench than it is to see 0.05lbs on your chest. There is no subjectivity to strength either, unlike aesthetics. However, for the trainer, I think the focus should be the muscle growth, as that is what moves the weight. The extra weight you can lift is the result of muscle growth. Doing the same workout of a 5x5 at 75% will not cause growth past the novice stage, as you have not changed the stimulus. Adding weight to the bar simply will not help. Either you gained muscle (as a novice) and it's still a 5x5 at 75%, or you didn't and now it's a 5x5 at 76%. That tension difference is very minor and from experience is not going to cause Hypertrophy. Instead, the intermediate and advanced trainees should increase the volume over time. 3x5 to 4x5 to 5x5 over the weeks before deloading, allowing you to retain the muscle gained but also detain you from volume, causing the stimulus to need to be adapted to again.
Geoff gib a video about this conflict :D
Mike Mentzer didn't quit cuz his training was not sustainable but because of the unfair judging of MRO.
Possibly, but he also definitely was a bit unstable from a lot of accounts so perhaps that played into it as well.
It was fair, Arnold was the best guy on stage that day
Don't count sets per week. Count reps per week or weight moved per week.
That's fucking stupid. Failure/mechanical tension is what makes you grow, both of which are counted by *sets* not reps, or weight.
@@piggy7024 Whatever you have to tell yourself .I also haven't gone to failure since I was in my twenties.
@@tbunny6305 Me when I disagree with literally everyone, and then think I have any idea what I'm thinking about.
1:30 wtf?
That gym is one of the weirdest thing I hv seen
you have never read or listened to mike mentzer. He said only to do the past failure techniques once in a while not every time. Mike said his system works best for people who are NATURAL because natural lifters need more recovery. Steroid people recovery much more quickly and dont need as much systemic rest between workouts. You need to read and listen to people before you go on your vids and describe them. What you said about Mikes system is false. Listen to his interviews with Bill Phillips sometime.
5 sets to actual failure per bodypart☠☠☠