If you get stuck, turn to the Germans to help you out.
Let’s face it. Sometimes you suddenly hit a peak in your muscle development. You have that next goal that you want to reach, that next level in muscle growth, but for some reason you just can’t reach it. Change ceases to happen. You’re stuck.
Maybe it’s time to start mixing up your workout routine. Luckily for you we have a perfect suggestion to help you blast those muscles and break the plateau you’ve hit. It’s an older tried and true method – it’s called German Volume Training.
What is German Volume Training?
Often referred to as GVT, German Volume Training is a high intensity workout that became popular in 1996 by the now retired Muscle Media 2000 magazine. So what’s the basic set up for GVT? The goal is to do 10 sets of 10 for a single compound exercise.
You keep the weight the same for each set and see if you can do all ten sets without failing. If you could do that, then you move up in weight and do it all over again next time. We must stress that you should only do this with one exercise for the muscle group that you are working out that day.
Your rest time should be between 60 and 90 seconds between sets. If you can’t do all ten sets you should continue to lift until failure and then try the 10 x 10 again next time at the same weight. Supplement this compound lift with one or two isolated exercises to round out your routine.
Things to Keep in Mind
Since this is a very advanced and challenging workout, it’s essential that you get more than enough protein, healthy carbs, and an over abundance of water. You also need to make sure to hit a high amount of calories for this routine or you will burn out over a short period of time.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you typically will need to reduce all other strenuous activity. You must allow yourself enough time to properly recover from this workout or you will not see results. Keep extra track of this to prevent becoming discouraged with this training routine.
Sample Workout
So you can get a good idea of how this workout should look – here’s an example of a GVT workout for one muscle group. Simply apply this kind of mind set to every muscle group and you should start seeing big changes.
- Dumbbell Bench Press: 10 sets of 10 reps
- Bent Over Barbell Rows: 10 sets of 10 reps
- Butterfly: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
- Incline Bench Pull: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
So if you’re stuck and have hit a plateau, this is the perfect way to bash through that wall and rise up to new levels of muscularity. There are many different workout routines out there. If this one sticks with you it can be a fantastic way to move up to the next level. You can find more workout information right here by following us on Facebook or Twitter.