What is race-pace training?

What are the pros, cons, effectiveness, and usage cases of German volume training and its 10x10 strength training sets?

• Who would benefit most from German volume training? Bodybuilders? People who want to improve overall health and fitness? People who want to get stronger? How does German volume training compare to other training routines for these types of people? http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/luis13.htm http://www.seriouspowerlifting.com/3159/articles/german-volume-training

• Answer:

  Interestingly enough I personally never saw another coach int the fitness world (other than Poliquin) really play the advocate for German Volume Training. Not much has actually been written on it since he did in the early 2000's as far as I can tell. Never the less I've played with it both myself and with clients over the years. What It's Good For: Hypertrophy Gains - No doubt changes in volume can create a massive shock to the system, so provided nutrition is in excess, I've seen some appreciable muscle gains with the protocol (though I adapted Poliquin's version to an upper/lower split rather than the more typical use of bodypart splits) in relatively short time frames (though I've also seen similar gains using other protocols as well). Bodybuilding - This protocol is more ideal for intermediate to advanced lifters, and those with a hypertrophy focus. If you've been doing the typical 3x10 routines for a while, a phase of this, or even a short over-reaching period can be a great way to mix things up and push through a plateau. The slow tempos and relatively high volume will also make you very sore initially. You can place a very unusual stress on a bodypart at a high volume to initiate a desired adaptation for the sport of bodybuilding. Shock/Mixing things Up - 10x10 squats is BRUTAL, especially with an appreciable load. You won't sit right for a week. Really though 10x10 of anything with a good eccentric component (bench, chins, etc...) will hurt, but it also creates a huge shock to the system if you're used to more traditional rep schemes. 100 reps of volume is a lot, but it might be a great shock to your system, especially if you've been doing the same thing for way too long. A phase of German Volume training might be a great way to mix things up for a phase or so but I wouldn't use it as a long-term training strategy. Over-Reaching - Not something I would typically recommend for the average Joe lifter who just wants to stay strong and enjoy themselves at the gym. Over-reaching is an approach that can help push advanced trainees into new territory. You have to be careful and monitor how you're using this protocol (or manipulating it) as it can be very easy to find yourself over training. Over-reaching (as opposed to over-training) is a deliberate short-term training effect that puts the body a little bit beyond what it can actually recover from for a short period of time (usually only 7-10 days) to force the body into a severe adaptation. It can be good for some people every now and then (typically people under the age of 35...), but in a yearly training cycle I wouldn't use it more than once, twice at the extreme end, and only if I know someone has a really good stress tolerance and recovery ability. I have used planned periods of over-reaching with athletes but generally don't find much of a need with anyone who isn't extremely serious about their training. Why I Wouldn't Use It: Not Great For Strength - After a phase of German Volume Training you'll often find yourself weaker for a couple of weeks (depending on the person) as the volume is just really high. Because the volume is so high, you have to sacrifice on intensity (The load), so it's not a great protocol for strength building. Might not be great for functional hypertrophy either if that's what you're after. Once you recover from the volume though, your strength levels will return, if you are training for some kind of sport it should fall probably in the first or second phase before a season or leading into a competition, typically not the 3rd or 4th phase leading into competition. I'd probably do a base phase followed by a phase of GVT before transitioning to strength/power for athletes that might need some size but I also like hypertrophy clusters for that purpose and in my opinion they are just as effective, particularly for athletes that need a good weight to power ratio. Many People Can't Tolerate It - It's an advanced protocol for fairly advanced lifters. A lot of people just can't recover from them well, which is probably precisely the allure, they seem hardcore so some people try them out for fun, only they don't see much in the way of progress because it's not really appropriate for them based on where they currently are. You have to work into them in my experience. Short on Time - Often you'll only see two 10x10 exercises in these routines, maybe even one, but the number of exercises per training session is always low, 4-6, because the volume is so high. You can't really used paired sets with any effectiveness here (though I've tried), so you have to do a set, rest, do a set, rest, it's very time consuming. The routines can get time consuming, especially at 5x a week, so they are not a great choice for the busy professional or family oriented person. My Recommendations: If you have 2-5 years+ of solid training experience under your belt and are after some hypertrophy then a GVT program might be a worthwhile experiment for a phase or so. If you're an amateur or competitive bodybuilder, they are definitely worth a look. I don't think they are particularly useful for 90-95% of people though. If you're a recreational lifter/trainee/athlete then there are other protocols that are more appropriate and won't require so much time invested. Most fitness buffs don't need anything like this but it might be fun to try out as an experiment. I'd test what you want to improve going into it, and 1-2 weeks after you finish (I'd assume that hypertrophy is the objective, so girth measurements with weight should be sufficient). I would use these in a phase for a maximum of 6 weeks as the bodypart split you'll often see them in, it will take 2 weeks just to get used to the soreness they cause. Monitor any drop-offs in performance. They are not really great to be used much more than a couple times a year for 'natural' athletes, and make sure you get lots of sleep and eat a ton during this phase. Some people respond better than others. You may find that your body hates them and doesn't adapt well, while others with a higher rate of recovery benefit significantly from them. If you don't have a good adaptation, it could be you were doing it wrong, but also that it's just not a great protocol for you overall. In most cases I think they are better served as over-reaching periods, once or twice a year for 10 days or so of training, but that's because I wouldn't use them in a bodypart split personally, but rather I'd use them in an Upper/Lower. If you already lift typically high volume, you might not see much in the way of gains and you will probably benefit more from a strength oriented program. I'd also work my way into them rather than jumping from 3x10 to 10x10 overnight. It will reduce your soreness if you work up. i.e. 5x10 or 6x10 in week 1, 7x10 or 8x10 in week 2, and 9x10 or 10x10 by week 3, definitely in 10x10 for week 4, then maybe do a week 5 and 6, then deload. Though if you're using it as an over-reaching protocol, you probably only want 1-2 weeks of 10x10 overall before you deload. This could represent a pyramid phase of programming overall too. i.e. 5x10, then 8x10, then 10x10, 10x10, 8x10, 5x10, take a week off for a 6 week phase, plus a deload or rest week following.