The Modified German Volume Training

This article is about a study showing that five sets of German Volume Weight Training are as effective as the typical ten sets.

German Volume Training (GVT) is a weight-lifting method to increase muscle size without using the heaviest weight you can lift.

Larger muscle fibers can consume more glucose while exercising. The downstream effects include lower blood sugar, prevention of insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Bigger muscles also guard against frailty in older age and increase fast-twitch muscle fibers for sudden movements like breaking a fall or correcting the gait if you trip to prevent falls and injuries.

German Volume Training

German Volume Training GVT uses 60% of your one repetition maximum, one rep max, or 1-RM. 1-RM is the weight that you can lift only once.

GVT is a common topic among bodybuilders, so they use big numbers for 1-RM in the hundreds. But for this website, I will use a lower number.

You don’t actually have to lift the one rep maximum to know. You can use a one rep max calculator like in this link.

For example, if you can press or lift a 10 lb dumbbell for five repetitions over your head with one straightened arm, your 1-rep max or 1-RM is 11.3 lbs. For GVT training, 60% of 11.3 lbs will be a 6.8 lb dumbbell.

Arthur Saxon doing a kettlebell press. PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14611761

Then ten sets of ten repetitions are done for that lift. Sixty to ninety seconds is the time between sets.

Modified German Volume Training

A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that the number of sets can be shortened to five instead of ten and have the same results.

They compared two groups where one did ten sets and another five sets three times a week for six weeks.

After the research, both groups showed increased lean body mass. However, the 5-set group had a more significant increase in trunk and arm lean body mass.

Both groups significantly increased muscular strength, with more significant increases in the 5-SET group for bench press and lat pull-down.

The authors recommend performing 4-6 sets per exercise to maximize muscle hypertrophy.

Ladies should not worry about getting “too big” because it won’t happen. Long-term stimulation with high doses of testosterone is necessary for that.

I tried the Modified German Volume Training today.

I used 167 lbs for back squats and did ten repetitions for three sets. At the start of the fourth set, my thigh muscles cramped, so I switched to doing the press.

I used a 35 lb kettlebell to do ten reps of kettlebell presses. The right side did ten reps and alternated with the left with 90-second rests between the sets. A total of five sets for each side were done.

My left arm struggled more than the right from the fourth to the fifth set, and I barely made it. I expect my lifts on Wednesday to be easier because the muscles adapt to the body’s demands once challenged, which is how weight lifters get larger muscles.

Better Blood Pressure

I checked my blood pressure after, and the readings were 20 points lower than my usual, considering that my heart rate was still in the 120s when I checked. After one hour, the systolic blood pressure remained in the acceptable range in the 130s.

Exercise lowers blood pressure by increasing nitric oxide secretion in the endothelium of the arteries and helps them relax.

Take Away Message

Doing four to six sets of 10 repetitions of a 60% 1-rep max increases muscle size. Using 60% of a one-rep max weight is safer and less prone to injuries.

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Reference:

Amirthalingam, Theban; Mavros, Yorgi; Wilson, Guy C.; Clarke, Jillian L.; Mitchell, Lachlan; Hackett, Daniel A.. Effects of a Modified German Volume Training Program on Muscular Hypertrophy and Strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 31(11):p 3109-3119, November 2017. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001747

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