Whether you’ve heard of it or not, German Volume Training, or GVT for short, has been around the weightlifting world since the 70s. The idea between GVT is to overload your muscles with extreme volume, but with fewer exercises. The traditional setup you’d see would most likely be three main, compound exercises performed for a total of 10 sets at 10 repetitions each. Between each set you’d see a modest amount of rest—roughly a minute or two. And, as expected, the amount of weight used would need to be on the lighter side or else you’ll burn out early. On paper, it doesn’t sound too bad, but you’ll soon realize that 300 reps is a ton of reps, and even more so when they are big-boy exercises. You may also see a couple isolation exercises thrown in for 3 sets at 10 repetitions each. For this particular mini-plan, we’ve modified traditional GVT. It’s somewhat of a mutant.
How it works
Good news: Not all of the three main exercises are overly-exhausting compound lifts. Bad news: Those three main exercises are now a tri-set, which means no rest in between exercises. All in all, this should be a complete shock to the body. It most likely won’t even know what hit it. Not only is the volume incredibly taxing, but the non-stop approach will push your muscular endurance and cardio-game through the roof. This is ideal for busting through stubborn plateaus in your regular programming whether it be strength or body composition.
Directions
Work out every other day for one-two weeks ONLY. You may use mix and match any of the workouts in whatever structure you prefer. For example: select one of the following workouts for 3-4 sessions, or you can rotate between two of the following workouts for 3-4 sessions, or even use three workouts for 3-4 sessions. After you’ve completed one to two weeks of this, switch back onto a traditional 4-8 week plan. If at any point you’re more sore than normal, or not recovering well, bake in an extra rest day between workouts.
