I just explained that the first two phases of my new Maximize Your Muscle program involve Position of Flex- ion Training first and then 5-Day Full Body Training. Each of these phases lasts four weeks, just enough time to get the maximum adaptation of each phase and make the most of the extremely important transitional period at the beginning of each new method of training. Then you quickly move on to the next phase right before you be- come bored with the workout and hit a plateau, resulting in frustration and throwing in the towel. That next phase of the Maximize Your Muscle program is High Volume Training.
The Misconceptions about High Volume Training
A lot of bodybuilders, especially beginner to intermediate lifters, will shake their heads when you mention high volume training. Some of you are probably shaking your heads. Ev- erybody knows you need heavy loads and low reps to see real gains, right? That depends on what kind of gains you're talking about. If by gains you mean strength, then you're not wrong. But for gains in size and definition, high volume training is the platinum short-term method.
Many people talk down about high volume training because they feel that it, a) leads to overtraining and, b) becomes cata- bolic very quickly. What they don't realize is that when done properly, high volume training is a very effective form of tempo- rary overtraining that has been scientifically proven to produce phenomenal hypertrophy and definition. It is meant to be a short-term program.
When done properly, high volume training is a very effective form of temporary overtraining that has been scientifically proven to produce phenomenal hypertrophy and definition.
The Masters of High Volume Training
Some of the greatest, most respected names in body- building have sworn by high volume training. Vince Gironda is considered the father of the method and was using and teaching it fifty years before Charles Poliquin discovered it. Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the best-known practitioners of high volume training.
High volume training has been around for decades, but today's researchers are still testing and proving its ef- fectiveness. In 2012, a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology confirmed the superiority of high volume training over heavy load/low rep training for muscle hypertrophy.
The study found that 3 sets at 30% of 1RM to failure produced greater hypertrophy than 1 set done at 80% of 1RM to failure.
The reason for the effectiveness of high volume training when it comes to hypertrophy is muscle fiber recruitment.
Charles Poliquin explained the science behind high vol- ume training really well in an article he did last year. As he explains, motor units are recruited in a specific pattern, from the smallest to the largest. "When lifting a light load to failure, the smallest motor units that were initially recruited will become fatigued, producing less force or ceasing to fire completely, at which point larger motor units will be recruited to sustain the lifting move- ment. Theoretically, nearly all motor units will be recruited, trained and hypertrophied."
The Keys to the Phenomenal Results of High Volume Training
The people who don't believe in high volume training are correct; done improperly, it can re- sult in overtraining and muscle catabolism. But these people are thinking of the type of high volume training that meant marathon, 2-3 hour sessions of lifting.