One source (tmuscle.com) reports about optimized volume training with the following info: Around 1995, the bodybuilding world was introduced to a new form of hypertrophy training: German Volume Training. That article was written by an up-and-coming star in the strength and conditioning community (Charles Poliquin) and it really changed the way people trained to gain mass. The premise was relatively simple: pick a few exercises and do ten sets of ten reps. It was simple and effective. However, the program had some weaknesses, some of which were pointed out in TC's "German Volume Training 2000" article here at T-mag. A few of those weaknesses were: Possible overuse injuries from such a high volume of the same exercises. Very high level of boredom. (Call me crazy, but for me to stay motivated I must have at least some fun in the gym!) Not enough emphasis on some muscles and some muscle functions. With GVT you couldn't use many exercises because the sheer volume would be too much! As a result, muscle imbalances could develop. This final problem is new: GVT neglects strength. In fact, I've known several athletes who actually got weaker on GVT, even if they gained a lot of mass. The reason is that super high volume coupled with low intensity causes mostly non-functional hypertrophy and doesn't require an intense neuromotor involvement. It was this last weakness that got me thinking, experimenting and tinkering. That's how I came up with a variation of volume training that will increase strength and functional hypertrophy alike. Enter Optimized Volume Training! The Overview For OVT, I kept the basic premise of doing 100 total reps per muscle group. This is a time-proven approach. However, the distribution of those reps is vastly different from the original GVT program. First difference: Every set is in fact a superset of two exercises working the same muscle group. The first exercise in the superset is a big compound movement (e.g. bench press, squat, deadlift, row, even clean or snatch) and it's done for five reps using as much weight as possible. The second exercise in the superset is an isolation movement for the main muscle being worked in the first exercise. This second exercise is also done for five reps, but with a small load and a very slow tempo. Second difference: While in GVT all ten sets were of the same exercise, we'll employ two different supersets per muscle, each superset being performed five times (50 total reps per superset). This will allow us to use four different exercises for a muscle group, which should take care of boredom and imbalances. Third difference: In the original program, the prescribed rest interval is sixty seconds. Since we want to be able to lift a bit more weight we're going to take 120 seconds in OVT, but there's no rest between exercises in the same superset. Fourth difference: Rather than perform all sets with the same weight, as is the case with GVT, you do use as much weight as possible and adjust the load after each set (plus or minus 5 to 10 pounds, depending on the ease/difficulty of the preceding set).
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