­High Volume, Moderate Volume, and Low Volume Training

One thing I always notice in gym goers is that they do not know the difference between these training methods. Actually, I have yet to see anybody follow a low volume training scheme. If you do not know what I’m talking about, let me briefly explain the difference between these training methods:

High volume training

This is what I see most of the gym goers doing. It usually consists of training with moderate to heavy weight (relatively), and a shitload of sets (regardless of the number of reps). You will see people doing anywhere from 16-20 sets for a large muscle group (chest, back, legs), and 9-12 sets for smaller muscle groups (bis, tris, hams, delts, calves). Let’s say someone with a max incline dumbbell bench of 120 lbs will train high volume. It will be something like this:

30 lbs x 4-5 sets, 15-20 reps for warm up
60 lbs x 1 sets, 12-15 reps
80 lbs x 1 sets, 10-12 reps
100 lbs x 1 sets, 8-10 reps
120 lbs x 1 sets, 4-8 reps

Then he will move on to another exercise and so on, until he finishes 4-5 exercises for one muscle group with the same rep and weight scheme.

The basic idea here is to incorporate all the muscle fiber (fast and slow twitch), flood the muscle with as much blood as possible, and hit absolute failure by the end of the workout.

This is a very old school method of training. Where you “hit the muscle from every angle possible”.

Moderate volume training

Only a few of the gym goers would reach the intermediate to advanced level due to either genetics, or an impeccable diet, training, and resting routine. Most of my advanced bodybuilding clients are/were under this category. The basic idea is to hit the muscle with a reasonable number of sets (9-12 for large muscles, 6-9 for smaller muscles) and focus mostly on compound movements. Let’s take the same guy who was doing the 120 lb dumbbell incline bench. He will do 3-4 warm up sets with light weights, then he will move on to a weight where he feels comfortable reaching positive failure between a 6-12 rep scheme, not necessarily reaching the 120 lb dumbbells for 3 to 4 sets. Then he will move to 2 or 3 more exercises, where the last exercise is usually a high rep isolation movement (like cable crossover). Again, the idea is the same as the high volume training scheme.

Low volume training

Most people (who are used to high or moderate volume training) cannot understand this way of training. I have yet to see a “gym rat” attempt or even know of this way of training. It involves a lot of effort, a lot of focus, and a lot of mental strength. Unfortunately, people are just used to pumping out set after set and think that by annihilating the muscle, it’ll grow. By switching to low volume, they don’t know how to approach it, and think of it as just doing less work.
Let me give you an example of how low volume works. Let’s say incline dumbbell press, with the max of 120 lbs for 4-8 reps… this is how someone who does low volume does it.

Warm up is as follows

30 lbs x 1 set x 20 reps, rest til you feel blood starting to pump into the muscle
50 lbs x 1 set x 12 reps, rest til you catch your breath (60-90 seconds)
70 lbs x 1 set x 6 reps, rest til you feel thoroughly recovered (maybe 90 seconds or more)
100 lbs x 1 set x 2 reps, rest for 2 to 3 minutes
120 lbs x 1 set x 1 reps, rest for 2 to 3 minutes

Now you are done with your warm up. The warm up is usually the longest part of the workout. That’s around 15 minutes. Then you start your working set.

140 lbs x 1 set x 4-6 reps (should reach positive failure)
Then rest for 2 or 3 minutes
120 lbs x 1 set x failure
Rest for 2-3 minutes
100 lbs x 1 set x failure

And you are done with that muscle.
The problem with most people is that they don’t know what failure is. There is a difference between failure and fatigue. Fatigue is when you do 2 million sets and your muscle won’t respond anymore. This is due to over exertion, and lactic acid build up. Failure is when you can do a couple of reps on your own (full range), then you feel the weight get really heavy, then you can’t perform another rep (positive motion) even if your life depended on it. This is on the first set! Not after 20 sets. Most people reach “mental” failure before even coming close to positive physical failure. You just think in your mind “6, 7, 8… ahh.. I’m tired… I can’t do 9… I guess I failed”… physical failure is when you go “6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, aaahhh…. 12, 13, 14”…. By the time you reached 10, the weight stopped moving and you close your eyes and you think you’re moving it but your body won’t respond.
If you ever try this, you will be sweating bullets, and feel like you want to drop dead after your set. But most people don’t understand this concept and think it’s just like high volume training but with less sets. That is why the first thing I hear from a client when he switches to low volume is “that was easy, I wasn’t even tired.” I just tell him “well, you did it wrong.”…. the client’s reaction after doing low volume the correct way should be like this:
“Fuck you and your low volume shit! Are you trying to kill me????”


What’s the difference?

High volume
With high volume, 90% of the trainees are bound to get overtrained. This is (in my opinion) a horrible way to train, and a good way to lose muscle and look like absolute shit. The biggest problem (or actually, 2 problems) is this:

- Most people train this way and actually hit muscles twice a week! This is absolutely disastrous! You cannot imagine how much stress this kind of training puts on your muscles AND YOUR CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS)!! Training a muscle once a week with this system will most likely overtrain you in a couple of weeks. Hitting them twice per week will do much more damage.
- There is bound to be a genetic freak in the gym who could grow muscles by jumping up and down who trains very high volume. Ofcourse, every noob in the gym will go ask this guy for advice. The answer will be “do 5 billion sets for every muscle, and train every muscle ever 3 days.” This is dangerous advice. And this is why many people quit, or don’t have any gains.


Moderate volume
I have nothing against this way of training if you are hitting a muscle once per week and taking atleast a day off between each training session. There is strain on the CNS using this system, but it is not half as much as it is with high volume training. I usually start out “absolute” beginners with this method for a couple of months or a year to develop muscle mass and to develop (very important) the mind/muscle connection. By doing different exercises and hitting the muscle in different angles, you can develop a sense of how your body is put together… what do I mean? Let’s see… some people have broad shoulders (long calvicles and collar bone) and usually long limbs, these people would find flat bench press (with shoulder blades tucked in and a wide grip) to hit the pectoral region the best. If someone has short limbs and narrow shoulder width, this exercise will probably hit his triceps and delts a lot more than his chest, and if he uses a wider grip, he won’t get ½ the range of motion done. So, by doing different exercises, you will know what works best for your body structure, and you will get a better idea of how the muscle feels when it contracts. When you develop a mind/muscle connection (you can isolate a muscle in a compound exercise by using your mind to control it, and not jerking the weight around) it will be easy to move on to the low volume training method.

Low volume
For intermediate/advanced trainees who have been working out seriously for 2-3 years, I would recommend this method of training if you want to pack on serious size. The beauty in this kind of training is that you can reach muscle failure with heavy weights (send the message for the muscle to grow) without stressing your CNS much. This would allow you to hit the muscle twice per week if you have an average or above average recovery ability. If you are a severe ectomorph, I would not advise hitting a muscle twice per week no matter what. Ectomorphs have a very poor CNS recovery ability.
Again, this training method is for people who want to advance in bodybuilding, and already have a good mind to muscle connection. Also, you should know what “positive failure” truly means.


Of course, this is just my personal opinion from experience. A lot of people might argue, but this is what I think. Besides, when every damn client grows well with these methods, and a genetic freak who’s been training for more than a decade gains 15 lbs of pure lean body mass (I’m talking 0 fat gains) in less than a year by switching to low volume and a better diet, it kinda tells you something!

Again, low volume training is not for absolute beginners. You will not know what it means to train low volume unless you have a little experience in the gym.


An important note: all of this info is meaningless if you aren’t on a well calculated diet. I’m not talking the “I eat healthy” or the “I think I’m eating 150 grams of protein… or is it 250? Hmmm… it’s somewhere between those two numbers” kind of diet!




Crazy shit!!!

This is from the American Academy of Pediatrics….
http://www.medindia.net/news/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Recommends-Cholesterol-Drugs-in-Kids-38982-1.htm

I truly believe there is a cure for cancer… but they don’t want it out cuz it’s cheap. (search for DCA… DiChloroAcetate)

Meds are more expensive than anything, and pharma companies are just coming up with skewed research and studies that basically say “buy this drug, it makes you live longer and have a woody” and in 2 years, you basically have heart and joint problems

Doctors recommend “niaspan” for cholesterol and heart disease patients who can’t go on statins. Niaspan is basically Niacin (a B vitamin) that costs around $10 per 200 tabs. Niaspan is around $100 for 100 tabs at discount drug stores and you have to have a prescription. Why is it that expensive? It’s the same damn thing!!!! Their rational… from the site itself:

“When treating a medical problem like high cholesterol or heart disease, getting the same amount (dose) of drug every time is important. Unlike medications such as NIASPAN, dietary supplement niacin—the kind you buy in the vitamin aisle—is not FDA approved.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), dietary supplement niacin may “contain widely variable amounts of niacin—from none to much more than the label states.” AHA states that “Dietary supplement niacin must not be used as a substitute for prescription niacin. It should not be used for cholesterol lowering because of potentially very serious side effects.”

What a load of bullshit!!! Give me a goddamn break!!!

I wonder why… instead of spending millions on drugs and shit, why don’t they spend half that money on educating kids about how to eat, exercise, use supplements, and take care of yourself correctly? Why can’t they teach that at school? Instead, you want to give 1 year old babies, low fat milk. And you want to give 8 year old kids cholesterol drugs? Do a search for statins, and do a search on how they affect co enzyme Q10. then, do a search on how important CoQ10 is important for the heart and in preventing heart disease.

I have tons of stories and info and shit any retard, with an IQ of more than 2, can figure out on his own. But people won’t believe me or the info because:

1- People are two lazy to search
2- “You’re not a doctor”
3- People usually don’t want to hear the truth.

These days, I seriously would not trust a doctor with my pet cockroach, let alone my family or myself.


They still can’t figure it out?!

I swear, every other day I read something new, either in the newspapers or on yahoo news, about how “new studies find that this might help dieters/obese people/overweight people lose weight” or whatever… and… the info right there is just… OLD!!! And STUPID!!!! The basic reaction from someone who’s slightly more intelligent than my dog, ruffles, (which really isn’t saying much) would be “no shit, Sherlock!” … this is what they found out in the past 5 years (this is top research ranging from the mayo clinic to the university of Bob):

Being over 15% fat is healthy
Being over 12% fat causes health risks
Low carb diets are best for weight loss
Low carb diets only cause short term weight loss then you gain it back
Best thing is to start your day with a small breakfast
Best thing is to start the day with a large breakfast full of carbs
Low GI carbs aid in weight loss
The GI of carbs doesn’t make a difference
High protein diets cause kidney problems
High protein diets are healthy
Avoiding saturated fats and replacing them with healthy fats aid in weight loss
Saturated fats are bad for the heart
There is no difference between saturated and unsaturated fat when it comes to health
Lifting weights aids in weight loss
Lifting weights stalls weight loss
High intensity cardio burns more calories
Low intensity cardio burns more calories throughout the day
Higher caloric intake is healthier
Lower caloric intake is healthier

And the newest of all (yesterday)
Research discovers that keeping a log of your daily diet will double your weight loss!

HAHAHHHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAH


The retards still haven’t figured it out yet.
You know why?

Really, it’s simple… think about it for a second…
A bit more

Just a little more…


Here’s the answer:

They aren’t looking at the big picture!