German Volume Training – GVT – has been used by bodybuilders and strength athletes since the 1970s to pack on muscle mass fast. It’s brutally simple: 10 sets of 10 reps on one exercise per body part, with the same weight across all 10 sets. On paper it looks manageable. In the gym, it’s one of the most demanding programmes you’ll ever run. That’s why it works.
What exactly is German Volume Training?
German volume training ( or GVT ) is a method of training that is sometimes referred to as the “10 sets method”. It is believed to have originated in Germany back in the 70’s and was brought into the attention of the public by the then National Coach of Weightlifting, a man named Rolf Feser.
German volume training method was used primarily by bodybuilders and weight lifters during the off-season, to pack on as much muscle mass as they possibly could.
Not surprisingly then the idea here is to perform 10 sets of one exercise per body part. Yes, you did read that right, the basic idea is to perform just ONE exercise per body part that you’re training. So if you’re training chest and back for example, you could go with 10 sets of bench press, followed by 10 sets of chin ups.
German volume training basic principles
GVT works by targeting a number of motor units within the body, and putting them through an extensive volume and amount of repeated exercise, specifically the 10 sets per body part that we mentioned previously. As the body is placed under an unusual amount of stress that it isn’t used to, it quickly adapts by causing the target muscle fibers to hypertrophy, which can and will lead to much more muscle mass.
The basic goals and targets of this training method are to complete 10 sets of 10 repetitions per body part, using the exact same weight for every set. You should ideally begin with a weight that you can complete around 20 repetitions with normally, which typically represents 60% of their one rep max for most people. So, say you can bench 300 pounds, you’d go with around 180 pounds for this exercise. You’d then complete 10 sets of 10 reps on the bench press, resting for around 60 – 90 seconds in-between sets.
It’s important to rest for the exact same amount of time between each set, no matter how tired you may be. As you fatigue you will be tempted to lengthen the amount of time between sets, but you must resist the urge and battle through. Also the key is to choose the “biggest bang for the buck” exercises, which means you should choose compound movements such as bench press, shoulder press, squats, rows etc.
What about rest? – Make no mistake about it, on paper the german volume training routine looks pretty easy. In reality however, when you’re pushing the weight and are soaking in sweat as your muscles feel like they’re on fire, it’s a whole different story. It is an extremely intense training program and for that reason the body requires longer to recover. For that reason, one training session per body part every 4 – 5 days or so is considered ideal.
As time goes by, you’ll obviously get better at the exercises you do, once this is the case, you can increase the weight you’re using by around 5% and repeat the process all over again.
German volume training split and plan
Like we said, you should choose big compound movements in order to get good results. You will mix exercises that hit opposite muscle groups :
Day 1 – Chest and Back
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Legs and Abs
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Shoulders and Arms
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
The Exercises
| Day 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest and Back | |||||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | ||
| Bench Press | 10 | 10 | 90 sec | ||
| Chin Ups (Palms towards face) | 10 | 10 | 90 sec | ||
| Pec Dec or Incline Flyes | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec | ||
| One Arm Dumbbell Rows | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec | ||
| Day 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legs and Abs | |||||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | ||
| Squats | 10 | 10 | 90 sec | ||
| Leg Curls | 10 | 10 | 90 sec | ||
| Weighted Sit Up | 3 | 15-20 | 60 sec | ||
| Calf Raises | 3 | 15-20 | 60 sec | ||
| Day 5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arms and Shoulders | |||||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | ||
| Dips | 10 | 10 | 90 sec | ||
| Dumbbell Curls | 10 | 10 | 90 sec | ||
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec | ||
| Bent Over Reverse Laterals | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec | ||
You might also like:
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- How to Build Muscle Naturally: The Complete Guide
- Upper/Lower Split Routine for Strength and Mass
- Strength Training vs Hypertrophy Training: A Comparative Review
- Muscle Hypertrophy Explained: The Science of Making Muscles Grow
If you wanted to stick deadlift in this program where would you put it? Is it okay to do deadlifts in this fashion?
Personally I would do the deadlifts instead of squats, but doing deadlifts in this fashion is very taxing.
I would not recommend dead lifts as this is a movement that needs perfect form. After 5 most people lose form on dead lifts. Keep this simple and do seated rows or maybe barbell rows.
Perfect form, but light weight (60%)
So learning to perform with perfect form with light weight as fatigue starts to escalate is a skill in itself ?…
Creates a lot of volume.