Bench pressing Volume Method: More or Less

I define volume as the load lifted, multiplied by the total number of repetitions. So if you did a set of five bench press repetitions with 225 pounds, the volume for that set would be 1,125 pounds. If you did four sets with that weight and those reps, your volume would be 225 x 20 (225 pounds times 20 reps), which is 4,500 pounds.

 

Intensity is the percentage of your one-repetition maximum—the most weight you can lift once on any given exercise. (To save keystrokes, I'm going to use "1RM" or "one-rep max" interchangeably throughout the book.) Let's say your 1RM for the bench press is 280 pounds. In the sample above, when you did five reps with 225 pounds, you were using 80 percent of your one-rep max.

 

No matter your training goal, you have to figure out the optimal balance between volume and intensity. You can't separate the two, no matter what anyone tells you.

 

Practical example: Let's say your program calls for four sets of five repetitions of an exercise, but it doesn't mention intensity. Logic tells you that you'll get a very different effect using 80 percent of your 1 RM than you would using 65 percent. Either prescription is potentially useful, but your training goal determines which is best.

 

Over the years, as I've put in my time in the gym as well as the lab, I've figured out that for each goal there are minimum and maximum volumes. That is, most lifters will get the results they want if they do a volume of work in between the minimum and maximum. If they do less, they'll generally undershoot their goals because they aren't giving their muscles enough stimulation. If they do more, most often the results will include overtraining—too much work and not enough recovery.

 

This is called the Volume Method. The idea is that there's a key volume range for each goal and each phase of training. Those who're genetically gifted or pharmaceuticaliy assisted can certainly get away with exceeding the range, but most natural lifters, in my experience, do best within the ranges I suggest.

 

 

1. Determine which volume range is ideal for your goals.

2. Figure out why a certain program isn't inducing the intended effect.

3. Master the variables you need to create programs for yourself and others.

 

Now let's look at how the Volume Method applies to the training goals I described in Chapter 2. For the sake of simplicity, I combined the two fat-loss goals into one category.

 

 

Sometimes we just want to get big and we don't give a damn how strong we are. And sometimes we want to get strong but realize we need bigger muscles to accomplish the task, since a greater number of contractile proteins—the tiny bits of muscle tissue that make the fibers move—will allow the muscles to generate greater force.