I get
letters from beginners all the time asking me for advice on how they can get bigger. I always reply with two questions: How’s your diet and what does your current training routine consist of? I can’t give blind advice if I don’t know what I am working with. Most often I find that people are not eating enough to grow. I also see that there is a big myth in the world that you need to train with low reps and heavy weights in order to get bigger. This link shows a good YouTube video by Kai Greene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8wZNGL4iA4 ) where he distinguishes the difference between being a bodybuilder and weightlifter.
I would say before one sets off on a quest in the gym they should figure out which of these two distinctions they associate themselves with. In the case that you want to be a bodybuilder IE someone who is more concerned with what their physique looks like, then I offer you my concept of Heavy Volume Training.
Heavy Volume Training is my way of training with a constant heavy weight for a maximum amount of reps. The trick is finding the right weight and picking a total number of reps. In Kai’s YouTube video he touches the ideas of full range of motion and I expect the same on all these reps. I am also concerned with working the muscle hard enough to get an engorged skin expanding pump. When a muscle fiber fires in a lift it is working at maximum output. The idea is to incorporate as many muscle fibers as possible when lifting in order to cause the body to actually repair those damaged or stressed muscle fibers.
When you undergo heavy volume training you will be looking to use a weight on your first set that you will be able to perform 15 reps and almost no more. Use this rep range on your first set if you are shooting for a total number or reps around 60 -99. If you are looking to go over 100 total reps then look for a weight that you can push roughly 20 times on your first set. It is very important that you pick a weight that you are nearly at failure when completing the first set. Allow yourself around 3 minutes break before you start your next set and make sure that all proceeding sets are at or near failure. I expect that it should take anywhere from 6-10 sets to complete this one exercise. I generally complete one giant set per workout day with a major muscle group.
An exercise example:
Vertical Leg Press 6 Plates per side. 1st set x 20reps / 2nd x 20 / 3rd x 20 / 4th x 20 / 5th x 20 / 6th x 22 / 7th x 14 / 8th x 14.
Total reps I was looking for was 150. I was getting nearly 3 minutes rest in between until 6th set as I pushed till failure and was dry heaving in bucket on this set. It took me about 5 minutes to recover on this one but I held myself accountable to get that desired number of reps and finished. I do not advise you pushing yourself to puking. However, this is what happens every now and again when you push your body past it’s threshold. I expect that your reps will trail off from 15 to 13 to 12 and so on. Be sure to pick your weights and reps according to your strengths.
Try this strategy for your workouts and please feel free to let me know how it worked for you.
Craig Capurso
www.craigcapurso.com
Fire and Ice Fitness
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