Pump down the volume

Pump down the volume

Build more muscle by doing less!

By Christian Thibaudeau | 01/01/08

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/pump-down-the-volume

Extremely low-volume training approaches have been around for decades. This type of training, where between 1 to 8 sets per muscle group are performed in workouts lasting less than 60 minutes (often even less than 45 minutes), is just as appealing to exercisers today as it was forty years ago.

Why is this method of training, which was not originally expected to have a shelf life beyond the 1970s, still so popular? Is it because it is so different from everything else? Is it because its advocates are such charismatic individuals? Or is it because this method actually produces results?

This article will look at the pros and cons of this training approach and provide you with the tools you need to make low-volume training work for you.

It works, but this isn't just related to volume

People always ask me if program XY will work. Let me tell you a secret: almost any program will work. I would even go so far as to say that any program will work, as long as it is not completely irrational. What makes a program irrational? An imbalance between stimulation and regeneration. Here are the main candidates:

Programs that don't provide enough stimulus on a systematic basis

The best example I can give you is what I call "dad and mom training". A man or woman decides to work out, but they never make any effort to work hard on each set, they never try to use more weight or perform more reps, and they never leave their comfort zone. This could also be called "social training" as these people obviously go to the gym to socialize and not to build muscle or strength. This is the extreme, but even people who don't spend their time at the gym gossiping with their friends or trying to pick up girls may not be working hard enough to force their bodies to grow.

Programs that provide adequate stimulus but too much recovery time

Rest is undoubtedly the most neglected key to muscle growth. For no reason is more effort wasted in the gym.

However, too much rest is just as bad as too little. The training session represents the stimulus. If that stimulus is strong enough, then it will force the body to adapt by becoming more muscular and stronger. I say "force" because the body doesn't really want to build extra muscle as it is a burden from a metabolic point of view.

If you have too much time between each session of the stimulus, the body will go through a process during which the gains from the previous training session are lost because the body sees them as unnecessary (the same type of demand does not occur on a systematic basis). You will therefore end up stimulating a small amount of muscle growth with one training session and losing all of it by your next training session.

A good example of this type of irrational training program is the program that Mike Mentzer recommended towards the end of his career, which involved training only every 10 to 14 days. Don't get me wrong, I respect Mentzer's early work, but his later training programs were just plain crazy.

Programs that provide adequate training stimulus but inadequate recovery time

Let's say that you can work hard and therefore are able to train intensely enough to force your body to adapt to the physical work you are making it do. And in addition to this, the training session was planned correctly. In theory, you should be able to make your body build muscle and strength on a regular basis.

However, in some cases this does not happen. All too often this is due to insufficient recovery time planned into the program. Muscle growth occurs primarily when you rest. No rest equals no growth! And you are making it too easy for yourself if you think that your chest will recover on the day you train your legs.

Training has both local and systemic effects. You cause injury to the muscles you have trained and activate the growth mechanism for that muscle. You have also depleted your glycogen stores. These are the local effects of training. However, a training session also leads to cortisol production (catabolic stress hormones) and the release of catecholamines, as well as exhaustion of the nervous system. These are the negative systemic effects of training.

If you don't allow yourself enough recovery time, the systemic effects could be permanent and lead to chronic fatigue, short-term overtraining or even adrenal exhaustion. All of this will obviously negate the muscle growth you may have stimulated with your training session.

Programs that provide excessive stimulation

Bodybuilding legend Lee Haney put it in a nutshell: "Stimulate your muscles, but don't destroy them". Excessive stimulation means that you are doing too much work or using too many advanced training techniques during a training session. As I've mentioned countless times in my articles, we often let the emotional aspect of training enslave us.

We want that muscular body so badly that we always feel like we're not doing enough in the gym. I once developed a program for a client who wanted to emphasize his chest. So I had him do a special program that trained the chest twice a week with four exercises per session. Believe it or not, I caught him doing seven chest exercises during each session - three more than I had prescribed.

Society has conditioned us to believe that the more we do, the more we get. Work longer and you get more money, study more and you get better grades, etc. Unfortunately, this doesn't work in the weight room because we are limited by our body's capacity to tolerate and recover from physical stress. Programs with too much volume or too many advanced training techniques may leave your muscles sore and shaky after training, but they may also be responsible for virtually no progress for years.

These types of programs represent the main categories of irrational training programs. As long as your training system does not fall into one of these categories and is based on trying to improve your performance in the gym, the program will work, not all programs will work equally well, but they should all produce results.

So a properly designed low volume program will also work. However, for such a program to work optimally, the quality or severity of the work performed must be high enough to prevent that program from falling into the "excessive recovery time" or "insufficient stimulation" category.

And now we come to the shocking truth about low-volume programs: despite their name, the reason they work is not the low volume itself. These programs work because the little you do is so damn hard - so hard that you simply can't do any more.

Without agonizingly hard work, reducing volume doesn't make much sense. The reduced volume is only there to allow the body to adapt to the super hard demands of the few sets being performed. You have to work so hard on each set that more sets would be counterproductive. That's the secret to effective low-volume training. If you use a low volume workout without the necessary increase in the amount of hard work per set, then you won't get results.

The keys to an effective low volume program

The keys to a successful program are pretty much the same regardless of your training philosophy:

The ratio of stimulation to recovery:

To stimulate maximum progress, you need to expose your body to a stimulus significant enough to force the body to adapt in a positive way (increase muscle mass, increase strength) without exceeding the body's capacity to tolerate stress in the process.

The amount of training stress can be increased by increasing volume, increasing training frequency, increasing training density by taking shorter rests between sets, moving heavier weights and working harder on each set.

When we talk about low volume training, we obviously cannot increase the training stress by increasing the training volume, as this contradicts the design of this system. Nor can we aim for a higher training density. Why? Because a higher training density (shorter rest intervals between sets) does not allow you enough recovery to give your all in the few sets you perform. Moving heavy weights can be incorporated into the process, as we'll see later.

However, the primary way to increase training stimulus during a low volume workout is to perform each of the few sets you do to near death! I'm not talking about training to muscle failure here... rather, muscle failure is where the set really begins!

The stress induced by each of these "death sets" is so high that you can't do many of these sets - 3 to 6 working sets for most muscle groups and up to 8 for the back, which has a more complex structure. This also means that you need your 'growth days'. To maximize muscle growth, you need at least two and preferably even three training-free days per week on non-consecutive days.

Progression:

If you want to force your body to continuously build muscle, then you need to progressively ask more of it. Otherwise, there will come a time when your body has fully adapted to the training stress and no longer needs to become more muscular and stronger. Low volume allows for two types of progression: either you move more weight (by gradually increasing the weight on the bar each week), or you increase the difficulty of each set.

Increasing the difficulty on a set means going to muscle failure...and beyond - in some cases way beyond. You can do this by using one or more of the following techniques when you reach the point of muscle failure:

Rest/Pause:

Once you reach the point of muscle failure, pause for 10 to 12 seconds and then resume the set, attempting to perform another 2 to 4 repetitions with the same weight and again reach a point of muscle failure.

Descending sets 50%:

Once you reach the point of muscle failure, reduce the weight by 50% and perform more repetitions until you reach muscle failure again.

Static hold:

Once you reach the point of muscle failure, take three 3 to 5 second pauses at different points in the range of motion of the exercise. A second version is to hold the weight at a point in the mid-range of motion or the point of maximum contraction for as long as possible.

Slow negative repetitions:

After you reach the point of muscle failure, a training partner helps you with the concentric portion of the movement and you then lower the weight as slowly as possible. Perform as many slow negative repetitions until you can no longer lower the weight in a controlled manner.

Partial repetitions:

These are not included in the table below, but can be used in the "steps beyond muscle failure with the same weight" category. Basically, when you reach the point of muscle failure, you perform partial repetitions in the stronger half of the range of motion.

The following table illustrates one possible way to combine these techniques:

Level	Level Description	Example
0	1-2 repetitions before reaching muscle failure	Regular set until shortly before reaching muscle failure
1	Muscle failure	Regular set until muscle failure
2	1 step beyond muscle failure with a lower weight	Regular set to muscle failure + 50% weight reduction
3	1 step beyond muscle failure with the same weight	Regular set to muscle failure + rest/pause
4	2 steps beyond muscle failure with lower weight for both steps	Regular set to muscle failure + 50% weight reduction + 50% weight reduction
5	2 steps past muscle failure with the same weight on the first step and a lower weight on the second step	Regular set to muscle failure + rest/pause + 50% weight reduction
6	2 steps beyond muscle failure with the same weight on both steps	Regular set to muscle failure + rest/pause + static hold
7	3 steps past muscle failure with lower weight on all 3 steps	Regular set to muscle failure + 50% weight reduction + 50% weight reduction + 50% weight reduction
8	3 steps beyond muscle failure with the same weight on the first step and a lower weight on the other two steps	Regular set to muscle failure + rest/pause + 50% weight reduction + 50% weight reduction
9	3 steps beyond muscle failure with the same weight on the first 2 steps and a lower weight on the third step	Regular set to muscle failure + rest/pause + static hold + 50% weight reduction
10	3 steps beyond muscle failure with the same weight on all 3 steps	Regular set to muscle failure + rest/pause + static hold + slow negative reps

You will have noticed that these methods are sorted according to their level of difficulty. So you can build progression into your program as you move from a level 2 set to a level 3 set. Here is an example:

Week 1-2: Level 2
Week 3-4: Level 3
Week 5-6: Level 4
Week 7-8: Level 5
Week 9: Unload Level 1 sets
Week 10-11: Level 6
Week 12-13: Level 7
etc.

Complete focus and determination

This type of training requires a mind of iron as much as a body of steel! You need to be able to endure excruciating pain, because that's where the average exerciser finishes their set, your set is just beginning. And since you only have very few sets to achieve what you want to achieve, you simply can't afford to lose focus on one set. "Yes, but I can do another sentence if I've had a bad sentence." No, you can't! A wasted set will only dig deeper into your recovery capacity, so extra work on top of this could slow down the rate of your progress.

This is why most people don't get any results from low volume training: they lack the mental strength and focus to get enough out of each set to achieve optimal growth stimulus with just a few sets.

If you like to talk and socialize in the gym, then this type of workout is not for you! "Yeah, but when the set is over, I can relax and talk to my buddies." No, you can't! Every set is like a 100 meter sprint final at the Olympics: it requires maximum concentration, maximum focus and maximum determination. Do you think sprinters make jokes and chat about their weekend right before a race? Of course not! They think about the race, they visualize the race, they spur themselves on and try to achieve the right mindset for optimal performance. That's exactly what you need to do too.

Maximum concentration is also important when performing the exercises. You should always try to perform every repetition as perfectly as possible. Even if the muscle is on fire and you feel like your tendons want to retire, you must perform each repetition as perfectly as possible.

A perfect repetition should include a controlled eccentric/lowering phase (but not necessarily slow... 2 to 3 seconds is fine), a good stretch of the target muscle in the bottom position, and an explosive (as fast as you can, because when fatigue sets in, you won't be able to move the weight quickly) concentric/lifting phase.

Control, stretch, explosion and deliberate contraction - on every damn single repetition

These are the three main elements that make or break your low-volume training. Yes, these factors are also important in other types of training systems. However, since you have very few sets available in a low-volume workout, these elements are even more important.

Training splits for low volume training

Low volume training uses all types of training frequencies. Low-volume training always includes at least 2 to 3 non-training days per week and often up to 4, but the frequency at which each muscle is trained can vary depending on the source.

For example, Arthur Jones' first low-volume system often used full-body training sessions performed three times a week. In this case, the volume per muscle group was super low ( 1 to 3 sets per muscle group) to accompany the very high training frequency.

The now popular by bodybuilding coach Dante Trudel (DoggCrap) usually has exercisers train each muscle group twice a week or twice every 10 days. For each muscle group and training session, 2 to 4 sets are performed.

Other low volume training advocates such as Dorian Yates, Trevor Smith (who weighed over 180 kilos and could perform multiple repetitions of incline bench presses at over 270 kilos), Marc Dugdale and Lee Labrada all preferred to train each muscle group once a week, performing 4 to 8 sets per muscle group.

Regardless of the frequency you use in a low volume workout, you should follow these two rules:

(a) Set aside at least 2 non-training days per week on non-consecutive days, with 3 being better and 4 being optimal for hardgainers. Growth occurs when you rest, not when you train.

b) Stick to a total of 4 to 8 sets per muscle group per week. If you decide to train each muscle group three times a week, then you should not do more than 1 to 3 sets per training session. If you train each muscle group twice a week, then you can perform 2 to 4 sets per training session and if you train each muscle group once a week, then you can perform 4 to 8 sets during that training session.

Here are some low-volume training splits that have been used in the past:

Dorian Yates-inspired split

Monday: Chest & biceps
Tuesday: Lower body
Wednesday: Workout-free
Thursday: Back & rear shoulder muscles
Friday: Workout-free
Saturday: Shoulders & triceps
Sunday: Workout-free

Marc Dugdale-inspired split

Monday: Chest, biceps & calves
Tuesday: Quadriceps
Wednesday: Workout-free
Thursday: Back & hamstrings
Friday: Workout-free
Saturday: Shoulders & triceps
Sunday: Workout-free

Trevor Smith-inspired split *

Monday: Chest and calves
Tuesday: Workout-free
Wednesday: Shoulders and triceps
Thursday: Back and biceps
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Workout-free
Sunday: Workout-free

* Note: Trevor trained chest and shoulders/triceps on consecutive days. While this obviously worked for him, I believe the average exerciser needs more rest as these muscles overlap.

Synergistic split

Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Lower body
Wednesday: Workout-free
Thursday: Back & biceps
Friday: Workout-free
Saturday: Shoulders & triceps
Sunday: Workout-free

Split inspired by Dante Trudel

Monday: Chest, shoulders, triceps, back
Tuesday: Lower body, biceps, forearms
Wednesday: No workout
Thursday: Chest, shoulders, triceps, back
Friday: No workout
Saturday: Lower body, biceps, forearms
Sunday: No workout

Upper body/lower body split

Monday: Lower body
Tuesday: Upper body
Wednesday: No training
Thursday: Lower body
Friday: No training
Saturday: Upper body
Sunday: No training

Full body workout

Monday: whole body
Tuesday: no training
Wednesday: whole body
Thursday: no training
Friday: whole body
Saturday: no training
Sunday: no training

Exercise selection

I've often said that you can tell the difference between a useful trainer and a great trainer by the exercises they choose. The key is to choose the exercises that will deliver the greatest gains in a specific individual. What is optimal for me is not necessarily the best exercise choice for you.

Proper exercise selection depends on your body structure (limb length, shoulder and hip width), as well as your muscle dominance. Bench presses or dumbbell incline bench presses, for example, are excellent exercises to build chest in individuals who are either "chest dominant" (chest is proportionally stronger than shoulders and triceps) or have balanced development of all pressing muscles. However, if someone is "shoulder dominant", these exercises may not be the best choice.

There is nothing as simple as saying that multi-joint exercises are superior to isolation exercises. In many cases this is true, but in other cases a correct selection of isolation exercises may be superior to multi-joint exercises.

Exercise selection is even more critical in low-volume training because you need to use a low number of exercises - 2 to 3 per muscle group. There is simply no room for sub-optimal exercises.

While the full exercise selection of your body type and muscle dominance is outside the focus of this article and requires its own series of articles, I want you to keep the following basic rules in mind when it comes to exercise selection for a low-volume training program:

• For a dominant muscle (a muscle that responds well to training), I recommend using only basic exercises: the exercises where you can use the most weight for the target muscle group.
• For an "average" muscle (a muscle that neither responds super fast to training nor is particularly stubborn), I recommend two basic exercises followed by an isolation exercise.
• For a stubborn muscle, I recommend a pre-fatigue approach: start with an isolation exercise and then perform either a basic exercise plus an isolation exercise or two basic exercises. The key is to start with an isolation exercise.

Pre-fatigue is a technique that I only recommend for a stubborn muscle group. This technique is effective because by isolating a muscle you "prime" it (both neurologically and physiologically) so that it is more easily recruited during the following basic exercises. The local pump from the isolation exercise allows you to feel that muscle better during the basic exercises (increased feedback), allowing you to build a better mind-muscle connection with that stubborn muscle.

Here are some examples of possible exercise choices. It should be noted that this is not a complete, all-inclusive list. You have my permission to choose other exercises as well.

Chest exercise selection

If you are chest muscle dominant or have a balanced strength ratio:

A. Flat bench press
B. Dumbbell incline bench press
C. Chest dips

If you are shoulder dominant:

A. Flying movements on the reverse incline bench
B. Bench press on the reverse incline bench
C. Crossover cable pulls

If you are triceps dominant::

A. Flying movements with dumbbells on the flat bench
B. Bench press with wide grip to the sternum
C. Dumbbell incline bench press with slight incline

Back exercise selection

If you are latissimus dominant or have a balanced strength ratio:

A. T-bar rows with supported chest
B. Pull-ups with an underhand grip
C. Lat pull-ups with a rope grip
D. Seated rowing with a rope grip towards the neck

If you are biceps/forearm dominant:

A. Pullovers on the machine or pulldowns with straight arms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r34PR1mxzmU
B. Lat pulldowns with a rope handle
C. Lateral raises bent forward
D. Seated rowing with a rope handle towards the neck

Quadriceps exercise selection

If you are quadriceps dominant or have a balanced strength ratio:

A. Classic squats
B. Leg presses with close foot spacing
C. Lunges with a short step width

If you are gluteus dominant:

A. Leg extensions
B. Front squats
C. Sissy Hackenschmidt squats

Leg curl exercise selection:

If you are leg flexor dominant or have a balanced strength ratio:

A. Romanian deadlift (barbell or dumbbells)
B. Reverse hyperextensions / reverse hyper (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9tU7_w7rvw)
C. Lying leg curls

If you have lower back dominance:

A. Lying leg curls
B. Leg presses with feet high on the carriage
C. Standing leg curls

Shoulder exercise selection

If you have a dominance in the lateral shoulder muscles or a balanced strength ratio:

A. Dumbbell shoulder press seated
B. Arnold press
C. Side raise seated

If you have a dominance in the front shoulder muscles:

A. Side raise seated
B. Scott press (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lyi1Li9jqw)
C. Side raises on the cable or leaning-away side raises (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxAKPTOmYSw)

If you are triceps dominant:

A. Side raise seated
B. Bradford Press (arms never fully extended) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD6XoIXGmDI
C. Cuban Press (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7gGRU0o-Q8)

Triceps exercise selection

If you are triceps dominant or have a balanced strength ratio:

A. Bench press with close grip
B. Tricep dips
C. Dumbbell tricep press lying down

If you are shoulder dominant:

A. Close grip bench press on reverse incline bench
B. Tricep press with a SZU bar on reverse incline bench
C. Tricep kickbacks with a rope grizzly

If you are chest dominant:

A. Dumbbell tricep presses on the reverse incline bench
B. Overhead tricep presses with a SZ bar
C. Tricep presses on the cable pulley

Biceps exercise selection

If you are biceps dominant or have a balanced strength ratio:

A. Scott curls with free weights or on a machine
B. Hammer curls seated
C. Reverse curls standing with a SZ bar

If you are forearm dominant:

A. Scott curls with wide grip and elbows pointing inwards
B. Dumbbell curls seated with palms facing up
C. Single-arm Scott curls

Pause intervals

Even if the work volume is low, each set is extremely demanding. For this reason, you need to rest for a relatively long time between sets. If you don't, your performance will decline and as a result the training stimulus will suffer.

You need to start each set rested enough to be able to put in the inhuman effort required for this style of training. At least 2 to 3 minutes are required between upper body exercises and at least 4 to 5 minutes between exercises for the legs. During this time you should not sit and pick your nose or chat about the weekend. You should reflect on the previous set (did you give it everything you had?) and prepare for the next set.

It's not just a resting phase, it's a mental preparation phase. In fact, it could be the most important part of your training session.

Conclusion

Any rational training program will work as long as progression, effort and discipline are part of the equation. A properly planned low-volume program is no exception. Low volume is not necessarily the best way to train and it is not for everyone. However, when used correctly, it can yield dramatic results.

It can also be used as part of a larger scheme: alternating phases of low volume, high volume and max weights, with each phase lasting 4 to 6 weeks, is a very good way to train and make continuous progress. Supplements such as Evil Narcotica in particular can boost your performance.

But remember: to make this program work, you need to compensate for the low volume with superior effort. Every single one of these few sets must be a true test of your willpower.

I wish you a good workout.