| Warming Up: Proper warm up is essential and will go a long way in terms of preventing injuries. Prior to the actual worksets, perform one or two warm up sets in order to prepare the muscle group for the work ahead. The important thing to remember about warming up is that you are only trying to prepare the muscle for the worksets. Don’t use to much time or energy warming up. Save your energy for the actual worksets! Most people can adequately warm up a muscle group by performing 12-15 reps using a weight that is about 50% of the weight that they will be using during the workset. |
| Weight: In order to determine the amount of weight that you will be using for each of the ten sets, choose a weight that you could lift for about 20 repetitions. This is usually equal to about 60% of the weight that you could lift for one rep (i.e. your one rep max). For example, if your max bench press is 225 lbs, use 135lbs (i.e. 225 * 60%) for each of the ten sets. |
| Worksets: Your goal is to perform ten sets of ten repetitions. However, most people will not be able to perform ten reps for all of the sets. Expect the amount of reps to go down after your third or fourth set. Many people experience a 'neurological rebound' at the 7th or 8th set which allows them to perform more reps than they did during the middle sets. If you can perform ten sets of ten reps, it's time to increase the weight. |
| Rest Intervals: The amount of time you rest in between sets is one of the most important aspects of German Volume Training. Keep your eye on the clock and rest only ninety (1 1/2 minutes) seconds in between sets. Toward the end of the workout you will be very tempted to take longer breaks in between sets. Stay focused and stick with the recommended rest interval of ninety seconds. |
