ADAPTATION OF GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING

Why should we make training adaptations at all?

Due to progress in the development of sports science and new knowledge based on work experience with clients, it turns out that some old and well-known training programs have certain shortcomings.

Over time, sports science advances, new knowledge is discovered and some training programs become outdated.
Too much training during the week causes fatigue in the endocrine system, so it is necessary to adapt the training. In some situations, too much individual training leads to overtraining. One way of avoiding that is to reduce the number of sets or exercises. Another is to choose different exercises targeting the rained muscle from different angles.

This is an example of a frequently used German volume training.

The schedule is the following:
Monday – training A
Tuesday – training B
Wednesday – rest,
Thursday – training C
Friday – rest
Saturday – repeat the cycle starting from training A
Sunday – training B etc..

A – training

Muscle group	Exercises	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
Chest	A1 – decline dumbbell presses	10	10	4-0-2	90
Back	A2 – chin ups	10	10	4-0-2	90
Chest	B1 – incline dumbbell fly	3	10 – 12	3-0-2	60
Back	B2 – one arm dumbbell rows	3	10 – 12	3-0-2	60

B – training

Muscle group	Exercises	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
Legs	A1 – squats	10	10	4-0-2	90
Hamstrings	A2 – lying leg curls	10	10	4-0-2	90
Abdominals	B1 – incline sit ups	3	15-20	2-0-2	60
Calves	B2 – seated calf raises	3	15-20	2-0-2	60

C – training

Muscle group	Exercises	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
Triceps	A1 – parallel bar dips	10	10	4-0-2	90
Biceps	A2 – incline curls	10	10	4-0-2	90
Ramena	A1 – bent over dumbbell lateral raises	3	10-12	2-0-x	60
	A2 – seated dumbbell lateral raises	3	10-12	2-0-x	60

In the program above, the choice of exercises and the weekly training schedule are problematic.

The choice of exercises gives us too many series for one part of the muscle, and too few for other parts. So let’s say for the chest, you do 10 sets for the lower part of the chest, and only 3 for the upper part. This is good for people who are lagging in the development of the lower part of the chest and want to develop it, while the upper and middle parts of the chest are well developed.

But people who want an equal development of the chest should do an even amount of series for each part of it.

The muscle group training schedule during the week requires you to exercise five times a week and do each muscle group every sixth day. For some people, it can be too much considering the work duties and level of training.

That’s why I made the presented adaptation of German volume training:

A – training

Muscle group	Exercises	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
Chest	Incline bench press	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Bench press	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Decline bench press	4	10	4-0-4	90
Triceps	Skull crushers	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Cable v bar push down	4	10	4-0-4	90

B – training

Muscle group	Exercises	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
Back	Front lat pull down	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Close grip front lat pulldown	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Bend over barbell row	4	10	4-0-4	90
Biceps	Barbell curl	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Scott curl	4	10	4-0-4	90

C – training

Muscle group	Exercises	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
Legs	Squat	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Leg press	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Hack squat	4	10	4-0-4	90
Hamstrings	Lying leg curls	4	10	4-0-4	90
Calves	Seated calf raises	4	10	4-0-4	90

D – training

Muscle group	Exercises	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
Schoulders	Front press	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Side lateral raise	4	10	4-0-4	90
	Bend over lateral raises	4	10	4-0-4	90
Abdominals	Crunches	4	10-15	4-0-4	60
	Rotation crunches	4	10-15	4-0-4	60

In this program, you exercise four times a week and do each muscle group once every eight days. For larger muscle groups – three different exercises and 12 sets. For smaller ones – two exercises and eight sets. The selection of exercises is adapted to target all parts of the muscle. The tempo of the exercises is a little slower, 4-0-4.

This type of training is suitable for people with more than nine months of experience in exercise.

4-8 weeks of hypertrophy training can also be added to this type of training.