Dan's approach to volume training is a bit different
- you won't be going anywhere NEAR failure on any
of the sets.
His approach is based
on the thought that your body doesn't really know
the difference between a 200 lb barbell pressing down
on your chest or a 200 lb log pressing down on your
chest to crush you. The result in stress on the body,
which increases cortisol production...the more stressful
the event, the more cortisol is released.
So when you push to
failure, your body sees it as a life-or-death emergency
and pumps out the cortisol, which, if course, acts
directly against the muscle-building process.
So by staying away from
failure, you keep that catabolic action under control.
Think of it this way
as well...you will RARELY if EVER see a top professional
athlete work any exercise to failure. The potential
for injury is too great and the nervous system impact
is too much (and will interfere with skill practice).
Dan goes into much
greater detail about the rationale behind his approach
to volume training in the book - it's a good read.
If you're a High-Intensity
Training devotee, you'll probably have a tough time
digesting the idea of doing high-volume training but
honestly, it might be a good change for you, especially
if you've been on HIT for a long time.
In the book, Dan does
a nice job of covering all the training basics...exercises,
nutrition, supplements, etc. - definitely solid information
there. You'll even some good recipes for meals for
muscle-building.
You'll see a lot more
isolation exercises than I would normally prescribe
and the structure of the program is quite a bit different
than what I would normally use as well.
For the stated goal
of this program, this could certainly be an effective
alternative to high-intensity training. You're definitely
not going to burn out your nervous system with this
style of training and it might be just what the doctor
ordered to get you making progress again.
If you've been stuck
at a muscle-growth plateau for quite awhile, this
could be a good alternative to a more intensity-based
program.
So bottom line, Dan
and I are definitely on the same page when it comes
to training volume and increasing the workload
on the muscles through increasing that training volume.
But we do differ on how to apply that concept when
it comes to program design.
It's an approach that
may not suit everybody but might be a nice break for
your body from more nervous-system-intensive training.
Definitely worth
having a look at to see if it would be a match for
you!
