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Pump Up The Volume

April 27, 2010

This a program advocated by powerlifting guru Jim Wendler that’s very effective in building slabs of muscle.

Which is what most of you want, right?

I thought so.

This is a modifed version of the routine from Jim’s great ebook “The 5-3-1 Method.”

The program adds a little more volume than I usually recommend, but sometimes more volume isn’t a bad thing, provided the volume is applied to a solid program that keeps overtraining in check.

The Pump up the Volume routine does just that.

You’ll workout four days a week; I like doing a Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Friday schedule, but you can pick the days that are right for you.

The workouts will consist of one of the four major lifts – squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press – with one or two assistance exercises thrown in for muscle balance.

You have the option of training your work sets at 90% of your one-rep max or to failure. I like to go to failure. If you don’t, stick to 90% of your one-rep max.

If you don’t know your one-rep max there are dozens of calculators on the Internet you can check out.

You must lift heavy to get the maximum benefit from this program. Progressive resistance is the name of the game in weight training.

After your work sets, you’ll drop down to 40-50% of your one-rep max and do five sets of 10 on the same major exercises you just want to max on. Eventually you want to work up to 70% of your-one-rep max with these. Then finish up with your assistance exercises and get the hell out of the gym.

Try this for at least three months and be prepared to start buying new clothes.

Pump Up The Volume

Monday
Overhead Press 3 x 5 or 3 x F
Overhead Press 5 x 10 (40-70% of one-rep max)
Pulldowns 3 x 5 or 3 x F

Tuesday
Deadlift (any style) 3 x 5 or 3 x F
Deadlift (any style) 5 x 10 (40-70% of one-rep max)
Hanging Leg Raises 5 x 15

Thursday
Bench Press 3 x 5 or 3 x F
Bench Press 5 x 10 (40-70% of one-rep max)
Bent Over Rows 3 x 5, or 3 x F

Friday
Squats 3 x 5 or 3 x F
Squats 5 x 10 (40-70% of one-rep max)
Shrugs 3 x 5 or 3 x F

Notes: Always perform 1-2 warm-up sets for each exercise. Always have a spotter when you bench, unless you’re doing floor presses inside a rack. As always, increase poundages whenever possible, eat right, get adequate rest, and drink lots of water.

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Written by Brian Carson · Filed Under Workouts 

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