“high volume training works only if you take steroids”

The most frequent accusation against high-volume training was this: 

“High-volume training works only if you take steroids”

I see it on almost every comment section of every HIT videos.

This, though… was caused by one man, Mike Mentzer.

He basically said:

“The only reason why bodybuilders can recover from training 6 days a week 2 hours a day is simply because of steroids.”

And also Mike was a believer that if you’ve done 1 set, then there is no other reason to do another set.

But there is actually a reason why every athlete in the world does more than 1 set and even does high volume.

Take for example, a functional workout for athlete (I take this from Garage strength): 

• 5 sets of cleans
• 5 sets of squats
• 4 sets of nordic curls
• Follow up with bunch of sets of isolation and plyometrics…

Or take Reg Park and Silver era bodybuilders workout  (which are naturals); they do this workout 3x a week: 

• Lateral Raise Standing 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Squat 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Straight-Arm Pullovers on Bench with Dumbbell 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Toe Raise with Partner 4 sets of 30 reps
• Incline Bench Press with Dumbbells 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Lying Side Lateral Raise 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbell Tricep Extension 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Stiff-Leg Deadlift 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Chin-Ups 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Curl 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Curls 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Sit-Ups on Abdominal Bench 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Side Bends 3-4 sets of 10 reps
• Reverse Curl 3-4 sets of 10 reps

I mean it’s like 20+ sets per muscle group…

Or even Mike Tyson, he literally train 6 days a week, push up all the time, run all the time, and recover naturally.

But, when we look at the reason why this high volume workout might work is because it simply works.

They understand…

More sets = more training stress.

And so the best way to grow muscle is to accumulate as much as training stress as possible and recover from it. 

And this was the number 1 thing that is debated by Mike Mentzer… how many  sets are the maximum for a lifter to recover.

For Mike it was 1 – 3, but for them it is 40 – 50 sets.

Now… you can try it yourself, which is the right maximum, and for everyone, it was different.

I tried it… 

I go for 4 sets to failure per week, and I recover very well. Then I increase the volume, and I recover very well too. 

And what you gotta do is start slow maybe 4 sets per muscle per week. Then every month add 2 – 4 sets to your routine (not each muscle).

Try it out, and see if you can recover well and get stronger.

That’s it.

Kevin | Buildlikearnold.