I am about to start Poliquin’s original GVT program after coming back from a shoulder injury. I would like to favor my upper body pulling muscles over my pushing muscles while still adhering to the program as strictly as possible.
My first question is whether there is any benefit to performing the workouts either in a sequence or in super-sets. I believe he states that one can use either method. Ideally on day one I would like to perform all 10 sets of chins before the decline DB presses.
My second question is, if the sequence method is okay for me, what would the ideal rest periods be? In the intro he states:
“there is minimal rest between sets (about 60 seconds when performed in sequence and 90-120 seconds when performed as a superset), which incurs cumulative fatigue.”
This would lead me to believe I should use 60 second rest periods but his sample routine shows 90 second rest periods for the A exercises and 60 seconds for the B. He also writes:
“Notes: Rest 90 seconds between each “A” exercise and each superset; rest 60 seconds between each “B” exercise and each superset.”
So that is a long way of asking if I should use 60 or 90 seconds for the A exercises.
Also, if I can’t do 10x10 for chins shold I use another exercise? Thanks
hey bro…I ain’t no bodybuilder now, but back in my times I did my share of GVT.
On the rest periods, these are not that strict…generally I start with short 60 secs…and go aprox 2 min for the last sets.
The trick is not doing 10x10…but actually like
10
10
10
10
10
8
8
7
9
8
actually is to try to get as close to 10x10 as possible. You’ll notice some weird ups and downs…not linear.
On the chins…you can always do the variation of GVT that is 5x10, thou.
I think superset is better than straight thru the exercises…I would also do some incline variant of press instead of decline, but that is personal preference.
I tried to give myself no more than 15 minutes to complete 10 straight sets, and no more that 25 minutes to perform 10 supersets, but tried to pace myself within this time frame. This was with a “most efficient” tempo though.
Remember that if you use his protocol, you use a 4 second eccentric and probably take 60 seconds from start to finish for a set of 10. in this case, I would probably go for 25 minutes for 10 straight sets and 45 minutes for 10 supersets. I don’t think the 10 x 10 is ideal for anyone though. If you are strong, then the load is too small.
If you are just beginning, you will crash after a few sets. I recommend trying 10 x 5 or 10 x 6 IF you want to use the 4 second eccentric-in which case, really focus on doing perfect reps.