Hi everyone! Has anyone else doing GVT noticed how sickingly weak you are? I mean to do that kind of volume and reps you have to use like NO WEIGHT. I went really light per TC’s advice and still didnt even get the reps. I was shaking like a leaf at the end. I wont even tell you about the leg workout. PATHETIC!! Those 1 1/3s are lethal.
Tell me about it Chris I felt like a total puss during the leg workout too. Those 1 1/3 narrow squats just about make me heave when done at the correct tempo. Try including the ham workout in conjunction w/ the quad work. I could barely walk afterwards and talk about pussy weight I felt like pardon the expression an old woman. I don’t think i broke 200 on any lift. I’ll be a happy man after the 4 weeks are over so I can load up the bar again.
When you did your GVT you did like 60%of your max right? What kind of rest intervals did you use and are you getting any noticable results out of it?
I would not use less than 50% of 1RM EVER, and generally not less than 60% 1RM. And for squats, figure that 2/3 of your bodyweight (Poliquin has said 3/4) is being lifted as well, and you should factor that in.
Example: 1RM in squat is 365 lb and you weigh 180. Two-thirds of 180 is 120, so your legs are really having to lift 485 lb total. Sixty percent of that is 291 lb, but
again, 120 lb of that will be bodyweight. So the barbell should be 171 lb, or call it 170 lb, for 60% 1RM. You would not generally ever go lighter than this. If the reps you get are not high, so be it…
When you see a drastic reduction in reps relative to fresh despite a long rest (4 minutes) you are “done.”
Also, I’ve noticed that a lot of people think Poliquin’s version of GVT is very brief rest between sets… not so! Usually it is 90 seconds, THEN DO ANOTHER EXERCISE which could easily be another minute, then another 90 seconds…
so four minutes total!
so bill, it sounds as if you might not be that big on the GVT2000? and if it is to be undertaken than to use much longer rest intervals? just started a cycle and now have no freaking idea how to train. im guessing GVT is not the answer
A rule of thumb when selecting weights for GVT is multiply the desired number of reps by two, and select RM for that weight be it 20 if the rep goal is 10 or 12 if the rep goal is 6. As for using GVT on a cycle, I’m not a roid expert (ok, I have very little knowledge), T-mag and this board are my only real sources of info, but I would think GVT would be great on a cycle. You may want to try some cold medication and an iron supplement, I hear that’s becoming a popular stack
Chris, no, it isn’t that I disapprove of GVT2000. So far as I can tell, TC is recommending the same kind of minimum weight, 60% 1RM, and I agree with him that a very valid method is to switch exercises and this is particularly appropriate when no one exercise is really all that sufficient for a given bodypart or is likely to cause
something analogous to repetitive strain injury.
The rest period IS shorter than I like and I do like Poliquin’s method of supersetting with an “opposite” kind of exercise. For example, a terrific and brutal combination is bench press and Yates (20 degree bent) barbell rows.
Here I do like to use those 2 exercises for 10 sets and it
has worked well for quite a few I’ve consulted as something to do in one of 2 weekly workouts for chest and back (other workout more traditional.)
TC’s approach has a much more general utility, basically being like doing 5 exercises 2 sets each, or a smaller
number still for no more than 3 sets each. You can make
this kind of training a bigger percentage of your overall
total training I believe.
There’s nothing invalid about brief rest but it’s not for
me, and particularly on squats, 60-90 seconds may be insane!
Why not fit in some calf work let’s say between squat sets… every 60 seconds you do an exercise, but you don’t come back to that same exercise until 4 minutes or so later. And you have a good rest.
weak? i think your just outta shape! i’ve been cycling GVT for awhile now.squating(full ass to the grass)205lbs with 90 sec without failing.i only weigh 139lbs! you just gotta get in shape
I was the biggest skeptic of GVT 2000 training when I started, since I usually like to keep my reps and volume low with longer rest periods. However, I needed something completely different in my training so I thought I’d give it a try. The first week was pure hell with soreness beyond belief but I wanted to stick it out and not give up. I’m now into my third week and I really like it. The soreness is much less now and my conditioning is getting alot better. We’ve only been taking 60-90 seconds rest betwen sets! My strength is also increasing with each workout. I wouldn’t recommend this routine to someone who is a sloth. It’s too taxing.
I like the old version. About two year ago, during an injury, I did only the leg GVT. I would squat, rest, walk to the leg curl machine (in another room), etc. I put 2" on my quads After I dieted down, I was left with a 1.5" increase. I’ve done GVT since with varying results.
Still, I doubt most people on this list could survive a GVT workout. Most want to ‘think’ about doing the exercises. After all, if you’re busy theorizing, you’re not bearing the pain of a GVT workout.
thanks for the thorough response bill. So you wouldnt do a general program of GVT for the entire body but would rather do it for certain bodyparts only? I would see this program being particularly effective for legs, but probably less so for arms and shoulders due to all the indirect work these muscles already receive. Would it make a difference if someone was ON?
Yes, I’d rather target GVT to specific bodyparts and do in only some workouts, rather than have an “all GVT all the time” program. Being “on” does enable one to tolerate
things and get results from them that otherwise one might
not, and an “ideal” program for the moment (there is no
such thing as a weekly workout program that is ideal for
all weeks) might include more GVT.
DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL GVT PROGRAM