Not trying to start an argument or anything, but if you are going to say stuff like that it would be helpful if you could give some directions to figure out what an appropriate training volume would be. I’m not new to this myself and I have a pretty good idea of what I need, and it’s pretty close to what you are advocating as well. But for some beginner/intermediate guys, they have no idea where to start.
So here is the question: for someone new to this, how would you decide that they have done enough work for today?
Sure! For the beginner, I personally believe they can get away with more volume and often need it. The muscle growth in beginners and even intermediates is the result of the neural adaption to learning the movements. Once that neural adaption has happened (more or less) then the rate of gains slow down.
I still think a beginner or intermediate is looking at something to the tune of 12-15 sets within a training session, mostly on the big lifts. For a beginner or intermediate it’s really about the volume within training the movements, and not muscle groups AS MUCH. The growth will take care of itself so long as they are learning the movements, and focusing on pure progressive overload.
And yes Nuckols was/is a big problem with this volume theory except that it doesn’t even hold up in the studies. I’m honestly not sure why so many of these guys are so emotionally attached to the volume for growth theory. And outside of Mike, none of them have any impressive degree of muscular development, but I guess anecdotal evidence doesn’t matter? Who knows. Nuckols hasn’t had a single idea of his own ever. I’m literally baffled that people follow him or think he’s an expert at anything. Still waiting on him to get lean since he wrote about that too. Can’t eye roll hard enough about that.
As far as Kirk, yup. That’s spot on. We’re close friends and have talked about training for hours on end. He would warm up to a top set of squats for the day and that was it. During meet prep, he’d do 6 weeks of no belt, no wraps, then try to hit an 8 rep PR in that 6 weeks. I believe his best was 655x8 no belt, no wraps. Then he’d slowly add the belt and wraps and suit in. But yeah the whole cycle was 1 top set. Coan trained the same way, and actually did a lot of Kirk’s programming over the years too.
Basically, the great majority of the strongest guys I know all trained this way. I truthfully don’t know of many big, strong guys that use a high volume approach. Not if you’re actually in the gym with them and count TRUE work sets, i.e. close to failure (either form failure or real failure).
The high volume systems that are supposed to be based in science? Few and far between use them and get massive and strong.