With roots based with strength coaching, and as based off of the name with roots based in Germany, this style of training has the goal of putting on muscle faster through volume and rate of difficulty. The goal is any strength and muscle building program is to achieve muscle stimulation in all muscle fibers for the body to adapt and grow. Volume is one of the most critical factors in achieving this kind of stimulation (Kraemer, Ratamess, 2004). German Volume Training incorporates this principle into a program of 10 sets of 10 reps with a short amount of rest between sets (60 seconds). A typical German Volume Training program consists of 10 sets of 10 reps for two compound resistance exercise loads at loads close to 60% of one’s 1 rep max (1RM) or an athlete’s 20 rep max. This kind of program has traditionally been used by strength and conditioning coaches for athletes during their off season to put on as much strength and muscle in the shortest amount of time. Studies have shown strength increases with German Volume Training and even in modified German Volume Training (Hackett et al, 2018). Hypertrophy and muscle gain have found to increase with German Volume Training with Modified versions of GVT having found more muscle gain measurements in lean mass, trunk and arms (Amirthalingham et al , 2017).
Amirthalingam, T., Mavros, Y., Wilson, G. C., Clarke, J. L., Mitchell, L., & Hackett, D. A. (2017). Effects of a modified German volume training program on muscular hypertrophy and strength. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 31(11), 3109-3119.
Hackett, D. A., Amirthalingam, T., Mitchell, L., Mavros, Y., Wilson, G. C., & Halaki, M. (2018). Effects of a 12-Week Modified German Volume Training Program on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy-A Pilot Study. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 6(1), 7. doi:10.3390/sports6010007
Kraemer, W. J., & Ratamess, N. A. (2004). Fundamentals of resistance training: progression and exercise prescription. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 36(4), 674-688.