The “Stairway” to High Volume Leg Training and Conditioning

Through my short, yet, potent stint as a trainer, bodybuilder, lifter, whatever it is that folks call other folks who make the decision to utilize their body’s physiological dynamics and years of evolutionary adapted muscle tissue and minds, I have always seemed to fall short on intensity.  I won’t lie, I’ve had it easy.  Packing on around ~22lbs of lean mass my first year without having to really work hard was awesome.  Print out routine from a website or magazine, go to the gym, train a few sets to failure, drink a shake, eat a pizza and get drunk afterwards.  Typical college lifting bro (minus the ego).

I became addicted to results.  Results were everything.  I moved out for college again, had responsibility over my own fridge and storage, cooked chicken every 3 days, pasta, quinoa, nutrient-dense food that my body really needed, instead of just pizza and alcohol and whatever I felt like getting at the random restaurant of the evening.  Results were everything, I would rue the day my progress slowed or ceased, I was afraid of the hard work I would eventually have to put in, the strictness of the diet and the intensity of the workouts.  That day still has not come.

However, after 15 months of lifting, 11 of which were done somewhat-properly, and 9 of which have included legs, I have decided for myself to ramp up the sets/reps in the gym.  The reason for this, I am unsure.  I teetered on the edge of a few high intensity workouts with squats, pound a few out, stretch, pound a few out, stretch, then walk right into a few 10-12 rep sets with weight I would normally only do 5-7 reps with.  Felt good.  The pump was good.  The dizziness was good, fatigue…masochism, it all added up and I enjoyed it.  It was about this time I damaged my left arm in a series of stupid mistakes.  Taking 3 weeks off from anything upper body I decided to tackle legs every 3 days.  The first day would be a low-volume high-weight day, the second, later in the week, would be a ridiculously intense high-volume medium-weight day.  The first challenge was the 20 rep squat.  I was thinking 185 would be good for my body weight (around 175-178 depending on my last pee/meal), but the allure of 225 was too strong.  I decided to go for it, what the hell, right?  Well, it was a bit easier than I thought (see video), at least, until I racked the weight, and realized I couldn’t stand.  As I fell to the ground, nearly dry-heaving, panting and crawling for water and my bag to possibly vomit in, something clicked in my brain.

This is what training is all about.

I have never experienced this type of euphoric, yet painful and almost spiritual state before.  I decided from then on, every leg day will incorporate at least one set like this, and possibly, when I recover from my injury, even other body parts can benefit from this type of training.  It makes sense, muscle growth is stimulated by the need to adapt to stress.  Stress your body with a certain compound lift with added sets and more time under the bar, the better you become at that lift, the more muscle you build, etc etc.

Yes, I walk funny the next day.  Yes, the toilet seat is my nemesis the next day.  Hell, when I shit, I am surprised my logs don’t come out as rectangles, or thin sheets of crap from how tight my glutes feel.  It is a constant reminder of the pain, the arduous task of exertion, complete hypertrophy, that feeling.

If you want to get started on this journey, you must prepare in advance or you will surely face some sort of mental or physical defeat along the way.  If you are used to 5×5 or 5/3/1, that’s great.  Try to ease into German Volume Training.  Start working with 10 rep sets of, say, your body weight.  If you can’t get 10, try 85% of your body weight.  Use the same progressive loading technique you see in Wendler’s and Rippetoe’s training books.  Do 3 sets of 10 the first week at 85%, then do 4 sets of 10 the next week at 85%, work to 5 sets, then start increasing the weight.  Get comfortable with the pump, the feeling of your central nervous system hiding in the dark recesses of your innards, shaking, smoking a cigarette and sipping a cup of coffee, the urge to vomit, and develop the desire to continue.

My next leg day is looking like this : 135×5, 225×3, 275×3, 315×5, 275×10, 225×12, 185×15, 135x(max)  (Bold indicates working sets).  As the weight starts dropping, the rest time starts dropping.  There is less need for focus and safety (though these are both imperative at all times), so I can deal with managing the weight, however, 315 is a lot for me, and requires focus for every single rep, so it gets a long break beforehand, and possibly after.  This is a lot of squatting, but after this I will generally move to some romanian deadlifts, some lunges, and maybe hamstring curls if I don’t feel satisfied with my posterior chain from the RDLs.