Control's Low-Volume Routine

[Control]

Control's Low-Volume Routine
By Control

This is a low-volume routine that I came up with a few years back. I've found it to be very effective. I have anybody who's just starting out lifting or who hasn't lifted in a long time do this routine. I also have anybody who has been over-training do this routine (after a two-week break). Finally, I still use this routine myself once in awhile, especially when I come off a long cycle (and all my cycles are long).

It's really simple:

Mon:
Squats alternate with deadlifts
Rows alternate with pull-ups

Thur:
Incline dumbell press alternate with dumbell military press
Weighted dips alternate with Close-grip bench

Sets are as follows: 1 warm-up set (real light weight)
Up to 3 "feel" sets (each set heavier than the last)
1 heavy set (This set, and only this set is to total, complete failure).

Reps for the warm-up set are 12-20, feel sets are anywhere from 3 reps to 8, Heavy set is 6-8, except for squats and deads. For squats and deads you should get at least 10 reps.

On the last set there's a few things you can do to make sure you reach complete failure. 1. Have a spotter help you get an extra 2-3 reps 2. Do a drop set 3. Do a rest-pause set.

The keys to making this work are:
- DO NOT take any set except the heavy set to failure
- DO take the heavy set to TOTAL failure! If you half-ass the heavy set you won't see gains. Well, you might. But not like you will if you treat that heavy set like it's life or death.
- Still eat like you're training 5-6 days a week.
- For close-grip bench it's not as close as most people go. About shoulder width. Too close and you'll wreck your wrists, plus we still want to involve the chest.
- You have to do pull-ups to get a wide back. If you're not strong enough to do a nice wide-grip pull-up with good form, get a spotter or use that pull-up/dip assist machine. Your goal should be to do full ROM pull-ups with weight hanging from your waist.
- A little extra warming-up is fine as long as it's real light. On thursday I would do some light-weight pushdowns to warm up my elbows. On Monday I would ride the bike for 10 minutes if I'm squatting or do a set of hyper-extensions if I'm deadlifting.
- You can make surprising strength gains on this routine and you should push yourself to lift heavier each week (even if it's just a tiny bit).

If you're thinking "How can I grow lifting twice a week?" all I have to say is; try it. It may not work forever, but then nothing does. If you do this routine with intensity and eat like you should you'll be amazed at how much you can grow off a low-volume routine....

[zed]

i had a funny feeling you would suggest a workout like that....I KNOW that it must work but I love the act of lifting tooooo much to do that. not to mention the crazy pumps...any way to spread that out or incorporate something else?? or is that the final word

[shortz]

Lowest volume I have ever used was 4 working sets for a large muscle and 3 sets for a small muscle. This is def LOW volume.

[Control]

Originally Posted by zed

i had a funny feeling you would suggest a workout like that....I KNOW that it must work but I love the act of lifting tooooo much to do that. not to mention the crazy pumps...any way to spread that out or incorporate something else?? or is that the final word

No routine is the final word, there's a million different routines out there that work (at least for awhile). This routine has several advantages but it won't provide optimal results forever. Eventually you would want to do more volume, of course. But if you've been over-traing and you can't figure out why you're not gaining (especially strength), switching to this routine can have AMAZING results. One thing I really have to emphasize though is that you must take the final set of each exercise to complete failure, use rest-pause sets, drop sets, forced-reps, whatever.

[zed]

wen u say absolute failure do u mean thers no way in gods name i can do one more rep even with a light ass weight or do u mean i got 40's for db curls i hit as many as i can and go until my arms refuse to move any longer?

[Dr Savage]

Nice routine control. I will keep it in mind for my low volume work definately.

[ROCKILLER]

I'm gonna try this. I just had a few questions: How long should I do it? a couple weeks, months, until it stops helping, etc? Also, just to do it right you mean on the first monday I do squats and rows then on the second I do deads and pullups. What is a ROM pullup? This last one is kind of a dumb question but does it matter if I do monday and friday? Just so you know, I'm going to try this because I think I've been overtraining a bit and I just started a new job and law school started up again so I need some time to work out a new schedule.
One last thing, what abot cardio? yes, no, off days, how long, etc.
Thanks for the help

[Control]

Originally Posted by ROCKILLER

I'm gonna try this. I just had a few questions: How long should I do it? a couple weeks, months, until it stops helping, etc? Also, just to do it right you mean on the first monday I do squats and rows then on the second I do deads and pullups. What is a ROM pullup? This last one is kind of a dumb question but does it matter if I do monday and friday? Just so you know, I'm going to try this because I think I've been overtraining a bit and I just started a new job and law school started up again so I need some time to work out a new schedule.
One last thing, what abot cardio? yes, no, off days, how long, etc.
Thanks for the help

Do it for at least 8 weeks, 12 would be better. ROM stands for Range Of Motion. You want to pull your chest up to the bar and lower yourself to a dead hang. Which days you lift don't matter, just have at least 2 days off between workouts. Actually, You could probably do 1 on 1 off and recover better than you would with alot of the routines I see. Cardio is fine, just not the day you squat or the day after.

[Control]

BTW, there are alot of variations you can try that may work better for you depending on your goals. For example if you can't do deads or don't like them you can just do squats on every leg/back day. I personally love deads but they are not for everybody. If you have access to a trap-bar I suggest doing trap-bar deads, or if you have heavy enough dumbells you can do them with dumbells. You can substitute a barbell for dumbells on inclines and military press. You can do CGBP on a decline or incline bench if that works better for you. Little adjustments like that (throwing in 5 sets of preacher curls is not a little adjustment, that defeats the whole purpose).