Guest Blog Post From Nick Nilsson – The “Mad Scientist” Of Bodybuilding.
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Time-Volume Training is one of my favorite “no brains required” methods for building muscle and strength like clockwork. When you do this style of training, you know EXACTLY what weight to use, how many reps to do, how long to do it for and when to increase the weight… ZERO brains required.
It’s a strategy that allows you to do a LOT of work for a muscle in a short period of time, which will stimulate muscle growth AND burn a lot of calories and boost your metabolism, contributing to significant fat loss. It’s GREAT stuff and a technique I think is absolutely worth using whether you’re looking to build muscle or burn fat. The formula for regular Time-Volume Training is simple… and you’ll be able to see exactly why I say “zero brains required”… |
 Nick Nilsson |
Select a weight you can do 10 reps with in a normal set:
Now do 3 reps.
Rest 10 seconds.
Do 3 more reps.
Rest 10 seconds…
and repeat until you can’t get 3 reps in a set.
(You’re going to be doing this for a 15 minute block of time).
Now switch your rest to 20 seconds and keep going with more 3 rep sets.
Repeat these with 20 seconds rest until you can’t get 3 reps again.
Then go to 30 seconds rest… and so on, to 40 seconds rest.
Repeat until your 15 minute block of time is done.
If you make it 1/3 of the way through (e.g. 5 minutes on a 15 minute block) still doing 10 seconds rest, then you increase the weight on that exercise in your next workout.
That’s it!
Time-Volume Training is a form of Density Training (density training has been used by Vince Gironda, Charles Staley and many others) that takes ALL the guesswork out. The exact sets and reps and rest are all laid out for you… All you have to do is the work.
Do Time-Volume Training with just one exercise per muscle group… e.g. bench press for 15 minutes straight to work chest, leg press for 15 minutes straight to work legs, etc.
This works VERY well. You’ll get a tremendous amount of time under tension for the target exercise and target muscles and you can see tremendous results both in muscle and fat loss.
Give this simple “Time Volume Training” technique a try in your next workout, and leave me a comment below letting me know how it works for you!
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And if you’d like to learn some other killer training tricks like this for stimulating new muscle growth in your stubborn bodyparts, than I highly recommend you check out Nick Nilsson’s new program:
“Mad Scientist Muscle” Nick is one of those guys who thinks outside the box. He is one of the most creative muscle building coaches that I know. I’ve picked up dozens of unique tips and tricks from following his programs and I regularly apply them to my own training. So if you are looking for a new twist to help you maximize your muscle growth. You owe it to yourself to check this program out. Click Here To Visit Nick’s Website. |
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38 Comments
Chris
I just tried this method with push ups and that got intense really quick! I am sure that this will build some mass really fast. Thanks for the tip
Weihong
What if I can’t get any 3 straight reps even adding more rest time whatsoever during the 5 minute block? Do I lighten the weight?
Solomon Lee
Dear Lee
I recently came across your 7 week deadlift cycle that you posted on your blog some time ago. It looks really awesome, but it seems to lack some information. How many times a week should I do the workout? Do I implement the deadlift cycle into my regular gym workout, or do I do the cycle on its own without a separate workout regime? I would be so grateful if you could clear these up for me
Fred
How would you incorperate this into a chest workout, or back etc. I assume you would want to perform incline/flat/flys? and not just a straight workout of incline?
Christian
Hi there Lee, just tried this out with the bench press, pretty sure i got a good chest workout. Anyway, just wanted to check with you, how often / regularly do u recommend we use this method, and also i read that u recommend we do one exercise for one muscle group, but is it okay to work on two muscle group on the same day using this method? Thanks a lot Lee. Im trying hard to build a bit more muscle while getting leaner and i visit ur blog frequently. Really helpful, thanks again!
solomen
Thank you for your post !
But I still couldn’t understand well……..sorry~
Always , I saw a lot of workout program suggest us to do until failure *every set* . So…I don’t know compare to this post , which one is better? In a scientific veiw…or a personal experience?
And personally , I have a little question …I remember you said that don’t cardio with a empty stomach , right?
But recently I saw a muscle builder buddy post *do cardio before breakfast in the morning…*
I don’t really know what can I follow to do my cardio to lose body fat.
Sincerely hope you can help me .Thank you very much^_^!
leehayward
Yes, you have to start off really light with this technique. It’s the volume and time under tension that will fatigue the muscles.
You should be able to get 3 reps with only 10 seconds rest for about 5 minutes.
Then for the next 5 minutes you should have to take between 20-30 seconds rest in order to complete 3 reps.
Then for the last 5 minutes you should be up to 30-40+ rest to complete your 3 rep sets.
leehayward
I left room for some flexibility here because this is an add on that you would include in your current back / deadlift workout. But you do this program once a week, preferably on back day. It would be your very first exercise of the workout (after a proper warm up of course).
Nick Nilsson
Weihong, Yep, that’s exactly what you’ll need to do – lighten up the weight so you can get the reps.
leehayward
Do this time volume technique as your main compound exercise for what ever body part you are training. Afterwards if you wanted to add in some isolation stuff to finish off that body part you could.
A sample chest workout may go like this:
Time Volume Training Bench Presses (15 minutes just like outlined above).
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 3 sets of 10 reps
Pec Deck Flyes 3 sets of 10 reps
A sample leg workout may go like this:
Time Volume Training Leg Presses (15 minutes just like outlined above).
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 10 reps
Leg Curls 3 sets of 10 reps
Bottom line, use this as your “main exercise” for each body part.
leehayward
You have a lot of flexibility in how you incorporate this into your training. But if you are going to pair up 2 body parts go with agonist and antagonist muscle groups (i.e. opposite muscle groups).
For example,
You could train chest and back using bench press and rows.
You could train biceps and triceps using curls and push downs.
You could train legs using leg extensions and leg curls.
etc…
leehayward
Please re-read the blog post again. You do NOT train to failure on each set, you stop at 3 reps, rest 10 seconds, and do another 3 reps…
It’s all explained in the blog post above.
As for cardio I DO recommend doing early morning cardio on an empty stomach. I do this personally when training for fat loss.
leehayward
I tried my best to answer the questions, but Nick if you have anything to add please do so as this is YOUR blog post… 😉
Christian
leehayward,
Thanks Lee! Gonna work on my biceps n triceps tmr when i hit the gym. Just to check with u though, its not recommended to use this method all the time right? I workout 3 times a week usually. So whats the most often i should use this method? Like 1 week per month or something? Thanks again Lee.
Jeff
Fred,
I just tried this 4 1st time. Think I did this right, but I just did one exercise in this style. I picked incline bench @185. Did for 15mins str8. After bout 10sets of 10sec rest, I started to struggle. No spotter so i rested for 20secs. Never made it to 40 sec rest within 15mins. But I did struggle with 3rd rep every time. No question its different, but not sure if I liked it or not. Did do 3 more exercises afterwards for just 3sets each. Had to go little lighter than I’m used too, fatigue set in faster! As I write this, chest is for sure “pumped up”. So, maybe I will give it another go next week. Thanks for the tip Lee. U da man!
leehayward
Generally you can stick to a set routine for about 4-6 weeks before your body adapts and plateaus. But the main thing is just monitor your progress and adjust things accordingly.
leehayward
Cool, thanks for sharing!
Nick Nilsson
Christian,
You can actually base an entire program off this! I do 15 minute blocks for back, chest and thighs and 7 1/2 minute blocks for biceps, triceps, calves, hamstrings. I do a 4 split, doing back, chest, biceps, triceps on Day (total workout time 45 minutes). Then everything else the next day.
You actually DO want to do this reguarly because the real power of this type of training lies in tracking how long you can go on 10 seconds rest then increasing weight once you can complete 1/3 of the way through (e.g. 5 minutes on the bigger parts, 2 1/2 min on the smaller parts).
Mik
I’m heading on vacation for about 8 days, no gym to go to but I have bands and as lot of open space and sand. Can you suggest a workout plan?
Also, how would you do this workout doing bodyweight exercises like pushups?
Thanks.
Nick Nilsson
Mik,
Hi Mik, ironically enough, I actually intended this style of training to be done with bodyweight exercises where you can get a lot of reps. You can utilize bodyweight exercise using this framework very easily – same exact concept, just changing the exercises.
Classic Bodybuilding
I physically find it very uncomfortable when using leg press machines, but I’ve been doing the king of exercises (back squats) for a few years, with good results. Do you think it would be a good idea to do back squats with different feet positions?
leehayward
Sure, you can mix it up and include different stances in your squat workouts.
When you use a wider stance you’ll work more hips, glutes, and hamstrings. When you use a closer stance you’ll work more quads.
Gary
Good post! This morning, I did this time-volume with my flat bench press and I’m amazed. I’ve been struggling with chest because of a triceps injury to my left — bottom line, no intensity. I saw this last night and got excited and couldn’t wait to try it this morning. Had to go to 20 sec. a little sooner than I liked, but once I got to 30, 40, and 50 it was a dream come true. I struggled with every 3rd rep, but it fit the bill and I had an excellent workout. I finished with incline dumbbells, then flat flies. I had to go a little lighter with the dumbbell weight, but that just shows I finally got some intensity! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
Chad
Nick/Lee
How many times a week could you do this chest workout? More than once?
Thanks.
Ankit
Great tip, thanx a lot Lee……
leehayward
You could certainly try it for a few weeks and see how it works for you. But personally I’d just do this style of training once a week for each muscle group.
Nick Nilsson
leehayward,
Once a week is good – I usually do it in the context of a program where I use it twice a week but with different exercises so as not to overload any single movement pattern.
Jonathan Lezondra
Hi Lee! Thanks for this great tip. I tried this out today with barbell bench press and felt the tension really building up. I tried this for 3 sets: set #1 50lbs/10 sec rests/15 mins, set #2 60lbs/20 sec rests/15 minutes, set #3 70lbs/30 sec rest/15 mins. you can really feel the tension in your muscles. Now my question is this: How often would you incorporate this kind of training in your weekly routine?? Can you substitute Time-Volume training with your regular chest routine or can you just add this AFTER your regular routine? I’m kind of confused as to how to incorporate this in your regular routine. Clarification please Lee. Thanks so much!
Markus
Can i do this type of training as a torso body workout? I can get to gym only 3 times a week and total body training have always worked well for me. What movements should i use?
Nick Nilsson
Markus,
Yep, absolutely – I would focus on the big exercises for back, chest and legs – the rest of your body will get worked secondarily just fine with focusing on those.
Jason
Will this lead to sarcoplasmic hypertrophy?
Andy
This is a very interesting concept. I’m intrigued to know whether this is effective or not. Have you been using time-volume training for a long time? If so, how would you describe its benefits over good old fashioned 8 – 12 rep training?
leehayward
Andy,
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This is another training tool that you have at your disposal. Basically your body will adapt to a set training routine within approx. 6 weeks. So in order to continue making progress over the long term you need to provide your body with unique muscle stimulation and this time volume approach provides totally unique training stimulation over a basic 3 sets of 10 reps routine. I’m not saying that it’s the end all be all “Best Workout Ever” program, but it’s another program that you can use to help continue making gains once your plateau with your current routine.
Nick
Great program. The only trouble I have is with the back and front squats. I have trouble getting the weight off the rack and setting up my feet in position quickly. Perhaps I could leave the weight on my back for the entire 15 minutes and just rest with my legs at the top position of the squat. I might have to lower the weight though. Any thoughts, ideas, or comments will be greatly appreciated.
kevin
While i realize this comment is suposed to be in relation to the posted article however,I just wanted to take the time to thank you for the information on growing monster lats i was gifted with great lats to build off however until i used exercises shown to me by yourself i never had the development i now have you know the kind people notice and stop to look at or even just come over to ask about so for this i thank you!!! I will continue to follow you because your one of the few i trust for real no b/s info.I will try the Time-Volume method in my next workout.
kevin
kevin,
Nemanja
what do you think about this
Monday-Thursday
Pull ups superset with chest dips
decline push ups superset with inverted rows
Tuesday-Friday
Chin ups superset with diamond push ups
bodyweight curls superset with triceps extension
Nobody
Weihong,
if you cant even lift the weight for 3 reps dont use it