Progressive Volume Training Week 1

After eight days off from the gym and my longest rest period in years, I was itching to get into this workout routine. For the first week, workouts include ten working sets for each muscle group. The only exceptions were abs and calves since they are used to less volume from my previous training split.

I’ll walk you through the exercises and number of sets for each workout so you can get a feel for how it looks. And I’ll share some insights into how I felt each day.

Day 1: Biceps & Triceps

1. JM Press – 4 sets
2. DB Inc Skull Crusher – 3 sets
3. EZ Bar Cable Pressdown – 3 sets
4. Barbell Curl – 4 sets
5. Incline Hammer Curl – 3 sets
6. Cable Preacher Curl – 3 sets

Remember, I designed this program with two arm days to give them twice as much volume as any other muscle group to elicit significant growth.

The first arm day of the week was relatively easy because I’m already used to doing 20-25 sets per week for biceps and triceps. But after the time off, the pump was incredible.

Day 2: Chest & Side Delts

1. Dumbbell Incline Bench – 4 sets
2. Chest Dips – 3 sets
3. Machine Fly – 3 sets
4. Seated DB Lateral Raise – 5 sets
5. Barbell Front Raise – 5 sets

I didn’t realize how little volume my side delts had been getting. Like most people, I was doing 3 to 4 sets of lateral raises on shoulder day and calling it good.

So, after five straight sets of lateral raises, my side delts were already screaming. They were totally done after five sets of barbell front raises with a pronated grip to target them even more.

Day 3: Back & Rear Delts

1. Pull Ups – 4 sets
2. Single Dumbbell Row – 3 sets
3. Cable Pullover – 3 sets
4. Barbell Upright Row – 5 sets
5. Incline Rear Delt Fly – 5 sets

Back day was relatively easy with ten total sets. But as with side delts, the rear delts probably weren’t getting ten sets worth of action in two weeks, much less one workout.

Needless to say, they were about as pumped as I’ve ever seen them after the upright rows and rear delt flyes.

Day 4: Quads & Abs

1. Heel Elevated Barbell Squats – 4 sets
2. Heel Elevated Goblet Squats – 3 sets
3. Leg Extensions – 3 sets
4. Floor Crunch – 3 sets
5. Rope Crunch – 3 sets

Quads are one of those muscle groups that feel like they get trained pretty hard on leg day. But for most of us, it’s from a handful of sets of squats and leg presses.

If you really wanna feel your quads scream, try doing ten sets of heel-elevated squat variations. My quads were sensitive to the touch for at least three days after this workout.

Also, I had been neglecting abs for about a month before this, so it was all I could do to get through six sets without cramping. At this point, I wondered if my volume progression was realistic.

Day 5: Biceps & Triceps 2

1. Rope Pressdown – 4 sets
2. DB Skull Crusher – 3 sets
3. DB French Press – 3 sets
4. EZ Cable Curl – 4 sets
5. DB Hammer Curl – 3 sets
6. DB Spider Curl – 3 sets

The second arm day reassured me that my muscles could recover between these workouts. I had no lingering soreness and completed the workout with 60-second rests between sets.

Day 6: Hamstrings & Calves

1. Dumbbell RDLs – 4 sets
2. Standing Leg Curl – 3 sets
3. Landmine Stiff Leg Deadlift – 3 sets
4. Barbell Standing Calf Raise – 6 sets

The final workout of the week targeted two more often lagging muscle groups. My hamstrings were accustomed to 4 weekly sets and definitely were not prepared for 10.

Also, it had been two weeks since I did a workout involving four sets of calf raises with 205 pounds. I decided to blitz them with six straight sets at 225 in this workout.

It’s now been more than 72 hours since this workout, and my calves are still so tight it hurts when I straighten my legs.

Day 7: Rest

Finally, the final day of the week was a much-needed rest day. My muscles were aching, but my recovery metrics were primed for more on Monday morning.

As long as I’m recovering from my workouts, the muscle soreness isn’t a bad thing. The way I see it, if the first week of this program has shocked my muscles this much, they should respond in ways I haven’t seen in years.

This week, I’ll add two sets to each muscle group. I will record the weight and number of reps completed on each lift to ensure I’m not backsliding, which would indicate too much training volume.