Nick Nilsson - Mad Scientist Muscle: Time/Volume Training

Table of Contents

Mad Scientist Muscle Time/Volume Training

By Nick Nilsson

This program is all about building muscle and

building it FAST with unique, targeted,

science-based approaches...

...and yes, a little bit of insanity here and there :)

You see, in my 20+ years in the gym, Ive read a LOT of books and studies on muscle, fat-loss and exercise and yes, even many of those evil muscle magazines!

Ive also spent literally THOUSANDS of hours creating and innovating new exercises and training techniques with some pretty incredible results (thats where my nickname as the Mad Scientist of Exercise came about!).

The two pictures below are of me...the purpose of which is to show you that I practice what I preach. I love to train for MASS and I love training with heavy weight.

So Enough About Me...What Is Mad Scientist Muscle?

Glad you asked! Lets get right into it...

First, in this mass-building program, youre going to be strategically manipulating the types of training youre doing along with the volume, the frequency and the intensity in order to literally FORCE your body to grow.

Second, youre also going to be using a number of very targeted, very specialized training techniques designed to physically CHANGE the underlying structure of your body to help better support muscle growth.

Ill explain...

Mad Scientis Principle #1

Planned Overtraining and Rebound.

The core program structuring principle youll be putting to work is known by many names... Accumulation and Intensification and Dual Factor Theory are two of the most common.

As far as this base concept goes, I definitely wont pretend that I created it...its been around for a LONG time in various forms and has been used and talked about by many top coaches and trainers such as Charles Poliquin, Charlie Francis, and many Eastern Bloc coaches.

There is a tremendous amount of research on the subject and I could give you a HUGELY detailed physiological explanation of how it all works but I have a feeling youd rather just know how its going to build muscle on you :)

So here goes...

Basically, for a period of a few weeks, you will increase workload by increasing training volume (number of sets for each bodypart) and decreasing rest periods between sets until you get to the point at or near overtraining. This is accumulation as youre accumulating workload and fatigue on the body and demanding more of it than that is currently able to recovery fully from.

When you REACH that point, you then back off and dramatically reduce the training volume, doing fewer sets, while also increasing rest periods between sets. This is the intensification part of things and its where the REAL growth happens.

Heres what it looks like graphical form...the white area in the in middle is the optimal zone for muscle growth. As you can see, youre spending a LOT of time there with this program!

When you begin the program, you gradually accumulate workload and training volume, moving more and more towards overtraining. This training on the edge is where the REAL results are - you wont get anywhere if you stay too far away from it!

At the end of the accumulation phase, youve hit Overtraining. THAT is when we back off and reduce the training volume, increase rest periods and start using heavier weights. This intensification will gradually move you towards undertraining as your body adapts to the reduced workload.

This is followed by a deloading phase where you pull WAY back on your training and allow your body to more fully recover before you start ramping back up in the next training cycle.

Think of a car going up a hill with the gas pedal down. As you come to the top, youve got the pedal floored but youre not going very fast...youre overtraining the engine, to borrow a term you might be familiar with.

Now you go over the top and start heading down the other side. If you keep that pedal floored, youre going to start going VERY fast! Your body/engine is no longer overtrained by the steep grade but its still pushing just as hard.

THAT is the power of this type of training. Youre going to systematically push your bodys gas pedal to the point where you have it floored and arent really going anywhere, then youre going to pull back and let it ROAR forward. The results you get from this type of overtraining and rebounding can be HUGE and THAT is what this program will do for you.

Now heres an eye-opener for you...

With normal training programs that dont take your bodys response to workload into account, you can get into either of two outcomes, neither of which is desirable.

In the graph below, youll see two lines...the top graph line is Too Much Volume/Intensity. The bottom graph line is Not Enough Volume/Intensity. Both hypothetical training programs spend time in the optimal training zone and both will get you results for awhile...

In the top line, the problem happens when the program DOESNT PULL BACK. You hit overtraining and your body stops getting results. The usual response? Add even MORE volume and/or intensity. This can result in chronic overtraining and hitting a MAJOR plateau in your training. The only cure is backing off.

In the bottom line, the problem happens when your body adapts and you DONT INCREASE volume or intensity...i.e. you keep doing what youre doing. This is chronic UNDER-training and itll put a stop to your results, too.

Accumulation and Intensification is the Cure...

So what Ive done is taken this core framework of planned overtraining and rebound and created this program using THE most effective muscle-and-strength-building techniques and training session structures Ive read about or come up with myself in my 20+ mad scientist years in the gym.

This program is packed with very powerful training techniques designed to build MASSIVE muscle all structured on this type of volume/intensity-driven format.

This program attacks muscle growth on a SYSTEMIC level...youre going to be using the adaptive power of your entire body as a system rather than trying to grow bodyparts in isolation.

Mad Scientis Principle #2

Training to Change Your Physiology to
Better Support Muscle Grwoth

When it comes right down to it, there are real physiological reasons why some people dont gain muscle quickly and some do. There are some factors you cant do anything about (e.g. genetics, predominant muscle-fibers types, and basic hormonal make-up) but there are MANY factors you can focus on in your training that can actually change your base physiology to make it more favorable to muscle growth.

I like to compare it to building a house...

Youre going to be able to build a bigger, better house (i.e. muscle mass) when the walls and beams are thicker and stronger (bones and connective tissue), the plumbing is better (your circulatory system) and your electrical system is more efficient (your nervous system).