My experience with german volume training

[Shake]

I have NOT read anywhere GVT is for strength!!

[rhinochaser48]

GVT has it's place.

I like to do a 10x10 with fixed 30 second rest periods for calf work.

Also, most people would do much better if they did 2-3 weeks followed by 1 week of 6-8 rep work of low volume, and repeat. This will keep you from overtraining.

[VanillaGorilla]

I have NOT read anywhere GVT is for strength!!

It's not a program for strength at all. It is a program that is designed for size. You are taking a weight you can lift for 20 reps and trying to do 10x10 with it. You body will adapt to this and you could loose some strength. It should come back fairly easily when you change your training style. Just out of curiosity when did you try to bench 315? I hope it wasn't after you did 10 x10.lol It might be a good idea to try GVT for 3 weeks followed by three weeks of an explosive power lifting routine. I think many people don't really differentiate between body building and powerlifting and stay on the fence which is fine. I have seen guys who look great that couldn't bench 225 and I have seen guys who looked so bad that if you saw them you wouldn't think they worked out bench 405 like it was a feather. Most people kind of dabble in both.... they want to be strong and look good.
If you are after strength try using some of west side barbell's approaches.

[alv135]

If you benched 350 you should have been doing the advanced routine, not the beginner one

[propho]

or of realized you resurrected a 5 year old thread LOL

[nyoung807]

Lol.....

[stacywilliams]

The only muscle groups I felt over trained on was the arms. Everything else I just had to down the weight after sort of 6 or 7 sets by a fairly considerable amount. It is one hell of a workout, for example after chest day I could no longer run down the stairs :-P But as its more of a shock routine I found that it was completely beneficial, although if i where to do it again, I would alternate between incline and flat bench press as I haven't noticed much (if any) gains on the upper part of the chest.

[blackcj7]

getting your starting weights down is the most important thing (at least from my experience with GVT). First time I used it I went lighter then my 20 RM on squats and saw improvements in my leg size and small gains in strength.

Second time I used it I dropped 20 lb off my 20 RM on bench and began the program and ended up adding 30lb to my 10x10 on Bench and Squat by the end of it. I increased 5lb after completing 10x10 for two consecutive Bench/Squat days. I also increased rest times between each set, last couple of sets I would take 4-5 min rest periods.
(First time I did GVT I never actually completed a 10x10 of Bench on Bench/Back day)

Changed up the routine quite a bit to suit my body and changed up the auxiliary movements.
day 1: Bench and Squats 10x10, (Abs and Calves -varied exercises each workout)
day 2: Pushdowns and Shrugs 10x10, Reverse-Grip Skull Crushers and Military Press 3x10, Front/Side/Rear Raises 3x6 each
(my body responds best to doing Tri's the day after bench for some odd reason)
day 3: Pullups and Chinups 10x10, Pulley Row and EZ-curls 3x10, Lat Pulldown and Standing Curls 3x10
day 4: Rest
Repeat

Supplements: Staples, Pink Magic, Neovar and Drive

Bodyweight went up and down throughout the whole 2 months I was on this program. Lost some fat and gained good size mostly in chest, back and legs.

[Legacyfighter]

Most olympic athletes who did German Volume Training split their 10x10 up into two sessions of 5x10. This allowed for a little better recovery, longer increased testosteroned, and increased intensity. Maybe if you want to try 10x10 again, split it up into two sessions a day of 5x10

[jeffh3c]

Had some decent gains in size from GVT, but it definitely is not for strength. I really got bored of the monotony and went the other route of MAX OT. I loved that program.... doing a custom program from Layne presently and was making great gains until I f'ed up my knee.