Questions about volume and tonnage

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Dr. Feigenbaum and Dr. Baraki,

I have a few questions regarding the principle of volume driving progress in post novice programs:

  1. Does tonnage matter? E.g Hypothetically, say Program A has relatively higher submaximal volume but relatively lower overall tonnage as compared to Program B which has relatively lower volume but relatively higher intensities resulting in a higher net tonnage, will Program A still provide ‘better gainzZz’?

  2. What are your views on minimum effective dose? With all ‘horror stories’ of individuals adapting to high volume training and not having headroom to make prerequisite volume increases for progress anymore, should one be worried if he/she was prescribed a program with much higher volume than he/she was previously doing with successful progress before stalling? (Not talking about anything insane like smolov or German volume training)

Thank you so much for reading this. Hope to hear from you guys!

2

  1. This question is unfortunately not specific enough to be answerable here. Would need to see more details about the program comparison to hazard a guess, as well as knowing how you’re defining / measuring “gainzZz”.

  2. My views on the “minimum effective dose” concept are that it is completely appropriate way to go about things in the novice phase, as the evidence suggests that higher versus lower volume work makes little difference in strength adaptation among untrained/novice trainees.

However, in the post-novice phase, things change, and we have evidence that higher training volumes outperform lower training volumes for outcomes of hypertrophy and strength. Given the structural and physiological determinants of muscular force production, it seems to me that doing the minimum effective dose in a post-novice trainee is a great way to get the “minimum acceptable results”. Despite the “horror stories” you describe, I have yet to see a single actual case of this occurring, when programming was managed appropriately.

I’d rather the post-novice trainee DO MORE, build more muscle (which increases their long-term strength potential), rather than obsessing over how much weight you lifted today, and even reducing your training volume (compromising training status and long-term outcomes) to facilitate more weight on the bar today. Almost paradoxically, it seems to me that using the “minimum effective dose” concept in intermediate and advanced trainees is the exact opposite of a “long-term development” plan.