GVT and fat loss
The main driver of fat loss is your diet. GVT is a program most suited for muscle gain and therefore not ideally paired with the goal of fat loss. HIIT and prolonged cardio are the better programs to achieve the goal of fat loss.
What are your goals
Why are you researching German Volume Training and fat loss? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to be more attractive to the other sex? Do you want to make the team? Whatever brought you here it is important that you k ow what you are looking for. When I talk to beginners their goals are often fussy. Fussy goals get you fussy results. Get clarity around what you want and what you are willing to give up for it. This way you will make progress. There are three main fields in fitness
- Performance
- Looks
- Health
If performance is your holy grail you strive for results. You want the trophy. If you are not pursuing a place on the podium you want to break a personal record. If it is not a personal record you want tot of something that you were not able to do before. In this group the main ingredient for success is intensity. You will sweat, feel pain and hate your routine at times. Your food is merely fuel to push you through. The risk of injury is a price you willingly pay. This attitude will either make or break you. At least you died trying.
If you are all about looks the media or your peers form your self-respect. You want to abide by a standard that is accepted in the general public or amongst your closest friends. Diet is the main driver to achieve this goal one way or another. Exercise can help but is not the deciding factor. You might starve yourself for that perfect physique. Whether you get a trophy, in the end, is not your main concern. In fact, your dietary habits might even harm performance in the gym and in the pitch.
The last cohort is interested in health. For you, it is all about a balanced life. You avoid the extreme choices. Therefore it is very unlikely for you to get injured or achieve something remarkable. Greatness just is not found on the middle ground. That is ok with you. You don’t want the stress of making it to the or being admired by people who do not really care about you.
As you are looking to combine German Volume Training with fat loss you most likely fall into the looks bracket. It could be a performance too, but it is less likely. Revisit your goals based on this and question whether life old is really your main priority and why you want to look a certain way.
German Volume Training
German Volume Training is one of the most popular hypertrophy programs out there. As it is so popular you will find many variations. My personal favorite template is:
- 10 repetitions for
- 10 set at
- 60% of one repetition maximum with
- 30 seconds rest in between
With this template, I managed to put on 2.5kg of muscle in one month. The exercises I used were the
You can also use machines like the leg press, leg curls and lat pull down. If you prefer Dumbbell work that is also an option.
The biggest advantages of German Volume Training are its simplicity and effectiveness. I have yet to find a better program to build muscle. It is easy to follow and does the trick. No complex calculations are needed to start.
The biggest disadvantages of the program are the time it takes and how it scales. If you rest for two minutes between sets you have already spent twenty minutes in the gym without doing anything. It is also hard to track progress among 100 repetitions per exercise.
In total, I like GVT for sprints for a month compared with a proper bulk. I am mainly strength focused and therefore do not care a lot about the pump you get from GVT.
Fat loss
Fat loss is a complex topic and you will find many opinions about it. Fat loss is also not the same as weight loss even though it is used synonymously.
The best way to lose fat is to take in fewer calories. Fat is created when you go into caloric surplus. Your body takes the excess energy and stores it long term in form of fat.
Another way of losing fat is to deprive your body of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates or sugar are the preferred option of your body for short-term energy release. As long as there is enough around it will be burned before fat for energy. The ketogenic diet works based on this assumption.
The advantages of fat loss are a better look and less excess weight to carry around. If you do not need a lot of power and less weight is beneficial to your sport this is the way to go.
The biggest disadvantages of fat loss are a loss of protective tissue and long-term energy reservoirs. If you benefit from insulation or additional energy to burn a bit of fat can do you good. If you perform your sport in cold territory you might appreciate a little fat to keep you warmer. Heavyweight boxers also use fat on purpose to protect their body from heavy hits.
Can you use GVT to lose fat
GVT is not the main driver to lose fat, your diet is. Compared to doing nothing it is always the better option. An argument made in favor of GVT for fat loss is that muscle burns more calories than fat tissue. The question is how much muscle tissue you actually need to benefit from this effect. I would argue that high-intensity interval training still gives you the benefit of building muscle while also tying in cardiovascular effects. This is, of course, if fat loss is your main priority. If building mass is the main goal, go with GVT and pair it with a caloric surplus.
Further reading
- Can you mix German Volume Training and Stronglifts 5x5
- German Volume training 4-week review
- German Volume Training vs Wendler 531
- German Volume Training vs Stronglifts 5x5
- German Volume Training for CrossFit
- How to prepare for German Volume Training
- Is German Volume Training better than Stronglifts 5x5
- Smolov vs German Volume Training
