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60 years ago . . . November 1958
HIGH VOLUME HELL
by Neil "Yoda" Hill (2018)
My own program, Y3T (Yoda 3 Training) - which I use to train elite level bodybuilders like William Bonac and Flex Lewis - has gained a reputation among even the most hardcore trainees as being, well, absolutely painstakingly savage.
More specifically, the third week of the program, aka "Hell Week," has gained an infamous reputation because of the high-rep brutality deployed for total muscle annihilation.
This is not just for effect, though - high rep training within the Y3T cycle is an immensely potent hypertrophy tool that can transform a stubborn muscle group into one that turns heads. Below, I dig deep into the fundamentals of Week 3 of Y3T and how it can help you achieve the best results of your life, along with a leg routine for you to try. But be warned: Shit is about to get serious.
High-rep training is something very few people ever experience, let alone apply correctly for an optimized hypertrophic response. Doing some drop sets at the end of a workout is not my idea of high-rep training. For the best results with high-rep training, your program needs to be periodized.
For instance, in Week One of Y3T the rep ranges are low, but you do more sets. This is less taxing on the central nervous system. In Week Two the rep ranges increase to a moderate load, while the working-set number decreases slightly. Finally, in Week Three the number of working sets is reduced further, yet the overall intensity (not referring here to % of max) goes up significantly for each working set due to the high rep ranges.
Leg Training Explained
There are three leg workouts (quads, hamstrings, calves) I suggest you try included here. The first thing you'll notice is that quads, hamstrings, and calves are broken up into three different days. This is for two reasons. The first being that three training sessions instead of one will grant you the opportunity to release more muscle-building hormones over time. The second reason is that high volume training is so taxing that, by the time you're done training quads, you'll be too fried to hit your hamstrings and calves with the intensity required for this type of training work.
Possibly the biggest mistake people make when applying high-rep training is picking the wrong weight and going too light. As a result, they get to around 80% of the target rep range and start to feel the burn. That's not Y3T high intensity, high rep training. About halfway through the set you should have to use rest-pause to finish. For instance, if the rep range on the leg press is between 20 and 30 reps, at around 10 reps you'll need to pause for a few seconds to recover. From here you might be doing a handful of reps at a time, breaking the set down like this until you're reduced to singles. This accurately describes how each set should feel, a vast difference to what most people perceive to be intense high-rep training. Please make sure you remember this when using Y3T, because it will make the difference between your experiencing the maximum benefits and not.
Quads:
Leg Extension, 3-4 sets x 12-15 reps, warming up
Leg Extension, 3-4 x 12-15
Leg Extension, 3 x 20-25, perform triple dropsets for each set.
Leg Press, 1-3 x warmup
Leg Press (all the way down, about 3/4 of the way up), 3 x 25-30, perform dropsets after each set.
Dumbbell Walking Lunge, 2 x 20-30
Barbell Squat, 2 x 20-25.
Hamstrings:
High-Stance Leg Press, 4 x 12-15
Standing One-Leg Curl, 4 x 20-25, perform dropsets after each set
High Stance Leg Press, 3 x 20-30
Barbell Stiff-Legged Deadlift, 3 x15-20.
Calves:
Seated Calf Raise, 4 x 12-15, 2 seconds up, contract hard, 2-3 second lower
Leg Press Calf Raise, 3 x 20-30, perform dropsets after each set
Seated Calf Raise, 3 x 20-30, perform dropsets after each set.
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