Becoming an Athlete

I've never invented any original training concepts. I've never been or coached a world champion. I have no degrees or certifications to impress anyone with. All I have is a  passion to push myself to be the most exceptional that I'm capable of becoming, and a passion to learn the best route to achieve same. Right now I have a broken finger, but I have purchased a pair of wrist strap hooks that will enable my to keep rowing while my finger heals.  I'll also have to use machines for all my pressing, but that is still better than not making progress. The thing is, I'm still making more rapid gains in size, strength, and work capacity than at any other point in my life, and I'm about to turn 41.  I can only imagine if I'd run a few volume accumulation phases when I was in my 20s and 30s. It all goes back to Charles Poliquin and his popularization of the 10 Sets method, which he dubbed German Volume Training.  Before Mr. Poliquin's article in the 90s, V

This is the fastest I have ever built muscle and strength. And I'm doing at almost 41 years old, with a recently torn left bicep.  I have eliminated ego from my training and am taking a rational, simple, but extremely difficult path to increasing my training volume. My training partner and I are lifting 4 days per week.  Two days are the real result producing days. This is our Volume Accumulation program: Using the same weight for weeks 1  - 3 Week 1: Tuesday:     Deadlift & Dips: 10 x 5 Friday:       Deadlift & Dips: 10 x 6 Week 2: Tuesday:     Deadlift & Dips: 10 x 7 Friday:       Deadlift & Dips: 10 x 8 Week 3: Tuesday:     Deadlift & Dips: 10 x 9 Friday:       Deadlift & Dips: 10 x 10 Week 4: M,W,F: playing with heavy loads, low volume on bench press, overhead press, squat, cleans, rows Week 5 - 7 Add +40lbs to deadlift and repeat Add +25lbs to dips and repeat Tomorrow I'll finish Week 6 (10x8), and I've never felt so str