Serge Nubret remains one of most influential bodybuilders. He had an incredibly aesthetic physique, which he maintained until the end of his life. Even in his 60s and beyond, he was muscular and lean. Naturally, Serge Nubret’s amazing appearance made people interested in his training methods.
According to Serge himself, he relied on super high volume and frequent training. He didn’t use very heavy weights, but the short rest periods and the number of repetitions made his method effective and intense. Serge was training for hours and hours in the gym.
However, I don’t think that natural bodybuilders should not train like Serge Nubret. His training methods are inferior for the most part and do not tell the whole story.
1.Serge Nubret used drugs
I am almost sorry to inform you, but it is extremely unlikely that Serge Nubret was a natural bodybuilder. According to underground sources, his favorite muscle drug was negma parabolin – a highly effective anabolic steroid no longer produced in its original form.
Also, what do you think is behind Nubret’s amazing physique in his 60s and 70s? Of course, many naive souls would like you to believe that the awesomeness was maintained solely by training and nutrition, but that’s only a small part of the picture. The muscle elixirs and the genetics took care of the rest.
Moreover, if we assume that Serge Nubret was a natural bodybuilder, that would mean that he was on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s level without drugs. If that’s possible, what would he look like on drugs? It makes absolutely no sense that a person so obsessed with bodybuilding wouldn’t go all the way to beat the competition.
2.Lifting for the pump makes you weak
If you lift light weights for many repetitions, you develop endurance. To acquire strength, one has to lift heavier weights.
The method of Serge Nubret calls for many reps and sets, but the weight is light. As a result, the body and the nervous system never get used to heavier loads.
As a natural bodybuilder, you have to improve your strength, even if that’s not your main goal.
3.Who has the time?
Who has the time to train for hours 6 days a week? Very few.
Serge Nubret was a professional bodybuilder. Pumping iron was his job. Copying him will not work for the average person.
Bottom line: Nubret’s method is simply not practical for most people, even for bodybuilders on steroids. You can reach your potential without investing so much time into pump routines. Nonetheless, you can still train this way if your heart wants it.
I do not know if Serge Nubret was natty or not but I did read this once (to paraphrase):
“Light weights and high volume can increase strength. How? The muscles use a minimum of fibres within a muscle, once those fibres are exhausted, the muscle then uses the other fibres, and so on until every fibre is exhausted.”
If anyone does not believe that light weights and high reps cannot build muscle then go take a look at the thighs on a long distance cyclist or a drummer in a rock band, the calves on a window cleaner, the forearms of ropemaking sailors of old.
Sorry, I meant “If anyone does not believe that light weights and high reps CAN build muscle…”
as mr .truth seeker says all the time that naturals cannot look like their favourite muscle heroes then why punish your body by testing your 1rep max and striving for progressive overload every single day?
for the last 3 years im consistently lifting lighter weights.
in otherwords im doing pump training.now the real question is do i look good like serge nubert? answer:no
am i a bigger than serge nubert?
answer :no
do people notices me when i walk in the street?
answer:no
do people admire my phisique?
answer:no
is serge nubert training effective ?
answer:who cares
atleast i dont sit in my sofa and watches tv with beer
instead i workout.im not obese,i dont have any illness.my body loves me,i love my body too.
that is what important.f*** what others say/
(BTw This is a fantastic site)
It’s articles like these that held me back from making the best progress of my life in the gym. Namely the belief that pump training with light weights doesn’t build strength/size. This is very wrong. Training for endurance requires far lighter loads than what most consider lightweight in bodybuilding. A weight you can lift for 150+ reps is what I’d consider conducive to endurance training. Even then you can gain muscle. I noticed this when I started doing a lot of mountain biking. My legs grew enormous from riding up steep hills. I also noticed I was much stronger in the squat as a result. This transformed my view of training for size/strength in the gym and I dramatically increased my volume and reduced loads in the gym. Here’s something to try. Find a weight you can lift for 20-30 reps to failure. Try doing 32 sets for chest by pairing and supersetting 4 chest exercises (8 sets an exercise) Allow no rest between sets and drop weight as needed to get reps each set. You’ll likely have cut the load in half by the time you’re at your 8th set. Take no set to positive failure (1-2 reps shy is perfect) If you can complete all 8 sets without having to drop weight first time round you’ve chosen too light a load to begin with. The principal of progressive overload still applies with this idea being to strip less weight off over time. Eventually when you’ve worked up to 8 sets without dropping the load you’ll not only have gained a lot of muscle but also strength despite never lifting heavy. Your form and mind/muscle connection on exercises will also be impeccable allowing maximal muscle contractions. You do not need to train for hours a day either. The aforementioned chest routine takes no longer than 40 minutes to complete despite the volume. Training all large muscle groups like this twice a week would see you train 40 minutes a day 6 days a week. Always focus on contracting the muscle you’re targeting and gauge progress not only by your performance but the pump. You should blow up like a balloon every workout due to the volume and short rest periods.
Bob, Good post. I too was sceptical about these lower weight, high volume routines – But i’m glad i tried them.
After using the great Serge Nubret’s routine, within 6 months i added around 30lbs to my frame, majority was muscle. People were even accusing me of steroid use. I never felt ‘overtrained’, my joints felts good and i had was regret. regret that i wasted years on heavy weight low volume garbage. Thanks for your comment, people need to try these kinds of routines.
Pics?
I personally trained with Serge Nubret back in the 80’s at World Gym when doing a guest appearance at a local bodybuilding show. I was the only guy in the gym that spoke French so I got stuck counting sets of 100 hundred reps for each set of Nubret’s body weight squats that he would do on the ball of his feet not flat footed, he would go all the down seating on his calves up and down quite fast with no weight just his own body weight while his hands remains at his waist.
All roads lead to Rome.
Heavy weight low volume only leads to injuries thus a shorter career(like Arnold, Ronnie, etc), and it’s harder for natty to achieve crazy weights too. Low weight high reps, on the other hand, leads to maximum volumes, as applied by athletes like Jay cutler, it is way more effective, safe, healthy, and smart than ego lifting.
So much BS in 1 article. Heavy weights believer, ROFL