Volume or Intensity?

     I am going to start this post with some simple definitions. For our purposes, "volume" regards the amount of time a weight is lifted. "Intensity", on the other hand, refers to the heaviness of the weight lifted. IN GENERAL, you can manipulate one or the other to make progress without getting overtrained or injured. It is extremely difficult to increase both at the same time. In my opinion, and it has been backed up by YEARS of strength and hypertrophy coaching, intensity is the single most important variable when it comes to gaining real, solid muscle. 

    Volume training is where most people start, this is not a terrible idea because it will help to build connective tissue, which takes much longer to adapt to strength training than muscle tissue does. The classics: 3 sets of 5 reps routines, 5 sets of 5 rep, 3 sets of 10 rep are all fine for a rote beginner that is trying to perfect their form and stay uninjured as they gain neuromuscular control of a given weight. 

    However, if intensity isn't properly applied, then strength and muscular gains will quickly stop. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense: If your bench press starts at 3 sets of 10 reps with 100 pounds, your body will ADAPT to 3 sets of 10 w/ 100 lbs. Until you add 5 lbs, 3 sets of 10 w/ 100 lbs will ALWAYS feel heavy. 100 lbs will not feel light until your bench press is 125 lbs. That is actually a very common question I receive while doing my programs, "why don't we just stay at this weight until it feels easy?" The answer is it will always be hard unless you sack up and get stronger. The only way to get stronger is to add weight (increase intensity). 

    Your body won't adapt to stress unless it is extremely HARD! Growth via light weight is a fickle mistress. I am sure you have heard about the "pump". It is when you drive so much blood into a muscle via  volume that you feel like your chest, back or arms are going to pop. Well, the pump lasts for about 2-4 hours, then your muscles will shrink back down to their "natural" size. If the "pump" worked for building muscle, every bro in the gym would be built like a brick house. But I often see many bros sitting on one machine for what feels like an eternity, doing set after set nowhere near failure, and looking the same month after month and year after year. They chase the pump and the soreness, but they do not chase GAINS.

    In order to increase the size of tissue, great damage must occur. Every muscle fiber, including the huge "fast twitch", and the endurance slanted "slow twitch" muscle fibers, must be thoroughly exhausted to the point where another set would be almost impossible. There are many ways to increase intensity, but the simplest and most effective is to simply go to failure with heavy(ish) weights. 

    Now failure does not have to mean "absolute" failure, the point where you can not lift a weight no matter how hard you try to contract against it. It can mean going to technical failure, where you know the next rep will have your form completely breaking down and the cheating gets out of control. I have no issues with controlled cheating, but once it becomes dangerous, just call it a day. Once you have worked to failure enough, you can add a training partner to help you with "forced" reps, you can employ the "rest pause" method, or you can start adding "cluster sets". 

    High intensity failure training will grant you some of the best growth of your life, with real, dense, muscle tissue that won't go away when your pump is gone. It will take about 30-40 minutes as opposed to the 90 minute+ marathon sessions that volume training requires. It will keep your testosterone high and although it is very stressful, the stress is under control due to cutting back on frequency and volume. If your sleep is on point and you are consuming enough protein, you will see amazing progress. 

    Sometimes a movement makes it unsafe to go to failure, so I do not recommend absolute failure training for squats and deadlifts, bent over rows are a little iffy as well if you have a weak or injured lower back. Your goal should always be to fail in the 5-10 rep range to fully engage and exhaust the fast twitch muscle fibers, which have the most growth potential. If you only get 4, no big deal, just get 5-6 next time. And if you get 13, no big deal, just go to failure and increase the weight next time. 

    I have seen it time and time again, the clients that have the highest intensity get the best results, period. The folks that are just going through the motions or stop when it gets difficult (when it starts to get effective) are the folks where progress stalls or slows down drastically. A movement is not effective UNTIL it gets hard, once you hit that 4th rep and it starts to slow down, and you start to shake and break a sweat, NOW the reps are effective. 

Example high intensity day: 

1. Barbell back or front Squat (315 lb top set) - Warm up starting with the empty bar - 45 lbs x 10 reps, 135 lbs x 5 reps, 225 lbs x 2 reps, 275 lbs x 1 rep, then rest for a minute or two and hit 315 lbs for 1 set of 3-8 reps, ONE rep shy of failure, when it really slows down and you know the next one would be a total grind.

2. Squat machine (200 lb top set) - 1 set of 6-8 reps with 100 lbs, then rest for a minute or two and hit 200 lbs to failure in the 5-10 rep range. You can push to absolute failure here if you are so inclined, but technical failure or a partner to help with "forced reps" will work pretty well too. 

3. Leg extension (100 lb top set) - 1 set of 6-8 reps with 50 lbs, then rest for a minute or two and hit 100 lbs to absolute (can't move your legs) failure in the 5-10 rep range. 

4. Prone leg curl (100 lb top set) - Use the same protocol as the leg extension.

5. Hanging leg raises - One set to absolute failure in the 8-15 rep range, once 15 reps is achieved, add weight by holding a dumbbell between the arches of your feet. 

    That is literally it, you would keep this at least 3-4 days away from your next leg training day so you can fully recover and focus on growth. More does NOT equal better when it comes to high intensity training. Get in, tear down the muscles, and go home and grow. If your high intensity sessions start taking more than an hour, you are no longer training high intensity. I can almost guarantee the best results of your life in half the time your workout would normally take. 

    Always remember it is all about the "working" set, take plenty of rest between movements and make sure you are ready to give 110% to the set that matters. So there it is! If you are not currently managing intensity properly, or you feel like you have been "spinning your wheels" for weeks, or even months, this is the routine that will get you growing again. Intensity beats volume 9 times out of 10, ESPECIALLY for natural lifters. 

    For clarification or more information, contact me via Instagram or Facebook at go.fit.yourself, or check out my Youtube channel "Coach Kyle Upton" for more training videos.