Training | "Density," The Method Behind The Madness At RHF...

A method behind the madness at RHF...

Maximize fat loss to achieve that lean, sexy, athletic look…

These popular ego-boosting quotes have been used by coaches, athletes, and hard-core gym rats all over the world...

"Go hard or go home!"

"No pain! No gain!"

While they sound cool for the serious trainee, they can be a bit scary when misunderstood by the general fitness enthusiast.

The reality is…it is all relative...

Fitness varies by degree, never by kind. I have said this before.

RHF members understand this very well. What may be hard for one boot camper or personal training client may be really easy for another, and vice versa.

The key to success is that each person must train his/her hardest (often self-regulated) because training intensity is critical for stimulating muscle growth and maximizing fat loss to achieve that lean, sexy, athletic look (a top goal for most clients at RHF).

To better understand this, we need to address another idea...

You can either go hard or go long, but you can't do both simultaneously.

Think about it...

There is only so much fuel available. Compare your body to your car; the harder and faster you drive your car the faster you are going to empty the tank. This works exactly the same way when you exercise. You only have so much fuel (energy) available. The harder you work out the faster you are going to run out of energy.

Unfortunately, most people trying to release weight (body fat) and get in shape are misinformed. They interpret "more is better" as "longer is better" so they do endless amounts of reps and sets or do bouts of long, slow, God-awful boring, cardio. This happens way too often for many people. But, they are way off because studies show that the maximum training effect will occur in 30-45 minutes or less (often less with higher intensities)!

The truth is the correct approach to exercise for weight loss is...

More work in the same period of time (or less) is better.

While two workouts can be isocaloric, that doesn't mean they're isometabolic...

Simply put, this means that just because two workouts burn the same number of calories (isocaloric) doesn't mean they're going to have the same effect on your metabolism (isometabolic). This is where intensity comes into play and training harder is more beneficial for our goals than training longer. This is good news for those of us who are short on time (at RHF we do 40 minute workouts). Intensity always beats extensity (may have made up a new word).

You can jack up your metabolism for 36-48 hours (maybe more) after an intense work out studies show...

Density Training Defined...

"Density" describes the amount of work completed in a certain period of time."Work" describes total training volume, which equals the number of reps you perform for each exercise multiplied by the loads/exercise variations you choose.

The more work you complete with no change in time means the greater the density and in turn means the greater the metabolic effect meaning more muscle gain and more fat loss!

While the idea of density training has been around since Arnold's day and we use different variations of it (intervals, escalated, max rounds) each month in our RHF workouts, it has been recently brought back into the mainstream and taken to a whole new level by fitness pros and enthusiasts.

The popularized concept of performing maximum rounds for time (AMRAP) using repeated sets of sub-maximal effort vs. the more traditional approach of maximum effort (weight/reps) to failure has also caught the attention of many fitness studios!

An example...

Traditional Approach: Pick a weight: 10 reps max, Do 10 reps, 4 second rep tempo (standard), Rest 2 minutes between sets, 3 sets, Time: 8 minutes, Total Work: 10 reps @ 3 sets (100 lbs) = 3000 total lbs. lifted

Density Training Approach: Pick a weight: 10 reps max, Do 5 reps (submaximal), 4 second rep tempo (standard), Rest 30 seconds (may require additional methodology), 10 sets, Time: 8 minutes, Total Work: 10 reps @ 10 sets (50 lbs) = 5000 total lbs. lifted

Note: Same time involved but more work done with the density approach!

It has to work...

Density training is one of those programs that simply has to work...

The only way you can do more work in the same period of time (or less) is by your body adapting specifically to the increased demands placed on it (i.e., increased muscle mass, strength and endurance and/or decreased body fat).

So, if you want to maximize results in the shortest period of time, density training is a great method -especially when your goal is building a lean, sexy physique that performs at the highest level...

Just remember, these workouts are for the strong-minded. You have to be willing to push yourself to new limits each day and week. If you're willing to do that you are going to be seeing some incredible changes in your body.

Push never pace…