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Powerlifting & Strength
Bodybuilding
Date
Exercises performed
Amount of weight lifted
Sets and reps
Rest intervals between sets
Optional: Lifting tempo
Optional: Notes on difficulty or effort
patterns and then you can start managing them and be more specific in
your training goals.
Either way, if you've never considered monitoring your RPE's, it's
certainly worth investigating.
Volume is the amount or quantity of work you perform per unit of time. Of
all three training characteristics, volume may be the most predictive of
success.
I'm someone who squats about 400 and pulls about 500 and my typical
weekly volume is about 50,000 to 60,000 pounds. One of my training
partners, who squats about 500 and pulls almost 600, typically racks up
about 85,000 pounds of weekly volume.
So if I want to reach the numbers he's currently posting, I'll need to rack
up the same amount of volume.
Now of course, there's an interesting and ultimately unknowable
"chicken or the egg" question that comes up here: Is my training partner
stronger than me because his volume is higher than mine? Or is his
volume higher because he's stronger?
The answer is "yes" to all of the above.
While volume is absolutely critical to record for the purposes of
progressive overload, so is intensity.
Average Intensity2.
Think of intensity as training quality. Even if your volume is very high, the
quality of that volume must also be high or it won't lead to the results
you're looking for. Consistently monitor volume as well as average
intensity per set for each exercise and each workout as a whole.
Here's an example from a recent training session:
Deadlift
Notes
Volume:3,415 pounds
Average Intensity:262.69 pounds
The average intensity is calculated by dividing total volume (3415) by
total reps (13).
Now, just for comparison's sake, let's look at the deadlifts I did the
following week to see if I managed to push my numbers in the right
direction (or not):
Deadlift
Notes
Volume:3,240 pounds
Average Intensity:216 pounds
There are a few interesting things to notice here. The first is that I hit a
bigger absolute deadlift on the first session, so the most obvious
takeaway is that I did better in the first session than I did in the
subsequent workout.
Digging a bit deeper, you'll also see that my training volume and average
intensity was higher on the first workout as well.
By tracking not only the weights you lift, but also the accrued volume and
average intensity of each workout, you begin to get a more thorough and
nuanced view of what you're really accomplishing.
Keep in mind, though, that efforts to increase volume usually come at
the expense of intensity, especially if you're not paying careful attention
to both variables.
That's why it's a good idea to always write workouts in advance so the
numbers are what you want them to be beforehand. You certainly don't
want to spend half of your workout on the calculator, trying to figure out a
way to increase volume while at least maintaining average intensity.
If your goal is primarily aesthetic, volume should take precedence over
intensity. You can stimulate muscle growth with relatively low intensities
as compared to improving a quality such as maximum strength.
If you're a strength and performance athlete, you should also seek to
increase training volume whenever possible, but rank intensity equally
high. In other words, first ensure that intensity stays high,
and then increase volume when you can.
Density3.
Density is the work/rest ratio of a workout. In other words, during a 75minute training session, how many minutes did you spend working and
how many did you spend resting?
Granted, training density probably has greater implications for
bodybuilders than strength athletes, but it's still important.