+ 16 Maximizing Your Gains – Part 2: Density Training
Density Training
What I mean by DENSITY is the amount of work that you are doing in a set timeframe. By changing the density of your workout you will increase your lean body mass and most likely burn more fat in the process. Here is an example of what I mean by utilizing the Density concept in your workouts. Let’s say your bicep workout consists of 12 sets and it takes you 45 minutes to complete it. If you now complete that same workout in 40 minutes you have increased the density of the workout. Complete it in 30 minutes and you have increased the density even more. Or another way to look at would be if you now do 15 sets in the same amount of time it took you to do 12 sets you have increased the density.
Density training is a simple concept but I don’t see anyone utilizing it. They typical gym rat gets done with a set and then walks around showing everyone his pump and talking to them, or starts texting all his buddies etc. Once he is done talking to everyone he goes and does another set. There is no concept of time or density in the workout. In order for this to work you have to time your workouts, there is no way getting around this. I keep my time between sets consistent with a timer on my phone to make sure I stay on track. Shortening the time between sets will lead to finishing your workouts sooner, thus increased Density. When you shorten your time between sets you are obviously going to prevent your muscles from having ample time to recover, and this is the point of density training. By training like this you’re are now forcing your muscles to recruit new and even MORE muscle fibers and motor neurons. More + New = Growth.
Even though it is such a simple concept, I think a lot of people don’t utilize it because it takes them out of their comfort zone while training. It will kick your ass and you are probably going to end up dropping your poundages by a lot to get through the workout. This type of training will increase your cardiovascular endurance and also your muscular endurance. Your body is going to become a more efficient machine which is going to translate in to faster growth as you will be able to push it harder.
It is a simple concept here, but employing it with the principles outlined in Part 1 is a sure fire way to spur new and continued growth.
Stay tuned for Part 3.
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How many sets are good for each muscle group? I mean im sure it depends on experience etc. But at what point do you cross into over training?
I've never done density training on purpose, however I sometimes cram an hour workout into a 40 minute workout if I'm in a time crunch and I don't skip sets I just rest less and I feel like I get a great workout. My question is, what is the ideal rest time. I always heard 2 minutes is that accurate? Or would you rest less than that?
2 min is way to long. 40 sec between sets for me. If I am doing a triple drop set or a something of that fashion, I may take up to 80 sec.
Maybe that's why I felt like speeding up my workout worked well. I'll try rest less. If you're losing strength is that a sign you're not resting long enough or is that normal?
Our goal is hypertrophy and that is actually a good thing. You don't want to fully rest the muscles between sets. I would expect a drop in strength between sets. You are stimulating more muscle fibers that way. My heart rate is elevated my entire workout, averaging about 130bpm for the hour or so I am working out. You should be fully drenched. If not, you need to push it more. It is painful to workout that way and that is why most poeple don't do it, because it is hard and that is also why they always look the same everytime you see them. It is easy to do a set and rest for a couple minutes and then do another but there is no reason for the body to grow when take it easy like that.
Thanks I appreciate the tips. I'll try to encorporate these changes. I'm reading your whole series. Some great content. Most of it I was already doing but not everything.
This is very interesting because I have been recently under the impression that you want to give your muscles ample time to recover so you can push harder and keep your intensity high.
But this just seems like intensity from a different angle and I can see how this would make the muscle call upon more motor units due to fatigue.
I’m going to assume this is better for the bodybuilding vs the guy trying to be wicked strong??
What we are doing here is hypertrophy training. Focusing on making the muscles bigger as quickly as possible as opposed to strength training where we are focusing on making the muscles stronger in a shorter time frame. I get trophies based on how big my muscles look, judges could care less how much my bench is. Now of course your muscles will get stronger as they get bigger, but they won't get as strong as quickly as if your were focused on power training. Too often, people intermingle the concepts of power training and hypertrophy training together and they end up going nowhere. You need to focus on one or the other depending on your goals.
This was very difficult just incorporated a stop watch today. Fuck your ego. By the time I was on set four of incline after shoulders I had 10s on the bar. Pump is unreal. Shoulders and chest on fire. I was driving home trying to turn my steering wheel and I felt every fiber in my chest working. Okay Makwa you need to start a cult because I’m in I have tempo/tension, intention and density in my head far from mastered. I’m going right down these rules and adding one at a time.
Ive been timing myself between sets, 40 seconds and it amazes me how more efficient my workouts are.
Cool. That efficiency equates to more growth.
Thanks for posting this series, it has helped me fine tune my workouts.
Read part 1 and part 2 so far. Awesome information. I admit I didn't know about the density concept and have been slow between sets. I am going to implement this information today. Thanks for these posts Makwa. Can't wait to read the next one. Click, click, read, repeat.
Density training is indeed a simple concept, but it assumes that you have been paying attention to your workouts already. If you've just been going through the motions up until now, you need to start with Part 1 of this series.
Also, you should know where is the proper place to trim time off of your workouts. It's not during the set. Slow, deliberate movements are still key. Density training means basically that your rest time between sets gets less and less, that you don't spend as much time talking to that 23 year old pound cake at the water fountain.
Yep, reducing the time between sets is the key.
We all like pound cakes. I wish they were more conducive to bodybuilding though:)
Amazing read. Folks like myself REALLY apreciate you sharing this type of info Makwa. +1
RustyhookerGreat read! Very true. On shrugs the "run the rack" method is an example. +1
Agreed, Very good outline. Thats how I train Everyday.
I just started doing this again this week. This works very well for me. I will up my weights and/or my reps one workout and then try to duplicate the exact same workout in less time next time time I come to that particular workout in my 4 day split. I alternate the two and it keeps the workouts fun and difficult.