I have
bemoaned and lamented the lacking intensity of many trainees approaches, along
with spoken at length at the dire need for intensity in training so frequently
that I feel it becomes necessary to directly address the subject.
(Before I
continue, in point of clarity I want to explain that I am referring more to the
notion of intensity of EFFORT rather than the understood concept of intensity
referencing percentage of maximal load. I realize it upsets the nerds to misuse
the term, but throughout this writing please understand my meaning.)
The variable
the one MUST bring to training is intensity. All other variables are controlled
outside of training. Frequency is a
matter of scheduling, programming is a matter of research (for good or for
ill), consistency is a matter of habit, etc etc, it all occurs outside of
training, but once one enters the gym, they MUST act with intensity. If not, then all that work performed outside
of the gym was for naught. However, in
most cases, a trainee fixates so much on what is performed outside of the gym
that they forget just how necessary it is to actually perform once they arrive.
They are of the belief that, as long as all the external factors are in place,
the results will arrive.
This stems
fundamentally from a misunderstanding of the words of authors and lifters.
Intensity is rarely spoken of as a necessity because it is PRESUMED by the
author that one will employ it. When one writes of programming, it is with the
understanding that the programming will be executed with violence and intent.
When writes about the necessity of deloading, it is with the understanding that
one will necessitate a deload DUE to the amount of intensity they brought to
training. This is presumed because it
was inherent in the acts of those who wrote and spoke of lifting (that were
successful in their pursuits), and in having always been present, the notion
that one could train WITHOUT intensity was inconceivable. However, new lifters took this lack of
emphasis to infer that intensity was of minimal value, and that, as long as one
fulfilled the mathematical requirements of the sets and reps, they would get
the results. It became a program, rather than a guide.
This isn't in the 10 Commandments..but God probably still doesn't want you to do it
In addition,
intensity became a quality that was more and more difficult to find, encourage,
and cultivate. With the downplay of
childhood athletics, rough housing, and basic play, children grew into adults
who at no point ever learned how to actually push themselves physically in any
capacity. They simply were unaware of the sensation one feels when actually
TRYING. They had coasted through a digital and neutered existence free of
discomfort, and they attempted to apply this same lackadaisical approach to the
transformation of their bodies. The
body, stubborn in its willingness to alter itself, was unpersuaded in these
attempts, as it rightfully should be.
Without proper stimulus, what motivation does it have to change?
And still
the problem continued! A lifetime of
lethargy left many the new trainee physically unable TO exert themselves, even
if they mustered the courage to try. We
observe this all the time; when a trainee is accused of not bringing enough
intensity to the gym, they’ll always explain how the throw up at the end of
EVERY session and are always breathing like a freight train and sweating
buckets, so surely they MUST be lifting with intensity. However, what they describe is the same histrionics
of an obese man trying to walk up a flight of stairs. All this trainee is demonstrating is that
they are so physically unable to perform that they’re not in enough shape TO
exert themselves to the degree necessary to elicit change. Put simply, they actually need to get in
shape to workout.
I bet this feels like one helluva workout
One cannot
measure their intensity by how much puke or sweat or blood they leave behind in
the gym. All that does is demonstrate a
lack of hygiene. Intensity is about
existing outside of one’s comfort zone, with the longer amount of time being
better. It is about riding the razor’s
edge between hard training and injury, and always pushing the limits further
and further toward the latter direction.
One must condition their mind to not quit such to the point that the
body FAILS under the stress being performed. One must be intimately familiar
with “dangerous” sensations, like light headedness, seeing stars, exertion headaches,
blurred vision, blown out capillaries, etc etc. THIS is intensity.
Do not
confuse an inability to perform with performing to the max of one’s
capability. One must have enough
capability TO exceed themselves. This means one has to constantly be
discovering their limits in their attempts to surpass them. If you’ve never failed a squat, deadlift,
bench, etc, you’ve most likely never lifted with intensity. I do not mean
failed as in saying to yourself “Oh man, I didn’t have a single rep left” as
you rack the bar with comfort. I mean
fail as in, the bar is on your shoulders, you squat down into the hole, try to
get out, throw the bar over your head into the pins, fall backwards, slam the
back of your head onto the pegs of the squat rack and get pissed at yourself
for missing the rep. I’m talking about a bench rep that descends onto your
throat 1mm at a time as you try with everything in your power to fight it. I’m
talking a deadlift that has your whole body in convulsions for over 15 seconds
as you hitch with everything in your power before finally having the bar rip
out of your hands (or, if you’re wearing straps, pull you to the floor face
first). Those who are lacking intensity are
terrified of ever failing, while those who have intensity are terrified of NOT
succeeding. One avoids failure, the
other does everything they can to win.
In the first one, he went the distance. In the 4th one, he ended the Cold War. Winning is better than not losing.
Which do you
want to be?
