If you have been around weight lifting as long as I have, you will start to notice weight training trends. The trends seem to come and go according to a bodybuilder, powerlifter, coach, or an authority figure who is popular when the trend is in vogue. It’s ok to follow current trends, but if the trend you are using doesn’t seem to deliver the results you are after, I suggest that you remain open minded. There are many training methods that have proven to work extremely well for various lifters throughout the history of weight training, and one of them may work for you much better than the others, even if it is not trending at the moment. The rest of this article is an excerpt that is taken from the book, Density Responsive Lifters. The excerpt addresses the evolution of three different types of training that were all popular in the early days of bodybuilding.
Excerpt From Density Responsive Lifters
What is a density responsive lifter? It is a lifter who experiences the best response to training when they train a muscle group for several sets with little rest between sets. It’s not the same as high intensity training which is based on pushing to failure on each set. A high-density training session begins by training a muscle group with a set that is only moderately hard. However, instead of resting long enough to fully recover between sets, several consecutive sets are performed with only 10 to 30 seconds rest between sets. The short rest between sets will cause a steady increase in fatigue from set to set. The result is that each set becomes more difficult until the intensity of effort is high by the last set.
High density training means that several sets are condensed into a short amount of time. This strategy compresses both volume and intensity into brief workouts. The combination of volume and intensity are the primary training factors that trigger an increase in size and strength. Those who respond especially well to this type of training are density responsive lifters.
When Training Density Was King
Density training is nothing new and was probably at its height of popularity during the 1950’s and 1960’s. This was an era when many of the best bodybuilders came out of Vince’s gym which was owned by a famous trainer named Vince Gironda. Not only was Vince a top trainer, he was a top bodybuilder who wanted the best results possible for both himself and those he trained.
Vince was very open minded about training and was willing to try just about anything, but at one point he became discouraged and bored with the long workouts that he thought were necessary for improvement. This drove him to try brief workouts in which he worked a muscle group with six to eight sets in a short amount of time. The short, rapid paced workouts proved to be superior to anything else he had tried. These were the same type of workouts that he taught to his students, many of whom became outstanding bodybuilders, including Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia. When you take into account the fact that Vince trained many of the best bodybuilders of the 1950’s and 1960’s, and when you consider that he was an outstanding bodybuilder himself, it’s easy to understand why his methods were so popular during that time period.
As time progressed, Arnold Schwarzenegger became the central figure in bodybuilding in the early 1970’s. Arnold favored high volume workouts consisting of tons of sets with a wide variety of exercises and rep ranges. Since Arnold was the best, his methods became exceedingly popular. Not long after Arnold’s rise to bodybuilding stardom, Arthur Jones began to advertise his nautilus machines. He recommended that his machines be used in conjunction with brief high intensity workouts. His methodology seemed to be validated by the success of prominent bodybuilders who used his methods. This included Casey Viator and the Mentzer brothers who were among the top bodybuilders in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. The result was a huge increase in the popularity of high intensity training methods.
The point of all of this history is that the top lifters and bodybuilders of any era often have a great influence on the type of training that becomes popular. However, when you consider all of the champions and training methods that have come and gone, Vince’s 8 x 8 routine remains a popular workout that is practiced by many, even to this day. Vince’s high-density training methods have stood the test of time because they work; and they work especially well for those who are density responsive lifters.
Training Resources
If you would like to take a deeper look into high density training, or high intensity or high-volume training, please click on any of the books listed below to read them for free in pdf format. Best of training to you.