One of my favorite lifters, coaches, and thinkers within the arena of weight training is Charles Staley. I like Charles because we share at least three common traits; First we are both well into our fifties, but we don’t think it should be a liability to our performance. Second, we both like to think outside of the norm; not just to be different, but to search for more effective training methods. Third, Charles would say that he does not possess a large amount of physical talent, and I would definitely say the same thing about myself. The only way to compensate for this problem is to keep seeking better ways to train.
Do As Many Total Reps as Possible in 15 Minutes
One method that Charles has come up with for improving muscle mass and overall conditioning is called EDT, which stands for Escalating Training Density. Training density refers to doing as many total reps as possible within a given time period. In the case of EDT workouts, the traditional time period consists of about 15 minutes. Normally, two exercises are performed during the 15 minute time period and you would alternate back and forth between the two exercises from set to set. The two exercises are usually for opposing muscle groups, such as back and chest, biceps and triceps, or quads and hamstrings. An example would be to alternate back and forth between bench press and seated pulley rows with the goal of doing as many total reps for each exercise as possible in fifteen minutes.
Pace Yourself In Order To Do More
One of the aspects of EST workouts is that there is no rule in regard to how many reps must be done for each set. One of the primary ideas is to pace yourself in order delay and reduce fatigue as much as possible over the course of the workout. This is necessary in order to do as many reps as possible.
Pushing to failure on your first set will quickly produce a lot of fatigue and hinder you from doing as much work as possible later on in the 15 minute period. It is better to start out by only doing half as many reps as you would normally do if you were pushing close to failure. In other words, if you can do 10 reps for the bench press, just do 5 reps and move quickly to another exercise such as seated pulley rows for 5 reps. You would keep switching back and forth between bench press and seated pulley rows for 5 reps until it becomes difficult to keep doing 5 reps per set. At that point, you could reduce to just 3 reps per set in order to keep moving fairly quick from set to set. You may even be down to 2 reps per set by the end of the 15 minute period.
Goal: Do More Total Reps in 15 Minutes
The important thing is to keep track of the total amount of reps that you do for each exercises in 15 minutes over the course of each workout. As you continue to do workouts, your goal is to improve by doing more and more total reps in 15 minutes. There are two basic methods for accomplishing this
The first is to do more reps per set for some (or all) of the sets within the same time period.
The second is to reduce the amount of rest between sets in order to do more sets within the same time period.
If you succeed at doing more work in the same amount of time, chances are good that your strength has improved, and you will be able to start the process over with more weight.
EDT and Precision Point Training
I think that EDT is an excellent way to make progress if you are tired of just trying to add more weight as the only means of progression. When I use this form of training, I tweak it to fit within precision point training concepts. This means that I will only alternate back and forth between two exercises until I sense that my strength starts to drop, then I stop and rest for at least three minutes. For me this will work out to be three or four sets of 5 reps for each exercise when using a weight that I can normally do for 10 strong reps. After three or four sets of 5 reps, I rest 3 minutes and do another three to four sets of 4 to 5 reps over the course of 5 minutes. I would never push to the point where my rep speed starts to slow down from one rep to the next, or from one set to the next; I want my last set to look a lot like my first set in terms of form and rep pace, and I want to finish strong.
If I can add just one rep to one of my sets over the course of each five minute exercise period, I know I have made progress. I may also reduce the rest time between sets a little to see if I can do more sets within the 5 minute exercise period. My goal is to eventually increase from 15 or 20 reps in each 5 minute period to 25 reps in each five minute period. If I succeed, I increase the weight and start the process again.
If you experiment, you may find your own version of EDT that works for you. The key is to find the right number of minutes to do an exercise, as well as to find an intensity level that works, and a frequency that works. If you do, EDT is going to work for you. Best of training to you.
If you want to hear a little about EDT from Charles Staley who is the originator of EDT, and see his training method in action, refer to the following videos: