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Focus on Strength & Not Simply Fat Loss
Before the start of the summer I was really obsessed with losing the last bit of stubborn fat covering my lower abs, ass, and thighs. While I had made some headway with my goal, I still felt as if I was spinning my wheels in the mud.
Yes, I could easily maintain my current size/weight, but my progress towards my ultimate goal seemed hit and miss.
Well, since the beginning of this past summer, my focus has been on consistently getting stronger each and every workout. I stopped stressing out over whether or not my training sessions left me smoked and drenched in sweat. Or, if I had burned X amount of calories through the many HIIT routines I was doing.
Nope, my focus has simply been on getting stronger from workout to workout, with an added emphasis on doing the exercise using impeccable form. Using Charles Staley’s Escalating Density Training has really made this process that much simpler, not easier. Now, before you go and buy yet another e-book, let’s look at the principles that this type of training is based on.
In any muscle building routine, you’ll usually have a rep/set scheme of doing 10 repetitions of an exercise for 3 working sets. This is approximately 30 reps in total. Well, and this is where Staley’s EDT comes in, what if you did 10 sets of 3 reps?
Would your body rebel and not respond to your efforts simply because you did your 30 reps in 10 sets instead of 3? I seriously doubt it.
Now, I realize that if you’re lifting weights, then how much your lifting and how much rest you give yourself in between each set are also important factors to consider. However, since the majority of my EDT-style routines use bodyweight exercises, let me give you an very easy way to mark if your progressively getting stronger.
Here’s a training video of me doing push-ups and bodyweight rows with a 20# vest on. This video was shot on 08.17.09, and at the end of the video, you’ll notice from my rep count that at the end of 15 minutes I was able to do 65 push-ups and body weight rows. The key is that I never exhausted my muscles in any one set, and I was striving to do as much “meaningful” work/reps as I could:
Now, let’s fast forward to 9/15/09, close to one month of doing this particular routine once a week. You’ll see that my numbers have increased by more than 15 reps for each exercise. I was able to do 81 reps for each exercise in the same amount of time (15 minutes):
Fellas, please keep in mind that every time I did this particular routine, my only goal was to get at least one more rep in each exercise than I was previously able to do–that’s it! Sometimes, I would get close to 5 more reps than my last session, but I was only concerned with getting one more quality rep.
The thing about timed-volume training is that you get to learn how to manage your fatigue and not overexert yourself on any one set. I usually do sets of 5-8 reps for each exercise, and sometimes a little less depending on my energy levels.
Also, you need to be very aware of the time because if you aren’t paying close attention, you’ll find that you’re trying to crank out too many reps at the end. This is exactly what happened to me the last time I did this routine on 09/26/09:
Although I was able to get one more push-up rep than my last session (82 reps), I wasn’t able to do the same for my bodyweight rows, which I missed my goal by 2 measly reps!
The take home message guys is that I didn’t have to guess if I was getting stronger because every time I did more work/reps in the same amount of time, I knew I was getting stronger.
It’s been more than a month since I last did this routine, so I look forward to see if I can pick up where I left off and get 83 reps of each exercise today. My goal is once I can do 100 reps of each exercise, then it’s time to make them more challenging and slowly build my reps up to 100 again.
I absolutely love this style of training, and I encourage you to give it a try; however, you don’t have to start with 15 minutes.
Start off with simply doing 5 minutes of quality push-ups and bodyweight squats. Don’t worry so much about keeping track of your reps in the beginning; focus more on form and proper technique. Also, this will allow you to learn how to manage your fatigue.
Each week or every two weeks, depending on your current fitness level, add 30 seconds to 1 minute extra to your training time. Once you’ve worked up to doing 15 minutes of continuous (not non-stop mind you) reps and sets, then you can start focusing on how many reps you do of each exercise in 15 minutes.
This is when the fun starts because once you’ve established your base rep count, then you have something to beat each and every time you do this particular routine, which should be no more than 3 times a week.
Give it a try and let me know what you think …
November 10th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Great clips, I can relate to these. The concept of getting a little stronger gradually I like and is working for the Cowboy
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Muata Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Hey my friend, that’s what it’s all about. As the overused, and seldom believed by obese guys, cliche goes: Rome wasn’t built in a day. By the way, keep up the great blogging Bill; I’m enjoying reading your posts …
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November 10th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Just found the site; this is everything I’ve been looking for. I’m 120# down from my high weight, which came at the end of college about 7 years ago. It came off in chunks–50, held, another 20, held, another 20, and so on. It’s so liberating!
That said, the journey continues. My bodyfat is somewhere around 20% and I’m doing my best to cut it off now. Hopefully you can help me out; thanks for providing such a great resource.
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Muata Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Rich, I’m glad you found my lil’ ole blog and left your comment because the way you’ve lost your fat is how it should be done, IMO. Most guys want to lose a bunch of weight upfront, similar to the Biggest Loser, but what they miss out on is being able to maintain the lost weight at different intervals along your journey. Being able to maintain your lost weight, without any regain, for 6 months is hard, but oh so gratifying when you learn what eating behaviors you need to employ to keep the lost fat off. It sounds like we’re from a similar school of thought.
To continue to reduce your body fat, keep doing what’s worked for you in the past. More than anything else, the calorie is KING. Keep us posted on your progress Rich …
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November 10th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
This is a pretty interesting method, I haven’t ever really read much about it…when it comes time for me to start getting on the weight training, I may explore it. Seems to agree with you! On a side note…just thought I’d proudly announce I’ve lost thirty five pounds in fourteen weeks and saw 299 on the scale for the first time in about five years. When I go below 290, it’ll be the lightest I’ve been in maybe 12+ years! Plus I guess I should mention, from 44.5% bodyfat to 37.8%
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Muata Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 8:15 am
That’s OUTSTANDING Kevin! And you’ll be below 290 before you know it; simply keep doing whatever you’re doing because it’s working. Don’t tweak or change a thing, my friend, until you’re no longer making progress. Until then, keep doing more of the same
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November 11th, 2009 at 6:25 am
Interesting stuff, Muata. I’m definitely gonn try this approach. I’ve done the Perfect Pushup routine about twice now, and I think the principle is definitely similar. The workout chart has you doing 2 minute drills of pushups based off your one set max, and as your max increases you do more reps but within the same 2 minute interval. Do you think this a usable approach for any muscle group?
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Muata Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Mark, thanks for leaving a comment. Honestly, if performing the perfect pushup routine is causing you to progressively get stronger without wiping you out, then go for it. There are so many different ways to train progressively out there, and the real measuring stick is simple: are you progressing/getting stronger. Keep us posted of your progress …
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November 11th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Muata, thank you for the compliment on my little blog, if it were not for you and Janet I would have never know what a good fat loss tool it was. I hope to see you soon and get my shirt.
A Cowboy from Texas
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November 14th, 2009 at 7:33 am
You know how they say great minds think alike? Well, so do guys like you and me.
I also became frustrated as my weight stuck around 195 – down from 235. I could “force” it a little lower but was never able to keep up that level of discipline – certainly not for the rest of my life! So I decided to concentrate on performance improvements – what my body could actually do. Now, in addition to being able to do more pullups and pushups, I can also do a handstand, and can almost complete a fully bottomed out single leg squat with either leg. And if you ever see a 51 year old guy doing cartwheels in the middle of a field, please don’t call the loony bin!
Dave
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Muata Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Dave that’s outstanding! Hell, I’m 38 and still working on my pistol! What’s funny is that it only makes sense. If we focus on improving a skill, then it becomes more than just “burning calories” or trying to get lean. My goal, like yours, is to get stronger and better at my BWEs, especially the hard ones. Thanks for leaving a comment …
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November 20th, 2009 at 12:20 am
The most important part of weight loss is making it a part of your lifestyle, and making a commitment to yourself to keep the new you changes. When you want to keep fat off you need to eat right and keep moving. Change you meals to five a day, and include healthy options.
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Muata Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Thanks for your comment, and I definitely agree that you must make a lifestyle change to keep the weight off; however, you don’t have to eat 5-6 small meals a day. This has been a myth that the bodybuilding community has been pushing for many years now. There no metabolism boosting effects of eating more often, so I suggest folks find a way of eating that best suit them. For instance, I’ve been eating two main meals a day with some snacks for close to three years now. Find what works for you and keep doing it
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