Defining Exercise Intensity & Volume
Some individuals prefer to train at higher intensities, and others prefer to be training at higher exercise volumes. But why? We will dive into the benefits and drawbacks of each soon. However, before we start talking more about the different benefits between high volume vs. high intensity training, we should be aware of their respective definitions.
Exercise intensity can be defined as the energy expended while exercising. It generally involves brief, intense and infrequent bouts of training. Exercise volume, on the other hand, is the total amount of activity that has been performed. High volume training generally involves longer, less-intense bouts of exercising.
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The Principle of Specificity
When it comes to fitness training, there are certain principles that one should follow prior to designing an exercise program. One of the more important ones for our topic is the Principle of Specificity. The Principle of Specificity states that any adaptation that the body undergoes is specific to the type of training that is being undertaken. This is because our body is fantastic at adapting to the stimuli you present it with. It uses different energy systems, different muscle fibers, and different energy sources based on the activity.
For example, you should not expect to become a better sprinter by performing 5k races at ~60-65% of your maximum age-related heart rate. Although there will be some cross-over between both exercise types, it won’t be very significant. The same reason why repeatedly making sandwiches for lunch is not going to make you a better at cooking a seafood chowder.
Benefits of High Volume vs. High Intensity Training
High Volume Training: Benefits
- Higher Tolerance: People generally prefer high volume training as they can get away with lower levels of intensity.
- Muscle Memory: The ideal way of improving at something is to perform it frequently. Your body has more opportunities to make high-quality neuromuscular connections with high volume training.
- Better Researched: High volume training has been popular for decades when compared to high intensity training. Therefore, it has been researched more thoroughly and many ways of training have been proven to be effective.
- Less Fatigue: Because of the fact that you are training for longer period of time, your muscles get used to the prolonged activity. As a result, you will likely feel less fatigued throughout the day and have higher muscular endurance than your peers.
High Intensity Training: Benefits
- Rapid strength gains: Research states over and over again that higher intensity training leads to more rapid strength gains than high volume training or lower intensity training
- Infrequent, brief: Even though you will need greater mental toughness to fight through your sets and reach levels of muscular failure, overall training volume is much less. You will even get away with less training sessions throughout the week!
- Lower Injury Risk: Assuming that you warmed up, high intensity training has shown to put you at a significantly lower injury risk compared to high volume training!
- Big Time-Saver: By training more intensely, you can get away with less time. Remember, your body adapts to the stressors you put it under!
*Disclaimer*
I suggest that you speak to your doctor before starting any high intensity program. If you are worried that a high-intensity program may cause a flare up or worsen a current physical injury, speak to your physical therapist before starting an exercise program.
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