The Importance of High Intensity in Strength Training

And since we are discussing the importance of high intensity in strength training I'd like to first give the best description and definition of what intensity is. 

Intensity is a measurement of exercise and the best way to explain this is "how hard you are working vs how hard you are able to work."

Some people may incorrectly assume that intensity is a measure of how much weight we are able to push, or how fast our heart rate gets, but neither of those definitions work.

It's a much more appropriate way of looking at intensity to say that it is a comparison between the effort that we are putting in to strength training and to how much effort we can possibly put into it at a given moment. 

This distinction is very important, so let me explain why - 

I like the explanation I saw in a high intensity strength training video that explained the biological imperatives of stimulating a stressor on the body to produce positive changes in the body. 

The way species adapt over time has always been when there is a new stressor placed on the environment. 

These kinds of changes could result in say, a thicker exoskeleton in an insect species or something like that. 

In our case, we want the adaptation to be better health and longevity, stronger muscles, and everything else that goes along with better fitness. 

Our bodies are smarter than we may think. 

Our biological imperatives are to be able to pass on our genes, to be able to eat food, and to keep from becoming something else's food, like a grizzly bear or a panther.

All of these 3 depend on our ability to simply move our bodies. Your body will respond the fastest to high intensity strength training because we work so intensely. 

That moment when we reach full muscular failure and can no longer move any further we are challenging all of our natural biological imperatives, at least that's the signal our body receives -

And due to that we get the strongest adaptive response we can possibly create. 

Why would any biological organism create an adaptive response from a stimulus that isn't challenged in a deeply meaningful way? It simply won't. That's a fact of nature. 

So I hope this has explained the basics of WHY intensity is so important - 

Really the most important health benefits occur through the release of myokines when we do reach that full muscle fatigue on the last repetition. Lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, fighting cancer, fighting dementia, fighting osteoporosis, and improving all organ function.

I hope you'll perform high intensity strength training at least once a week now that you know the benefits. 

If you've been having a hard time getting started and can use a trainer to keep you on track, The Perfect Workout is the largest company that uses these methods from Dr. Doug McGuff's book Body by Science. Let them know that Jonathan Gentry (me) referred you and you get a FREE SESSION to learn our method, with no commitment to buy anything.