Exercise Intensity..The Missing
Link To Massive Muscle Gain?

Exercise intensity is defined as,"The physiological stress on the body during exercise.", In the A.C.E. Personal Trainer Manual, Third Edition.

With that explanation out of the way, let me shed some light on exactly what intensity means to the average guy, (or girl), who wants to gain lean muscle mass.

To paraphrase from the ACE Personal Trainer manual again...

"Exercise intensity can be described as an indicator that tells you how hard your body should be working to achieve a specific training result."

While this definition of workout intensity is certainly correct, it leaves something to be desired. In my opinion, the most important part...

"How to actually apply the concept of intensity to your weight training workout to get maximum results in minimum time!"

In the traditional sense, exercise intensity has often been thought of as a way to measure the intensity level of certain types of cardiovascular exercise. Therefore, if you exercise, (perform your cardio), at the right intensity level, you will achieve a very specific measurable result. Typically an increase in you aerobic exercise capacity or (V02 Max).

A few of the more common measures of cardiovascular exercise intensity in order of accuracy are:

Target Heart Rate - This is the most accurate way to measure your aerobic intensity. It consists of measuring your pulse after a few minutes of your exercise session and comparing the reading by your recommended target training range.

Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)- This is the most subjective of the measures of exercise intensity, as it requires honest and accurate feedback from the person performing the exercise. This measure is primarily based on a series of "how you feel" as you exercise type questions.

The Talk Test - Is another popular, but very subjective measure of your training intensity. The benefit o fusing the talk test, is that it is one of the easiest measures of cardiovascular intensity to utilize.

There are a few different formulas that you can use to calculate your target heart rate / training range:

• While more complex, the Karvonen Formula is considered to be the most effective methods used to calculate your target hear rate. This method requires you to measure your resting heart rate, (averaged over the course of a few days). And plug it into an equation to determine your ideal target heart rate.
  
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• The Maximal Heart Rate Formula is less comprehensive and simpler to perform. The fact that this equation does not require a resting heart rate measurement makes this method more practical for most people.

A Great Article On Aerobic Exercise Intensity!

I know...I Know...

This is all fine and dandy, but where's the part that describes how workout intensity can help you gain lean muscle mass?

Here it goes...When it comes to hard scientific measures of anaerobic, (weight and strength training), workout intensity, short of drawing blood during the exercise session, there are unfortunately not a lot of quality methods to rely on.

That said, it's extremely important to be able to measure and monitor your weight training exercise intensity as you progress in your muscle gain workouts.

One of the most common mistakes new bodybuilders make is in not accurately assessing their exercise intensity. Without some sort of intensity gauge, you'll inevitably wind up wandering aimlessly around without a specific plan of attack.

This is definitely not the way gain muscle!

If your goal is to gain muscle, then you must have a well thought out muscle building workout program. No if' s and' s or but' s about it...this is the only way to gain impressive amounts of lean muscle mass!

Without many hard "scientific" measurements available, you'll have no choice but to rely on your judgement and assessment of training intensity. While some people may believe that this will hurt them in the long run...don't worry!

Honing this skill will allow you to become more "in-tune" with your own body. If you're able to be honest with yourself about your level of intensity, then you'll quickly find the key that will unlock your body's ability to gain muscle.

You'll eventually understand what it "feels like" to go through a complete muscle building workout.

Once you make this connection...your muscle building potential is virtually unlimited!

How To Accurately Assess Your Muscle Building Exercise Intensity

When it comes to most things in life, the simplest solution to any problem is almost always the right way to go. There's simply no good reason to over complicate any part of the muscle building process.

When I'm working with clients, I usually recommend that they assess their muscle building exercise intensity with a simple scale of 1 -5. 1 being the lowest intensity level possible, and 5 being the highest intensity level possible for them.

If you're wondering exactly what this means...

If you've been following the muscle building game for any length of time, you're probably aware that the stimulation for lean muscle gain can come from different methods and styles of training.

At times, you'll be blasting your muscles with very heavy weights for a few repetitions and other times, the stimulation for muscle growth will come from somewhat lighter weights performed for many repetitions (volume training).

The amount and type of stimulation that your body will require for consistent muscle growth depends on many factors such as your amount of training experience, your bodies natural hormone production, recovery time between workouts, your nutritional habits and many more.

So when you're assessing your level of intensity don't be tied down by thinking that the only criteria for an "intense" muscle building workout is the amount of weight that you lift.

This workout intensity is relative to the style and type of muscle gain workout that you're performing at that time.

Also keep in mind that to become successful in anything in life, you must attack your goals with enthusiasm, excitement and a relatively positive attitude!

This intangible element of your muscle gain program is critical to your muscle building success.

You'll eventually find that your level of enthusiasm and excitement towards your muscle building workout program is directly proportional to the amount of muscle building stimulation that you'll get out of each workout!

So in summary...remember to keep it simple!

1. Rate your overall muscle building workout by assigning an exercise intensity level between 1-5 for each exercise that makes up your workout.
   
2. After each muscle building workout, average all of the exercise intensity "scores" and rate your overall exercise intensity level.
   
3. Make sure to record your overall exercise intensity "score' some place where you can look back regularly to see whether or not you're making progress towards you muscle gain goals.

With practice, assessing your muscle building exercise intensity on a regular basis will act as a guide...telling you exactly what's working to help you gain muscle, and what's not. In the process, you'll begin to notice that you're more "in-tune" with how your own body builds lean muscle mass.

This muscle building revelation will move you closer to the ultimate muscle gain goal...

"Becoming completely independent of any muscle building fads, gimmicks, or worthless bodybuilding supplements. You'll know exactly what stimulates muscle growth for your body, better than anyone else!"

This is absolute muscle building freedom!