High Volume/High Intensity-The Strength Behind High Rep/Timed Training

In the last couple of posts I have been discussing why the kettlebell might be so effective for various attributes. Endurance, Strength Endurance, etc. As I mentioned in previous posts I was very surprised by the strength gains I had while training primarily for longer timed sets. Generally, when going for time we expect certain improvements, but strength is often not an expected one.



Justa...Doing what he seems to do best...

I particularly like the concepts of strength training advocated by a couple of individuals. The first is Steve Justa. In a lot of ways he approaches his strength training as a form of manual labor. I very much like the way he discusses the ease of which a manual laborer can do their jobs day in and day out. Often times like in his examples of hay bailing, it is moving, carrying, tossing moderate to moderately heavy loads all day long. He notes the great strength attributes attained by such a laborer.

In some specific training the suggests using “lighter” loads with some typical ranges 60-80% of 1 RM. He then employs many reps at that weight, and repeats that very often. The result is a very, very high volume of work. Even though those might be considered “lighter” in nature when compared to more conventional strength protocols that suggest 80-90% 1 RM for a couple of lower rep sets. The volume in Justa's approach over time builds really useful strength... “A working mans strength” that has a lot of practical application, and in my opinion builds a great work capacity.

Dan John...A baby pic.

In a somewhat similar approach, Dan John also has advocated the a similar High Volume/High Intensity training. He speaks of doing the moderately heavy weights for sets of 30 reps in some examples. He also states... “High Volume and high intensity, or as we used to say, heavy weights and high reps, is probably the lost art of strength training.”   Let's highlight that last part one more time..."THE LOST ART OF STRENGTH TRAINING."  I believe what he says is true.  I have been training the better part of my life and I have made more significant improvements in the short time I have been doing this high/high training that at any other point in my lifting career.

Kettlebells although relatively light from the standpoint of a loaded bar, have to be taken in context. If we are working unilaterally, for adequate comparison we have to look at what a RM would be on that particular movement. Let's take a trainee who has a 1RM of 40kg in a strict press. If he is then able to train with a 24-32kg bell he is working in at an intensity of 60-80% of that one rep max. Does that range look familiar? That is where Justa said the strength was found when working for high volumes. If through conventional training views, working low reps with 70-80% 1RM is great for strength, imagine what working for high reps with that same weight could deliver from a strength improvement standpoint.

Let's take a set with a 28kg bell that is 70% of that press 1RM. With frequent switches let's say we are able to work for 10:00 NonStop getting 10RPM. That is 100 Reps in 10:00 and 2800kg(6172 lbs) of pressing volume. Compare that to the lifter who is only doing 5 sets of 5 each arm with that same weight and taking longer breaks between sets. That is only 50 Reps and with the rest intervals probably completed in about that same 10:00 time period. 1400kg although probably effective, pales in comparison to the timed set alternative. A component to power is time. Even if the total reps completed are the same, Id give the nod to timed sets as it would have been completed in less time than the work/rest practitioner.

I cannot think of any other type of strength endeavor where a lifter will/can lift that percentage of 1RM of that amount of time. To put work like this in perspective lets take a 300lb squatter. Working with 70% or 220lbs...let's do 50 reps NonStop. That seems impossibly difficult. With the unilateral work with the kettlebell, and the relative comfort of the design we CAN very effectively work in these intensity ranges for high amounts of reps/time.

Another thing you cannot discount is the effect that supporting the bell for the entire time has on the body. I addressed this TUT component in my last post. It Matters!! Also from an endurance standpoint the Heart Rate elevates significantly with these efforts. In this case we can have various intensities of work going on simultaneously in the same work set. A Moderate intensity weight with a high intensity Heart Rate. The interconnected nature of all these components really makes it easy to see how the kettlebell can work differing fitness attributes at the same time. Pretty neat I think... and Effective!



If none of this makes meaningful impact, then we can look at performance results. Kettlebell practitioners of timed sets routinely display greater strength feats than lower set rep practitioners. A Sport athlete jerking a 200lb kettlebell for reps. A timed set & GS lifter performing 225lb squat for 212 consecutive reps. From a personal experience I have seen massive improvements, on a variety of lifts.

There is no shortage of similar feats & performance results. Timed training builds strength. It builds a usable, workable strength. There is tremendous strength found in this high volume work. The concepts of why make sense and I'm very glad that I stumbled on to this method of kettlebell training.

This is not about “Sport Training”. This type of training is and can be utilized by anyone who is looking to just improve from a general standpoint.  You owe it to yourself to find out if timed sets have a place in your strength & conditioning arsenal.  You have nothing to loose and very much to gain.