HOW MUCH STRENGTH TRAINING SHOULD I BE DOING PT 3.

The next factor to discuss:

Factor #3: Intensity

Intensity, by definition, is how hard you are working to your maximum weight.

For example, if you lift 100 pounds one time, that would represent 100% intensity.

If you lift 90 pounds 3 times, that would be 90% intensity.

If you lift 40 pounds 50 times, that would be 40% intensity.

High intensity is very neurologically draining.

What do I mean by “neurologically draining”?

I mean that the demands are higher on the nervous system than on the muscles.

With high intensity, you don’t feel your muscles burning (it doesn’t take long to lift a weight 1–5 times).

You don’t get out of breath after you do it, but you do need to psych yourself up mentally in preparation for a high-intensity lift.

Since intensity is the most important variable when it comes to strength improvements (but not muscle mass improvements), the higher the intensity, the less strength training you should do.

After all, if you do high intensity all the time, you run yourself into the ground, and eventually, performance declines, and the risk of injury rises.

Someone exercising at over 90% intensity should only do that about once every 7–12 days, depending on which exercise they are using.

For example, former powerlifting world champ, Mauro DiPasquale would only exercise once every 10 days.

Yep, you read that right — world champ exercises only once every 10 days. But that’s a massive anomaly.

If your intensity is lower, you can exercise more. At about 60–80% intensity, you can do strength training 3–5 times per week.

At intensities below 60%, you can do it pretty much daily.

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