Just thought this would make a good topic - what do you guys think of when you hear intensity?
It may seem obvious to some, but the definition can mean two different things to different people, feel free to discuss this too…
Intensity = % of 1RM
Intensiveness = How hard you feel like you’re working.
However in the grand scheme of things, I think people get their panties in a bunch over something so mundane as this. Call it what you want. Arnold never worried about what it meant and he turned out pretty good 
To me intensity= Density+Volume(or Load )
Or to put it more simply, how much of myself am I applying to the task at hand. Am I taking long breaks and going thru the motions or am I giving it my all, taking as short of breaks as possible, and going balls to the wall and leaving nothing left in the tank?
Alpha’s log
[quote]mmatt wrote:
Alpha’s log[/quote]
win.
The ability to push the physical body to its absolute limit and capacity.
[quote]AttackOfTheChris wrote:
[quote]mmatt wrote:
Alpha’s log[/quote]
win. [/quote]
x2
To me intensity is measured relative to the maximum capacity/limit your body can handle.
I agree with the two main descriptions given. One being load related (%of 1RM). The other to do with how much work you do in a given period of time (density).
I also relate intensity with the FOCUSS and effort aplied during a set.
i think of branch warren training that shits inhuman.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Just thought this would make a good topic - what do you guys think of when you hear intensity?
It may seem obvious to some, but the definition can mean two different things to different people, feel free to discuss this too…[/quote]
In training theory and not in ordinary language: intensity=%RM. There are many guys in the gyms who superset and huff and puff and bust their asses while having very very low actual intensity.
It’s not a rigid technical term with a strict definition like mass or velocity.
This
When I hear intensity, I don’t think of math equations, or lifting percentages, I think Attitude.
To me, intensity is the lumbering behemoth in a basement of some underground hardcore bodybuilding gym, lifting till his nose bleeds and his eyes are bloodshot, screaming while he’s pushing out a new PR. Not talking or joking around, loading up inhuman amounts of weight, and manhandling it. His only focus is the task at hand, he came to work.
Instead of some physical definition, I always picture intensity as a personality trait.
high rep squats with short rest periods
going all out, busting your ass in the gym, leaving nothing in the tank…
it’s a pretty simple concept, but it’s hard for a lot of people to actually use max intensity…
it hurts to squeeze out those last couple of reps, to hit those drop sets or whatever, and a lot of people are afraid of the pain…
once you lose the fear of the pain, the burn, etc., you will be able to hit your workouts at full intensity.
[quote]belligerent wrote:
It’s not a rigid technical term with a strict definition like mass or velocity.[/quote]
In training theory, intensity by definition is the percentage of your max that you are working. In everyday life we all know the meaning of this word. As I said before, someone who does his 75% bench max for 12 reps, then immediately flies then finishing with depletion pushups, at the end of the tri-set, he will feel that the world is ending. He will feel that the lactic acid is going to burn the inside of his skull, going out from his eyes making him blind.
But by the technical definition of the term his intensity is very low. It’s all about which one meaning we agree to use beforehand.
Hitting a new PR on rack pulls where you are not sure if your spine is going to separate but you lock it out anyway…and sharting in your shorts
People saying that intensity is a % of a 1RM are just making up rules/defintions just for the sake of it, and it is pointless.
Intensity is just a primal urge that you can pull out, it makes you feel truly strong and that nothing can stop you from getting to where you want to be…
Intensity is when you just finish a set of DB presses/Squats/Deadlifts or whatever that makes your body shake all over, your eyes bloodshot and it takes you 5 minutes to catch your breath.
Intensity is a meaning that is only understood by people who have been successful at something, and is completely fucking lost on everyone else.
[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
People saying that intensity is a % of a 1RM are just making up rules/defintions just for the sake of it, and it is pointless.
Intensity is just a primal urge that you can pull out, it makes you feel truly strong and that nothing can stop you from getting to where you want to be…
Intensity is when you just finish a set of DB presses/Squats/Deadlifts or whatever that makes your body shake all over, your eyes bloodshot and it takes you 5 minutes to catch your breath.
Intensity is a meaning that is only understood by people who have been successful at something, and is completely fucking lost on everyone else.
[/quote]
No, no, no, no. “Intensity” is a TERM in training theory that has a VERY strict DEFINITION. Training theory is studied in many universities. I just said we have to agree beforehand which one meaning we are going to use.