In weight-training parlance, the term "volume" refers to the overall amount of work being done per a given unit of time. Notice, we didn't say amount of weight being lifted. You see, the amount of weight being lifted is considered "intensity." With respect to volume, the amount of work being done refers to the number of exercises, sets, and repetitions you do over the course of your workout.
Many trainees steer off course when it comes to selecting a consistent and appropriate volume. Instead of using scientific periodization principles (altering your training program systematically to force improvements based on the way your body adapts), most trainees buy into the "more is better" mindset, pounding their bodies into submission with set after set of exercises that overwhelm their ability to recover.
The terms volume and intensity are also related in an interesting wayinversely. Despite what you think, you can't train long and hard. Even though long workouts feel hard, toward the end of a long workout, your true intensity (the percent of 1RM that you're working at) is severely compromised.
Therefore, it stands to reason then that if you're regularly logging 2-hour training sessions, toward the end, you can't be working very intensely. |
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