Escalating Density Training

by Charles Staley | 02/14/02

Tags:
Bodybuilding
Editor's note: I placed a call to Charles Staley because it'd been a while
since I heard from him, which usually means he's been in a creative
mode. Sure enough, Charles (who lives suspiciously close to Area 51)
has been putting the finishing touches on his breakthrough training
system, which he calls Q2 (that's pronounced "Q-squared" for the
phonetically-challenged). The system covers the spectrum of his
thoughts and training philosophies and I had to promise my firstborn just
to get a glimpse.
Though still a work in progress, I was able to get Coach Staley to share
a portion of Q2 with T-mag readers. It's called Escalating Density

Training, or EDT, and it constitutes the hypertrophy portion of Q2

training.
As with most great breakthroughs, you'll find this program deceptively
simple but be forewarned: Escalating-density workouts result in
PROFOUND soreness in even the most advanced trainee. In fact, after
my first "EDT" lat and triceps workout, I asked my doctor if he would
install a permanent morphine drip in my arm, but apparently there are
legal complications to prescribing controlled substances for DOMS. So
with that warning, get ready to grow (and hurt) with Coach Staley's latest
offering.
TC
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
Albert Einstein

What Causes Muscle Growth?

If I may dispense with the usual formalities and get right down to brass
tacks, so to speak, I'd like you to consider the following statement:
"When a biological system experiences a challenge, it modifies itself in
order to be able to more easily meet similar challenges in the future."
Now, in my opinion, if you're interested in growing muscle, that statement
contains everything you'll ever need to know. Muscle is in fact a
biological system, and it grows (or atrophies) in direct proportion to the
amount of work it is forced to do.
Of course, all training systems approach this reality by suggesting an
endless array of often conflicting recommendations regarding exercise

selection, number of reps and sets, length of rest periods, and so on.
One system says 3 sets of 10; another says one set to failure. One
system recommends resting 1 minute between sets, another 3 minutes.
One system employs partial range of motion, another full range of
motion. On and on it goes. What gets lost in all this is the simple reality
that whatever system allows you to do the most work per unit of time is
what causes muscle to grow in an optimal manner.
That being said, the next question is "What is work?" And the answer is
reflected in the following equation: M x D = W (M= mass or weight, D =
distance, and W = work)
Every training principle you've ever heard of, plus most of the ones
you've never heard of, are designed to allow you to do more and more
work over the weeks and months. And Q2 is no exception. In fact, let me
be the first to say that there is absolutely NOTHING new here. The only
thing that's new is the way I'm "framing" or presenting the information. In
a sense, the EDT system is just a foolproof way to ensure that you
perform more and more work in each workout that you do. The benefits
of the EDT method are as follows:

Motivation: When you do an EDT workout, you know when it'll

start, but more importantly, you know precisely when it will END. Also,
you know exactly what you need to do in that time period. In other
words, you have an explicit goal a definite purpose, and a well-defined
time frame for accomplishing your goal. You have to experience this in
order to fully appreciate how easily it is to get "up" for ED workouts.

Auto-Regulation: Forget about sets and reps. Forget about rest

intervals. Forget about time under tension. I'm totally serious all of
these parameters distract you from the essential truth that you need to
do more work this time than you did last time. It literally took me over 20
years of studying these factors to realize that they don't matter. So take
out your training log, see how many total repetitions you did during your

last workout for the same muscle groups, start the stopwatch, and beat
that number. That's all. If you do this every workout, you'll grow. And if
you don't you won't. Any questions?

Clarity of Progression: EDT workouts don't allow you to hide from

the essential truth of training progression. You may think you were
abiding by the law of progressive overload before, but with EDT, you
KNOW you are.

Q2 Principles: Fatigue Management

Perhaps the most limiting belief that people have about exercise is that it
must hurt (either during and/or afterward) to be effective. Now, it's true
that a certain amount of discomfort always accompanies getting out of
one's comfort zone. But to gauge the effectiveness of a workout by how
bad you feel afterward is insane. There are far more efficient ways to
make yourself sore, such as taking a job as Lennox Lewis' sparring
partner, or applying for a job as a test dummy!
EDT involves doing a workout, measuring how much work was done,
and then consistently and gradually increasing that amount of work.
When you do, muscle will grow, metabolism will increase, and you'll have
a leaner, more muscular body. Now, as it turns out, there's a paradox at
work here. Because good fatigue management strategies allow you to
do a lot more work, you'll end up plenty sore anyway, so for you
masochists out there, fear not you'll be in plenty of pain.

The EDT Program

In this first installment, I'll set you up with one month's worth of training to
get you on your way. While I've presented the basic concepts of EDT in
this article, there are a number of techniques and strategies that I
haven't provided. So if you find this system as valuable as many of my

clients have, just send me a note and we'll set you up with a new
mesocycle each month. Good luck you have no idea what you're
getting into!

Monday: Lats/Elbow Extensors

First 20-Minute Time Frame
A-1:Chins (palms facing you)
A-2:Lying EZ-Bar Tricep Extensions
Second 20-Minute Time Frame
A-1:Seated Rows (Low cable or machine)
A-2:Reverse-Grip Tricep Pushdowns (palms up)

Tuesday: Lower Body/Trunk

First 20-Minute Time Frame
A-1:Back Extensions (a.k.a. hyper extensions)
A-2:Ball Crunches (crunches off a Swiss Ball)
Second 20-Minute Time Frame
A-1:Leg extensions
A-2:Leg Curls

Thursday: Pecs/Elbow Flexors

First 20-Minute Time Frame
A-1:Strive Bench Presses (or any machine bench press variant)
A-2:Low Cable Curls

Second 20-Minute Time Frame

A-1:Hammer Incline Presses
A-2:Preacher Hammer Curls

Friday: Lower Body

First 20-Minute Time Frame
A-1:Alternating Lunges
A-2:Sit-Ups
Second 20-Minute Time Frame
A-1:Seated Calf Raises
A-2:Russian Twists *
* Sit on the ground or a bench with knees bent to 90 degrees and lean
your trunk back to 45 degrees. Keeping this trunk angle, and with arms
out straight, fingers interlocked and arms maintained at 90 degrees to
the upper body, rotate the trunk from the waist (not the shoulders!)

Comments on Exercise Selection

This is not a rehab or functional-strength program. It's designed for leanmass development only. The inclusion of machine-based exercises in
the above cycle is based on my preference to avoid technical or
coordination-intensive exercises (such as squats or deadlifts) while in a
"panicked" state of mind. In theory, this program can be done using more
technical lifts as long as you remain "present" or "in the moment."
However, for your first exposure to EDT, I strongly suggest sticking to the
program as provided.

Procedure

Each workout consists of two 20-minute time frames separated by

a short (5-10 minute) rest period. In each time frame, you'll perform two
exercises, for a total of 4 exercises per workout.
In each time frame, the two exercises are performed in alternating
fashion, back and forth, until the time frame has elapsed.
After warming up the first 2 exercises, select a load that
approximates a 10-12 RM for each exercise. Ideally, the weight used for
each exercise should be equally difficult.
Sets, reps, and rest intervals: Generally, most people will find it
most effective to do higher repetition (but not maximal effort) sets and
shorter rests at the beginning, and then gradually progress to less reps
per set and longer rests as fatigue accumulates. As an example, you
might begin by performing sets of 6 with very short (15-30 second) rests.
As you begin to fatigue, you'll increase your rest intervals as you drop
down to sets of 4, then 2, and as the 20-minute time limit approaches,
you might crank out a few singles in an effort of accomplish as many
repetitions as possible in 20 minutes.
Note: Do not perform early sets to failure, or even near failure. My
recommended starting point is to do 1/2 of what is possible (e.g., 5 reps
with a 10-RM weight) at the beginning of the time frame. As the time limit
approaches however, you'll find yourself working at or near failure as you
attempt to break your rep record.
Progression: Each time you repeat the workout; your objective is to
simply perform more total repetitions in the same time frame. Apply the
20/5 rule: as soon as you can increase the total number of reps by 20%
or more, start the next workout withy 5% more weight and start over.
And that's essentially it. No pre-ordained numbers of sets, reps, or rest
periods. It's entirely up to you. Your job is only to complete the 20-minute
work period, and then improve on it the next time around. Oh, and be
ready to feel some pain. Don't start this program if you need to attend
some social event where shuffling and moaning in pain aren't
acceptable.