NEW EDT INTERVIEW

One of my favorite trainers is Charles Staley,well today I've got something very cool to share with you – part of an email interview devoted to EDT with Charles Staley, conducted by Nick Nilsson! The interview covers all kinds of questions about EDT…how it works, how your mindset is absolutely CRITICAL to your success, what training "density" actually IS and how you can use it to FORCE your body to build muscle and strength, and much more!
This is really good stuff - I think you'll get a lot out of it! I can forward the entire interview if you’d like…
NN: First off, Charles, please give us a little background on yourself so people know what kind of experience you have in the strength training field, e.g. how long you've been training, coaching, educational background, athletes you've coached, their accomplishments, etc.

CS: I've been coaching and teaching in the fitness/physical preparation arena since about 1983, although at that time the word "personal trainer" wasn't really in widespread use. I have a B.Sc in Sociology of Sport from the State University of New York, and I've trained many thousands of people during the past 20+ years, many of them high-level, elite athletes in a variety of sports. I can't reveal the names of some of my more famous clients, as I'm bound by confidentiality clauses in those cases. However I've trained or consulted to several prominent MMA (mixed martial arts) athletes, as well as several Olympic-level winter sport athletes (luge, bob-sleigh), Olympic-style weightlifters, powerlifters, judo-ka, and golfers. But I also train non-athletes, and we enjoy working with beginners at my live-in facility in Gilbert, AZ (Bed & Barbell)

NN: Charles, you're probably best known for your revolutionary program "Escalating Density Training." I've used EDT and it is downright AMAZING how well it works and how much it actually simplifies the whole muscle and strength-building process. Could you give people a quick explanation of what EDT is and how it works?

CS: EDT is a method where you attempt to accumulate more and more training volume while holding the duration constant. EDT workouts consist of 15-minute time-frames called "PR Zones" (PR= personal record). We're VERY focused on PR's - quantifiable indicators of enhanced work-capacity.Much like Shakira's hips, numbers don't lie. And when your numbers go up, so does your metabolism, strength, and fitness capacity. At my facility, we actually have a "PR bell," which we ring to celebrate client PR's, whenever they occur.

NN:Now, in many of your articles and on your website, you talk about having an "athletic mindset" rather than an "exerciser mindset." Could you explain a little about this and why it's so critical?

CS:Many people think like an exerciser when they, well....exercise. This mindset is characterized by pain and deprivation, and it has its roots in the age-old "no pain, no gain" mantra. Exercisers tend to think in terms of thermodynamics: "OK, if I hit the treadmill for 90 minutes, I'll burn at least 400 calories...and then if I only eat 1400 calories a day, I should burn at least 2 pounds of fat a week!" It's all about seeing how little you can eat, and how to make exercise as painful as possible... kinda reminds me of the way anorexics think.
Athletes don't exercise, they TRAIN.
When you go to the gym or training hall to train, your mindset revolves around performance and PR's. You're trying to improve your performance... you're trying to improve your technique. And when you think like THIS, your gym time becomes very uplifting and self-motivational, which leads to consistency and results.Bottom line: when you think and act like an ATHLETE, you tend to LOOK like an athlete. And I think THAT is what most people are ultimately looking for.

NN:I've also read in your articles about EDT that the focus should be on "performance" and not "fatigue". What do you mean by that and how does a focus on performance translate into better muscle-building results?

CS:Well, I've already alluded to this, but to delve into it a bit more, many people instinctively equate pain with progress. It's much like the entrepreneur who mistakenly confuses motion with results - just because you're moving...just because it hurts, doesn't mean you're making progress or getting a result. Now, it's true that getting out of your comfort zone will involve some degree of discomfort, but that discomfort is a SIDE-EFFECT of the work you did - it shouldn't be the goal. Because when pain becomes the goal, you lose sight of the REAL goal, which is increasing work-capacity and hitting new PR's

NN: One of the key concepts with EDT is increasing the "density" of the training. What do you mean by training density and why is it so important to be constantly trying to increase the number of reps you're doing with a given weight?
CS:Density refers to the work-to-rest ratio of your training sessions - it's basically how many reps of an exercise you're doing within a certain set timeframe (e.g. 50 reps in 15 minutes). Many people mistakenly focus exclusively on increasing training intensity, or the amount of weight you can put on the bar. When you use EDT, you have to "earn" the right to increase your weights by first increasing your training density (performing more sets and reps within that set timeframe).
So in other words, density represents the BASE, while intensity represents the PEAK. If you try to build too high without a strong base, your structure will fall. Same thing with training. THAT is why EDT is all about focusing on the base and increasing your overall workload - it's just more effective for maximizing strength and muscle growth. The bigger the base, the higher the peak you will be able to achieve.

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