Strength training and bodybuilding define intensity differently: strength uses percentage of one-rep max, while bodybuilding means how close to muscular failure you train. Many coaches mix these up, but for muscle growth, proximity to failure is what matters, not the specific weight or program.
When we talk about intensity in the strength world, what are we talking about? Load. 100%. You need to understand this. When you're talking to a strength coach and you say intensity, they assume that you mean percentage of 1RM load. So if I say intensity to a strength coach, they are assuming that I'm talking about a percentage, like a 90% of their 1RM. So if you lift 100 kilos, I'm talking in objective terms in the strength world. If I go to a bodybuilding coach and I say the word intensity, Most bodybuilding coaches aren't smart enough to realize this, but what they actually mean is proximity to failure. This is what I mean— same word, two different meanings, two different worlds of where you come from. So if you say the word intensity, and the way I define intensity in the bodybuilding world is proximity to failure, because it's not based on load, because load is its own parameter, right? Intensity in the bodybuilding world is about proximity to failure, which is what is the overarching of all the systems, whether it's DUP, 8x8, 1/6, whatever it is, whatever method you use to get hypertrophy. If you have that piece and you can actually train hard, you'll get results.
