I have found the approach I'm going to take in working up to my goal of 100 pushups (in a row): Double Density Training. Before we get to the doubled version though, some info on straight Density Training:
The strength and conditioning coach at Wake Forrest University, Coach Ethan Reeve, developed Density Training. He has had great success with many athletes using this program. Basically, you squeeze more and more volume into less and less time in your workout routines. Here is how it works:
Pick an exercise that you would like to improve. Exercises that require little or no set-up time work best, pull-ups, pushups or kettlebell snatches are all excellent choices. Simply double the volume of your goal repetitions. For example, if you want to be able to perform 20 straight pull-ups, double that number to 40. Perform 20 sets of 2 reps in 20 minutes. You must start each set at the top of each minute. When this set and rep scheme becomes easy, move onto the next level, which would be 3 reps every minute for 13 minutes, and so on and so on...
Double Density training is similar (increased volume in decreasing time), but instead of doubling the target number, you do two sessions to your target number 12 hours apart:
The DDT cycle had no termination date, since it was based upon achieving two 100 rep sets in one day through a density training protocol. Density Training basically means that as you increase the volume slowly while compressing the rest periods, you trick your nervous system into mega-high volume, resulting in tremendous gains in strength-endurance.
Coach Sonnen then goes on to describe how doing two sessions 12 hours apart allows your second session of the day to be in a "recovered but not reset" mode:
DDT involves two short-duration work sessions in one work day separated by approx. 12 hours, with one full day of rest in between each work day. This method strikes a balance between neuro-muscular rest and neurological recovery; which basically means that if you go over approx. 24 hours you're fully rested. However, at around 12 hours, you can be actively recovered though not fully *rested*.
When recovered by not reset your central nervous system still hums with excitement but you have recovered sufficiently from the prior session to work again. This allows you to supercharge a download into your muscle software. It's like temporarily having extra RAM to operate your computer. Basically, the sum total training effect (neurological stimulation) peaks between 8-12 hours decreasing to reset at 20-24. But if you're under approximately a half day when you train again, you impinge upon recovery. This time corridor may vary based upon the individual: some people recover faster, others slower; some reset more easily, some less easily.
Sonnen then describes his progression with a particular exercise. To start, for 20 minutes, at the top of each minute, he did just five repetitions. After three weeks of adjusting the sets/reps/time, he hit 100 straight.
Three weeks! I have to imagine his base fitness helped a ton. Still, it's worth a try. Just to see what it was like I tried 20-minutes of 5-pushups per minute, and it was really easy. Should be interesting. I'll tackle it in a couple weeks after the season ends.
