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HIT Training...

Although this is a common belief, it's not 100% true. There are many HIT advocate who don't go to failure. Others do multiple sets with only the final-set being to failure. I find calling this a single set somewhat disingenous, although Dorian Yates and Mike Mentzer both do this.
Thats true, however, there are so many spin-offs and derivatives of HIT that its concepts get somewhat lost. I believe the original, real High Intensity Training methodology can be found here which advocates doing 1 set (sometimes 2 or 3) to concentric muscular failure in each set.
 
I think you just hit it on the head. Some people do well with infrequent training and this philosophy stays with that. My goal in posting this was to give people another prospective to train from. Increased intensity will provide results in any type of regimen. For me, HIT training and its credo’s have proven very successful. I have tried other fashions of training but have always returned to HIT in the long run.

Everyone's body is different, but you won't grow or add size until there is a true demand to do so. Another member and I have been talking privately and while stick to the same principles we go about them differently. I like warm-up sets, he does not. I do target exercises he does compound. He has a trainer I do not. Point being you have to find what works best for you.

MJ
 
Thought I would post my HIT routine for everyones inspection and comment. I have 2 routines performed alternately every 7 days. Yes, I only lift once every 7 days! I'm a bit older than most of you so this time for me to recover seems to be important in order for me to make strength gains (which I do every time).

Routine 1
Deadlift, 265 X 13, 1:09 (yes, I time all my sets. I fail around 1 minute. I do perform a few warmup sets, usually half weight for 3-4 reps)
Bench Press, 185 X 18, 1:11
Machine Row, pin 13 (?) X 6, 1:06
Calf Press, 455 X 18, 1:24

Routine 2
Unilateral Leg Press, 505 X 23, 1:28-1:31
Bicep Curl, 107 X 13, 1:30
Leg Curl, pin 9 (?) X 6, 1:01
Weighted Dips, body weight + 35 X 14, 1:00

In between lifting, I do 2-3 sessions of cardio HIIT (high intensity interval training). I am also starting to do 1 lift on each of the cardio days of either legs, biceps/triceps, or pecs. Technically I shouldn't do it according to strict HIT, but I thought I would see what it would do. If I start to suck on my routine, I'll reevaluate. Supplements? I started taking creatine again, that's all.
Comments?
 
TAGMAN,
Pretty interesting routine, sticking mostly to complex exercises. I noticed you go high reps on some of them and low reps on others. With the machine row you do 6 reps and the bench press you do 18. Its seems both these exercises are equally as complex (involving approximately the same amount of muscle groups to perform). Is there any reason for this?

Also, what does HIIT involve? I've never heard of it.
 
Cypher,

I do partials on the bench, so my reps are more than the machine row (which is full range of motion). Failure, though, for just about everyting is around 1:00. That is what is most important, time under load, not reps. I'll write about HIIT later.
 
Cypher,

I think that there have been some threads on HIIT that can explain it better than I can. Apparently, this method is more effective at burning body fat. I don't know about the science, maybe someone else can fill us in.

Here's what I do. I ride a stationary bike, but you can do it with just about any cardio machine or just plain running. I warm up for 3 minutes at a steady pace, then sprint like hell for 20 seconds. Then I resume a steady pace for 1 minute then sprint again for 20 seconds. This is repeated until I have (4) sprints followed by 1 minute rest periods. I add a cool down period for 3 minutes at the end and I am done in 10 minutes! I hate cardio, but I can handle this for 10 minutes.
 
TAGMAN,
Interesting about thing about the reps. I understand that the time spent on each set is the most important factor (assuming proper form of course). However, I think reps should be kept within reason (that is not to say that your rep range isn't). For example, I could do like 50 reps with real light weight in about of minute in any given exercise, but is that the most efficient? From my understanding of HIT, there is an optimal rep range that can be calculated for each exercise. Anyways, this is not meant to criticize your routine, just trying to throw in another perspective. :)

Also, HIIT sounds pretty interesting, I'll have to look into it some more. Thanks for the info.
 
Tagman,

You only do 10 minutes of cardio? Even with the intensity you are doing it at, I can't see only 10 minutes doing much for fat burning....most of the literature I've read said you have to be at it a minimum of 20 minutes before your glycogen stores are depleted to the point where your body needs to mobilize your fat reserves for energy....anyone got any other info that backs up/refutes this?

DaCypher,

to answer your rhetorical question from a HIT perspective, no, 50 reps with a light weight wouldn't be most efficient. The reason is, in order for you to do 50 reps and keep your TUL (time under load) under a minute and a half, you'd have to have a very fast rep cadence, like 1 1/2 seconds per rep. That means that you would be throwing the weight pretty quickly, ignoring the middle portion of the movement. Not to mention, moving that quickly increases your chance of injuring, even though the weight you'd be using would be lighter, and that's a big no-no in HIT. HIT is big on slow, controlled movements and proper form for safety. In fact, in some HIT literature, they even discount the need for warmup sets, citing that if you are doing your reps properly (i.e. slow, controlled and with good form), your muscles don't need to warm up.

As far as rep range, I believe HIT tries to stick with 8-12, and sometimes going as low as 6....as long as you can do weight that has you reaching concentric failure at 6 with proper form. If you can do 12 or more, it's time to increase the weight so that you get back into that 8-12 range. I think they might advocate up to 20 for legs, but again, a lot of that is dependent on your muscle fiber make-up also.

Anyone else confused yet? hehehhehehe :)
 
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