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Is high volume ok?

Me thinks everyone is making much ado about nothing.

Perhaps it is not all that difficult to get the muscles into hypertrophy as you guys contest. Considering that many different methods are used, and these various methods are successful for many people, then maybe it is not all that difficult to achieve hypertrophy at all.

Perhaps ALL of these training methods work. Has anyone ever considered this? And if not, how do you explain someone getting results from a method that you don't believe in? How could that be possible? And don't give me the genetic freak argument. It doesn't wash. Too many people have made progress using too many varied training philisophies to make that argument believable.
 
HeavyDuty you indciated "Try doing a BFT set wioth a maxweight for say8 reps, 6-8 forced reps, drop 30-40%, repeat, then drop again. You can do one ortwo sets of this per exercise and 1-3 exercises per body part" This is approximately six sets per bodypart -- correct me if I am wrong but that by definition is not HIT. Mentzer subscribed 1 to 2 sets per bodypart. What you are describing is a form of what I do -- 6 - 8 sets per bodypart. This is more of a Dorian Yates style of routine. I think Mentzer would have and actually has indciated that 5 or 6 sets per bodypart is still overtraining. I am not trying to disregard what you are saying, because I agree that one could not train with that kind of intensity for such a large number of sets.

Could it simply be that people have different interpretations of what exact peramaters of HIT are?
 
Is it already my turn again?

Maximum intensity is right.

You can argue this until your are blue in the face, it is not going to get resolved

I have argued until I am blue in the face. I'm probably going to keep doing it in the future too :)

And I agree. It isn't going to get resolved. People are very attached to their training methodologies (as Mentzer would put it, its not a program its a methodology). They want to validate what they put so much effort and time into.

Perhaps ALL of these training methods work. Has anyone ever considered this? And if not, how do you explain someone getting results from a method that you don't believe in? How could that be possible? And don't give me the genetic freak argument. It doesn't wash. Too many people have made progress using too many varied training philisophies to make that argument believable.

YES!!! Thank you, razer2000. All training methods work. That's one flaw I see in some individuals thinking. Sometimes HIT advocates (not einstein) state that no other training systems work. Then what about the people who get results? That genetic freak argument doesn't hold water. I really wish people would stop using it.

Most HITers are soured on higher volume training programs because they tried a Musclemag super volume routine when they first started lifting weights. This is usually the only volume routine they've done. The gained say an inch on their upper arms and then results started to slow down and they got discouraged because they weren't going to look like Arnold in 3 months.

These hardgainers sometimes forget that while they were training "high volume" their daily food intake consisted of a bowl of cheerios, 6 oreos, and a piece of pizza for dinner. Hmmmm, I wonder why they weren't gaining? Must be the routine.

Ok, now back to my friend einstein.

-yes- going to positive failure stimulates growth because it is the last rep of the set which requires 100% intensity of effort. You can acheive + failure after one set.

Yes, you can achieve + failure in one set. And you've stimulated some growth. But there is the very likely possibility that it isn't enough of a workload to stimulate the maximum amount of growth.

it's true that the more heavy exercise you do will cause more microtears in the muscle. The problem is high volume routines do not give you the rest require to overcompensate for the workout. HIT looks for the optimum routine, one that is time efficient and stimulates growth.

Let's get this straight. I'm not advocating high volume for life. I'm advocating switching up programs periodically for maximizing gains.

A way many people have been successful with is building up the volume, working bodyparts 2-3 times per week, 6 workout days a week, sometimes even twice a days, and they dance with overtraining. Then after a few weeks they start cutting the volume back and they basically explode in size and get stronger faster than they would've following one training program for months on end.

How does that sound?

"I definitely think it would be possible to follow a routine training each part twice a week on which you'd grow. "yes but you will eventually hit a plateau from the overtraining.

Yes you would. But that's what I like about the idea of switching up routines when one goes stale. Say German Volume Training for 4 weeks, followed by lower volume HIT workouts for the next 4.

As a scientist, I can see where Jones was interested to find the optimal workout. Yes he was selling a product but so is everyone else trying to sell you their routine.

As a scientist... was he really a scientist? Just kidding. All right, so he was investigating the possibilities which kind of makes him a scientist. But I really think the main reason was more to sell his equipment.

as I said earlier, more sets means more muscle trauma. It's easier for you body to recover and compensate for growth after 1-2 sets vs. 15-20 sets every other day.

It is easier to for your body to recover from 1-2 sets than 15-20. But that doesn't mean immune system recovery is a gauge of how much muscle growth was stimulated. If that was the case we should put as little stress on the immune system as possible for max growth (maybe we should just workout once a month or not at all in that case).

-instead of using the BB, use the machiene. Take each set to + failure, and don't overtrain your delts. Also do 2 sets of DB lat raises to + failure for your lat delts.

I gave up my gym membership after winter was over. I've been training in a minimally equipped garage gym since then. I've got the basics (even a power rack which is great) but I don't have access to any machines.

the fact is that HIT works for everyone because everyone is physiologically built the same. That person would either need to increase rest days, or look to see if there is any overlap. That is assuming that person is getting a balanced diet and is going to + failure and not overtraining.

Now you're saying HIT works for everyone. Like I said earlier all training programs work. So HIT "works", i.e. it produces results.

I'm just saying that changing between low, moderate and high volume would yield much better results (both size and strength) for most people.

As I said earlier, if you can do more reps after supposedly going to + failure, you didn't truely go to + failure.

Even if you did half the number of reps 5-10 minutes later with the same weight,?

You would be able to do more reps even if you initially went to + failure. Muscles recover about 80% of their strength within 5 minutes so you would still have some more left.

As drained as your body feels after taking 2 sets to + failure, you could still do more reps.

You don't think so. What if you dropped the weight? Less intensity relative to your strength at the beginning of a workout. But maybe a high intensity for your energy and muscle fatigue levels.

Just to clarify: I'm not saying if you start off pressing 155 for a set of 8 to failure, that you can rest 30 seconds and do another set of 8 with the same weight.

those people also have steroids and money for a very good diet

Argghhh! :) The people who grow off more than 2 sets per bodypart are not all on steroids.

Money for a good diet? Well, eating clean and getting enough protein/calories can be expensive.
 
cabo,

I'm with you on what you said. After a while the body adapts to a program and changes have to be made to keep results coming. The human body does have the amazing ability to adapt to conditions its subjected to.

Belial

I'd agree to a certain extent, but there ARE limitations. The body is efficient, but it's not capable of adaptation to ANYTHING. it can only process X amounts of food, repair Y amounts of muscle fibers, increase strength by Z amount, etc. Though some athletes prosper through what many here would consider GROSS overtraining, (some olympic lifters, many speed athletes, team athletes, etc.), they nevertheless adapt and excel. But even they have their limits.

The amount of training olympic lifters do is really a testament to what the human body is capable of.

What we're after is OPTIMIZATION of conditions for growth; no sense forcing the body to put up with less-than-ideal conditions, no?

I think the optimization of conditions for growth would be coming off a high volume stage in a borderline overtrained state, and lowering the volume, increasing both food intake and rest. But I'm open to other opinions.

btw, this is an excellent discussion.

Yes it is. I'm enjoying it very much. And I'm hoping that it's at least making everyone think a little about why they do what they do.

HeavyDutyGuy, come to your senses :)

I dont buy the argument taht volume trainers train as hard, by definition, they CAN"T

What is your definition of hard? Of course they can.

In fact imagine this scenario. Let's say it's you so you know you wouldn't hold back.

You do your HIT workout. Say 4 sets for a bodypart. 2 sets each of 2 exercises. Now don't you think it would be even HARDER to continue lifting after doing your 4 sets to absolute positive failure?

As long as you didn't mentally hold back the extra volume is going to build up enough lactid acid to make your eyes water and your gut wrench.

Mentzer said this years ago

Metnzer said a lot of things.

compare the sprinter to the distance runner, one trains long- but it isn't very intense, the sprinter on the other hand trains more intensely, but he can't do it as long.... you can't sprint a full speed for a mile.

Well, sprinters don't just do one 100m sprint a week for practice. They practice for HOURS EVERY DAY. Mikey forgot to mention that little fact.

You can't sprint at full speed for a mile? You can go as hard as possible for a mile and you'll be going the top speed you're capable of at that moment.

To bring this fully into the gym, Try doing a BFT set wioth a maxweight for say8 reps, 6-8 forced reps, drop 30-40%, repeat, then drop again. You can do one ortwo sets of this per exercise and 1-3 exercises per body part- I DARE anyone to do 15- 20 sets of this.

I wouldn't exactly say BFT is HIT. But anyway, I've used it. And I've also done Jason Mueller's programs which he doesn't even recommend for us naturals. And let me tell you, I knew why after trying it. It was tough as hell. I'm sure it's very taxing on the immune system. But no one can say something like that which Mentzer would call overtraining is not going to produce growth if used for say a limited amount of time.

A dare. I might have to take you up on that.

On a more day to day level, I rarely see ANY volume trainers going to failure, except maybe on bench presses.

I don't either. That doesn't mean some don't.
 
wouldnt the last rep of a set be the hardest because you have depleted bodily resources?

Its funny i always thought that i was a high volume trainer performing around 6 - 10 sets per bodypart.
 
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