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Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => Training Q&A => Topic started by: figgs on November 06, 2006, 10:19:18 PM
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Although I've only done 2 HIT workouts I decided that since I'm so sure this routine is going to work like no other, I'm going to keep a thread where I write about my experiences with this routine. I know I write a lot but I try to make it interesting. I'll get started right away.
Here's my first and last HIT quad workout (just as posted on my other thread):
Total training time-5 minutes
3 drop sets of leg extensions for pre-exhaust-each drop set taken to absolute failure with forced reps
Immediately I went over to the leg press and started my set without any rest-25 reps taken to absolute failure with forced reps
40-50 second rest
Another set of leg presses taken to absolute failure with forced reps
In the end I just sprawled my body over the whole seat and nearly passed out. I got up just to feel what it's like to try to stand after such an endeavor. HOLY SHIT! What a feeling! I couldn't stand! After a while I tried to walk. While walking I had to keep my legs fully extended or else my thighs would sink to the ground! You tinytits try this shit!!
This is a whole new experience for me. I feel like I've taken my training to a whole new heightened level of intensity. And I'm only in the infancy of my potential. With more experience with HIT I will learn how to increase the intensity from workout to workout. I feel like a newborn! This is a very refreshing experience! And my muscles are going to blow up!!
I just enjoyed a post-workout meal of the Gods. A chicken quesadilla from baja fresh! Before I left for the gym I told myself that if I felt my workout wasn't satisfactory enough, I would feed the quesadilla to my dog!
And today's HIT calves, chest and hamstrings workout:
Total training time- 6-10 minutes
Since calves are my most desired muscle and they're also are a genetic struggle, I always start my workout with them. I warmed and stretched before beginning. It took me a little while to psyche myself up for the standing calf presses before I began. After stretching and warming up I started pacing, clenching my fists and stuff. And I set the pin to a moderately heavy weight, climbed up and felt realization sweep over me. This was going to be intense, and I knew it.
I then did my calf rises, focusing on proper form and slow reps. I just do that until I can not raise my calves a millimeter. I try to keep my form 100% even while on my last reps. My last reps are fucking crazy. I get into the stretched position and press as hard as I can! And it takes a good 5 seconds of force until I started lifting up. And then the rep takes about 10 seconds long to complete. I have about 5 or more reps like this until nothing is left. And then when I reached that point, I decided on the last minute that I wasn't satisfied with the set. It didn't burn enough. So I lowered the weight by 4 plates. OK it feels light. So I'll work with it anyway. And so I go through the same process. This drop set burns a lot more than that first. And then I realize I just keep going and going. It's really hard, but I'm not hitting failure. So I raise a plate. Then I was able to reach failure. I get off and stretch immediately. And this is the hardest part. The burn multiplies like you wouldn't believe. I stretch for 30 godawful seconds. And get moving along (limping) to do my chest.
I found a huge bodybuilder friend of mine in the gym. I knew I could rely on him for a spot so I and asked him to help me during my 2 minute chest workout. After agreeing, to my relief because I absolutely needed a partner for this, I got warmed up with some push ups and stretches. I saw that huge guy I owned in the squat racks. The guy I wrote about in my thread "Story of a natural kid owning a juicer". I saw him doing flyes with the 45s and I saw a monster opportunity to own the shit out of him a second time. I was going to start my chest workout with flat flyes using the 70s. I wanted to neighbor benches with him and fucking put him to shame. BUT THE DAMN BENCHES WERE TAKEN!!!!
And then my chest workout begun. I flyed the 70s for a surprisingly high amount of reps. I was happy with the increase in lift. And the intensity. I took the set to absolute failure with forced reps. And then I dropsetted immediately using the 45s (motivated to do so by you know who). My pecs were set ablaze. Immediately after failing, I went over to the incline bench, where I set up my bar of a mere 155 pounds. Low reps! My pecs were feeling it! Took off 40 pounds and repped out some more! 20 pounds off and I swear to you, I hit absolute mother fucking failure. My spotter was just curling the weight (95 pounds!!!!). My chest was done, my shoulders were fried, and my triceps were limp. I had no power left in me. Not an ounce of it, even with all the adrenaline flowing through my veins. My pecs were annihilated in 2 minutes. My pump was unbelievable. Even now, hours later, I still feel the remnants of what was a truly extraordinary pump.
On to hamstrings. This routine is purely mine. I didn't get it from the Menzter book. I started with 3 sets of drop sets on the leg curl machine. After 3 great sets, I went to where I set up a step-up platform thing to do stiff-legged DLs. With my hamstrings fatigued from the pre-exhaust sets, I knew this was going to do some damage. And it did. I chose a good weight to get 9-10 reps. 2 minute workout!
Tomorrow is back and abs. A 6 minute workout or so. I'll keep you updated. I can't write a lot like I did today. I just did today because I have no school tomorrow. So if you hate reading all my writing, this will come to a relief to you.
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Today I did my first HIT back workout. I decided to train in my high school's weight training room during gym for the first time to show the little tits how it's done!
Today's back workout:
Total training time- 3-4 minutes
I started off with cable pullovers for pre-exhaust. I did 2 drop sets, each in a moderate rep range (6-10). I had forced reps on both sets until failure was achieved.
Immediately following pullovers I did BB rows. 195 for way too many reps. Around 13 or so. After hitting failure I lowered 20 pounds to blast out another 10 reps. Because of the high reps, I was really out of breath. So I took a 40-50 second break.
Now for the hard part. Deadlifts. With a back annihilated from pre-exhaust and drop sets, I had a set of deadlifts to do. And I had to do them without rest. I did only about 270 pounds or something. But I underestimated my strength. I did about 8 or 9 reps. When the set got at its most exhausting point, I looked around at the other students, all 30 of them were watching me. I knew I couldn't stop. I eventually hit failure, and collapsed on the floor.
Without stretching my ego, I know I can say as a matter of fact that I had the most intense workout to ever take place in my high school.
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With all this HIT stuff going on, how are you doing in your goal to get the strongest grip possible? Last month it was all about the grip. Making progress? Wonder what's it going to be next month. Good Luck.
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With all this HIT stuff going on, how are you doing in your goal to get the strongest grip possible? Last month it was all about the grip. Making progress? Wonder what's it going to be next month. Good Luck.
LOL yeah I have a lot of goals to meet. The grip training is going alright. I still need to order those COC grippers, but I've been doing static holds, farmers walks, tearing old notebooks and squeezing apples and potatoes. hahaha I'm having fun. Thanks.
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Crazy stuff! What style did you do before HIT?
Also, why are you not doing anymore HIT quad training again?
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Good shit figgs, keep us posted. I am always looking for new routines to mix in every 8-10 weeks. I like the sound of chest work. Sounds good.
Try it that chest workout!
Crazy stuff! What style did you do before HIT?
Also, why are you not doing anymore HIT quad training again?
My style was high intensity, low volume. How it's changed is I've added pre-exhausting, drop sets and much (zero) rest time inbetween sets.
My next quad workout is sunday. And I'm doing leg extensions followed by hack squats!
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HIT deltoids and arms:
Total training time- 7-8 minutes
I started with my deltoids. I chose to do dumbell laterals for pre-exhaust. I did the 40s for high reps with some cheating and forced reps. My spotter sucked so the set could have been better. Immediately following I used the 25s, again for high reps. My spotter did a better job this time after I scolded him haha. And then I went right into seated military presses. 105 pounds for decent reps. Maybe 6 or 7. I then lowered the weight by 20 pounds and did about 4 more reps. Absolute failure and complete exhaustion of my deltoids was achieved. They were functionally useless at that point. I finished off with 2 drop sets of bent over laterals.
Then on to triceps. I really enjoyed my tricep workout. It went perfectly smooth. Good spotter (a different one than before) and everything was set up right next to eachother. I started with french presses. I did 135 for about 10 reps to failure. I dropped down to 85 and got about 6 more reps. I went right into close grip bench presses with only 135. I got about 5 or 6 reps. I had never felt a pump like this! When I was walking around, psyching myself up for biceps, my arms swinging at my sides felt limp. My triceps were done, wasted, blitzed to fuckin hell.
Then on to biceps. I had a really good spotter for this workout. When this guy agreed to spot me I gave him the usual rules of spotting and told him to pretend he's torturing me lol. I started with BB curls. 115 pounds I did for 9 or 10 reps with perfect form, forced reps applied. BB preacher curls followed. I did only 50 pounds for about 6 reps. This was intense as f**k. I love preacher curls for this reason. There's no cheating and no way out of the pain that's felt. Not unless you give up the set, which in my mind isn't even a debatable issue. The negative on my last rep was slowwww. Great workout. My pump was past its prime, which meant I had done more than enough to stimulate the growth process. And now, the next day, my biceps are sore. They almost never get sore.
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HIT sucks...volume training is better, that was proven long ago. That being said, volume and intensity should be varied over time, so its ok to have periods of planned overreaching(maybe 3 weeks of extreme intensity, and during these phases each muscle can still be worked more than once a week l..) Often its the fact that you change a routine that adds muscle..not the fact that its HIT, HST or whatever.
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HIT sucks...volume training is better, that was proven long ago. That being said, volume and intensity should be varied over time, so its ok to have periods of planned overreaching(maybe 3 weeks of extreme intensity, and during these phases each muscle can still be worked more than once a week l..) Often its the fact that you change a routine that adds muscle..not the fact that its HIT, HST or whatever.
No. HIT is a proven formula that produces optimal increases in muscle strength and size for EVERYONE. That is, everyone that can bear to train on such a level of intensity.
Anomtomically and physiologically, every human being is essentially the same. So to say that there is no specific scientific nature or cause of what activates the growth process is to say something devoid of all logic and reasoning. Muscle is muscle. A human being is a human being.
Volume training is not only a waste of time and effort, but is actually counterproductive. You draw from your energy reserves during training. And it doesn't take 5 minutes after your workout to restore the energy that was used up. It takes days. And It's far more important for your body to restore it's energy reserves than it is to use energy for building new muscle tissue because those energy reserves are necessary for survival, while building a 20 inch arm is not.
Imagine each set performed is like digging a hole into your energy reserves. The more sets performed, the deeper the hole and the longer that hole takes to fill up during rest. The first thing your body must do after the workout is not build a mountain, i.e., the new muscle growth on top, but fill the hole you've made below. That is, it must recover, overcome the deficit, compensate for the exhaustive effects of the workout. And so because it takes several days before that hole is filled up, it takes even longer to start building the mountain.
With that in mind, we're able to see just how and why HIT is as effective as it is. When volume is lowered, and energy reserves are spared, we are able to restore our energy reserves faster and enter the muscle building process sooner. Not only do we enter the muscle process sooner, but we also have a greater amount of energy which can be used to build new muscles.
This is a workout program that was the result of one man's use of of a specific method of thought. One of logic and reasoning. Mike Mentzer was perhaps the greatest bodybuilder of all time. He dedicated himself to making a science out of bodybuilding. And that he did. It's called HIT.
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Figgs, what other physical activities do you do besides working out?
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Figgs - Do you warmup for any exercises? For you flyes for example do you warmup to the 40lbers for your worksets before the dropset?
I dont imagine you warmup after the flyes for inclines do you? You go straight to workset as pec muscles are already warm?
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Are you gaining much weight from HIT?
I trained it for ages and loved it to, the short bursts of intense training are so much better than long drawn out sessions! This keeps the mind motivated which in my experience is 99% of the battle!
Good log Figgs!
ta ta
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Figgs, what other physical activities do you do besides working out?
Nothing much right now. If my high school were able to afford a football or wrestling team I'd be the first to sign up, but I have no opportunities.
Besides working out, I consider running a hobby.
Figgs - Do you warmup for any exercises? For you flyes for example do you warmup to the 40lbers for your worksets before the dropset?
I dont imagine you warmup after the flyes for inclines do you? You go straight to workset as pec muscles are already warm?
I warm up and stretch before I start each workout. And do so very thoroughly. I'll warm up with both flyes and presses for example. Tearing a muscle is my worst nightmare.
I don't warm up after flyes because that wouldn't be HIT. I have to go right from set to set, exercise to exercise with literally no rest inbetween each.
Are you gaining much weight from HIT?
I trained it for ages and loved it to, the short bursts of intense training are so much better than long drawn out sessions! This keeps the mind motivated which in my experience is 99% of the battle!
Good log Figgs!
ta ta
I just finished my first week so I havn't noticed an increase in weight, but I really feel great. I feel I'm at my biggest and strongest. I can really almost feel myself improving after only a week of HIT.
It's hard to find others who have the power to willingly put themselves through that kind of pain and intensity. Glad to know you not only were able to, but enjoyed it as well. How much experience do you have and how did it work for you?
Thanks guys. :)
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Maybe you can format your log as follows:
Exercise 1
sets x reps x weight
rest period
Exercise 2
sets x reps x weight
rest period
This will not only make it quicker to read but you can reference it faster as well. Just an idea!
8)
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Yep! But the thing is I like to write and can get carried away sometimes. Also it's that this thread is also being used as a personal log for myself. So I'm writing down my experiences as detailed as I can for now, in the beginning.
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You seem to have really really good/intense workouts. 8)
I saw that huge guy I owned in the squat racks. The guy I wrote about in my thread "Story of a natural kid owning a juicer". I saw him doing flyes with the 45s and I saw a monster opportunity to own the shit out of him a second time. I was going to start my chest workout with flat flyes using the 70s. I wanted to neighbor benches with him and fucking put him to shame. BUT THE DAMN BENCHES WERE TAKEN!!!!
You really should work on not sounding like an arrogant douche though.
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Figgs have u eva considered using am arthur jones type approach. 1set of each, 3 times as week full body??
davie
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What Mentzer book exactly do you have?
I have several and I have never seen him recommend dropsets or second sets ?
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You seem to have really really good/intense workouts. 8)
You really should work on not sounding like an arrogant douche though.
They're awesome workouts. And I'm not usually a dick. I just thought that would have been really funny hahaha.
Figgs have u eva considered using am arthur jones type approach. 1set of each, 3 times as week full body??
davie
Yes. Actually, myseone has just pmed me a few links to very informative websites on alternate HIT routines, one of which by Arthur Jones.
What Mentzer book exactly do you have?
I have several and I have never seen him recommend dropsets or second sets ?
I have HIT training the Mike Mentzer Way. And you're right he doesn't recommend drop sets. I'm just a lunatic. I have, however, eased up on the drop sets because I got REALLY sore and suspected overtraining. And you'll see the changes I've made on my last workout.
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And I'm not usually a dick. I just thought that would have been really funny
It actually was lol.
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Quads:
Total training time- 2 minutes
Leg extensions- 3 drops sets x 8-18
Leg presses- 1 x 16
Without a spotter I couldn't have a maximally intense leg extension workout. To compensate for the fact I chose to do 3 drop sets. I otherwise would have done 2 drop sets. These sets were really intense, although I was dissappointed. My final set I could not left the weight unless I cheated. And so I cheated for a few more reps. :P
My set of leg presses was done to absolute failure. And I'm very happy to be able to say that.
Next week I'm going to increase the weight on leg presses. And will do so little by little each week by at least 10 pounds.
Overall, the workout was just alright. It was extremely intense but I feel it could have been more so if I had a spotter. Goddamnit.
Today I'm going swimming. I need to do more cardio now that I'm burning much less calories. I've gotten a bit chunkier. With added cardio I should get down to a good maintainable BF%.
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figsy - I know from experience that really good spotters who you can trust are few and far between in most gyms.
It must be hard to be able to trust just anyone to spot you especially seeing as you have 1 set and 1 chance to get all you can out of your workout with HIT so if the spotter is intent on barbell rowing when you are bench pressing it could fuck the entire workout.
Do you just have a few guys in the gym who you can pick and chose from that you can trust.
A good spotter for HIT is vital and probably not emphasised enough.
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You're training too often too figgs! ;D
If I remember correctly In the mentzer way Mike said to train only every 5-7 days :P
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You're training too often too figgs! ;D
If I remember correctly In the mentzer way Mike said to train only every 5-7 days :P
hahahah nahh Mike made some crazy claims like that but I actually LIKE to train so I'm not going to limit myself like that!
figsy - I know from experience that really good spotters who you can trust are few and far between in most gyms.
It must be hard to be able to trust just anyone to spot you especially seeing as you have 1 set and 1 chance to get all you can out of your workout with HIT so if the spotter is intent on barbell rowing when you are bench pressing it could f**k the entire workout.
Do you just have a few guys in the gym who you can pick and chose from that you can trust.
A good spotter for HIT is vital and probably not emphasised enough.
You're absolutely right. I'm very picky with who spots me. I picked the wrong idiot today. I told him to help me with the lift the slightest bit and he's doing half the work until I scold him about it. ;D
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Quads:
Total training time- 2 minutes
brutal stimulation
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Calves, chest and hams
Total training time- 7-8 minutes
Calves:
Standing calf rises 2 drop sets x 18 total reps
Chest:
70 lb. flyes x 10
45 lb. drop set x 8
155 lb. incline barbell bench x 4
115 lb. drop set x 3 (HEAVY!! ::) ;D)
Hams:
w/ stack lying leg curls x 7
minus 4 plates drop set x 6
80 lb. stiff legged DL x 8
Forearms/grip:
80 lb. DB farmers walk from rack to leg curl machine :)
Again I'm going to emphasize that I take literally no rest inbetween sets and exercises. Just brief breathers inbetween muscle groups.
Ratings:
Calves- I believe I exerted maximum effort of intensity. I pushed myself on the calf rises as hard as possible. My form was flawless.
9 out of 10 (always room for improvement)
Chest- My intensity was phenominal and my form was great but my spotter was licking balls instead of focusing on my set. And while on my way to the incline bench I discovered someone took a 10 lb. plate from the bar so I took 10 seconds of break to replace it.
7 out of 10 (9 without the f**k ups)
Hams- Nearly perfect workout. I was surprised to learn that I maxed out on the lying leg curl machine. My form was excellent and my intensity was as good as can be without forced reps. Slowww reps!! The stiff legged DLs were great!
9 out of 10 (10 with forced reps)
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hahahah nahh Mike made some crazy claims like that but I actually LIKE to train so I'm not going to limit myself like that!
So, you think the reason behind Mentzer recommending training once every 5-7 day is because he didn't liked to train? ???
As opposed to you, I mean...
YIP
Zack
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No, Mike had a deep passion for bodybuilding that far exceeds mine, as he proved by becoming a champion bodybuilder and through his nonstop dedication towards his research efforts in the science of bodybuilding.
If I limited myself to only one workout a week I would be depriving myself of what I love to do.
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No, Mike had a deep passion for bodybuilding that far exceeds mine, as he proved by becoming a champion bodybuilder and through his nonstop dedication towards his research efforts in the science of bodybuilding.
If I limited myself to only one workout a week I would be depriving myself of what I love to do.
So you're basically gonna say "fcuk that" to Mentzer's reasoning on recovery and growth between workouts?
A question for you figgs:
Why do you think Mentzer recommended a workout once every 5-7 day?
YIP
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So you're basically gonna say "fcuk that" to Mentzer's reasoning on recovery and growth between workouts?
A question for you figgs:
Why do you think Mentzer recommended a workout once every 5-7 day?
YIP
Wrong again. On the chapter of his book about adaption, Mike goes over over three probable reasons why one may not have progressed lately. And one of them was that the workouts were too long and the rest between them was too short to allow for overcompensation. If this is the case, he recommends they take a layoff of at least one week to allow the body enough time to fully restore its reserves of adaption energy. And their new training routines should consist of less frequent workouts, perhaps 2 a week and 2 sets a muscle. And if this routine does not produce immediate results, he recommends workouts be cut back to only one training session every five to seven days.
Do you now see how myths begin?
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It's hard to find others who have the power to willingly put themselves through that kind of pain and intensity. Glad to know you not only were able to, but enjoyed it as well. How much experience do you have and how did it work for you?
Thanks guys. :)
I have vast experience with HIT, however after reviewing my training I'm sort of doing a "world tour" of training protocols at the moment.
I gained a hell of a lot of weight with HIT all the theories just seem to make sense to me and volume training is hard for me to get my head round!
One thing I found with HIT though and this is my own personal experience is that you need to keep rotating certain exercises, I'm not talking deads for squats or any of that gayness i'm talking about certain bi/tri exercises shoulder work outs you get the idea.
Also recording what you have done and beating it! Intensity is useless if no progress is occuring!
good luck
ta ta
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I have vast experience with HIT, however after reviewing my training I'm sort of doing a "world tour" of training protocols at the moment.
I gained a hell of a lot of weight with HIT all the theories just seem to make sense to me and volume training is hard for me to get my head round!
One thing I found with HIT though and this is my own personal experience is that you need to keep rotating certain exercises, I'm not talking deads for squats or any of that gayness i'm talking about certain bi/tri exercises shoulder work outs you get the idea.
Also recording what you have done and beating it! Intensity is useless if no progress is occuring!
good luck
ta ta
It's good that I had gotten into the habit of switching exercises from workout to workout already. I'll hold on to that habit for as long as I train.
HIT not only makes sense, it's a science. And science is fact. Sure, there may be rival training protocals, but HIT has proven itself through science.
I plan to switch up training protocals like you're doing. I really just want to try them all. I might start Arthur Jones and Trevor Smith's programs sometime in the future.
What's your training routine look like now?
"Dig deep and find the drive to train harder than you ever have before...exceed yourself!"
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I'm trying MAX-OT at the moment, which has its good points especially strength gains, I also tried HST but the lack of intensity and 1 balls to the wall session every two weeks was really not for me.
I will be returning to HIT at some stage but I don't want to blindly discount other methods before i've tried them!
Anyways my HIT leg work out went like this
3x Squats warm up sets
1 x rest pause set of leg extensions (i simply could not walk for a few seconds after this set due to my the strength I managed to build up on this exercise )
1 x rest pause set of squats (just really telling my body to do it and ignoring the pain)
1 x rest pause set of leg presses
all sets to failure and concentrating on eeking out every last rep even after you think you cannot move a inch! No rest but for the time it takes to get to the next station
One thing I have found though is my strength did not progress hugely on pressing movements but in other lifts it did.
ta ta
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I'm trying MAX-OT at the moment, which has its good points especially strength gains, I also tried HST but the lack of intensity and 1 balls to the wall session every two weeks was really not for me.
I will be returning to HIT at some stage but I don't want to blindly discount other methods before i've tried them!
Anyways my HIT leg work out went like this
3x Squats warm up sets
1 x rest pause set of leg extensions (i simply could not walk for a few seconds after this set due to my the strength I managed to build up on this exercise )
1 x rest pause set of squats (just really telling my body to do it and ignoring the pain)
1 x rest pause set of leg presses
all sets to failure and concentrating on eeking out every last rep even after you think you cannot move a inch! No rest but for the time it takes to get to the next station
One thing I have found though is my strength did not progress hugely on pressing movements but in other lifts it did.
ta ta
So i take it u had rep target for the set of probs 15 and u did as many as u cud until u failed, waited 10 seconds and went again. and kept going until u got ur 15 (or wateva ur rep target was) reps??
When did u up the weight? When u could get say 10 reps in one go??
davie
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figgs have you ever read anything about Beyond Failure Training? Very cool stuff there, lots of pre-exhaust methods are used, very intense workouts....might be a good read for ya.
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So i take it u had rep target for the set of probs 15 and u did as many as u cud until u failed, waited 10 seconds and went again. and kept going until u got ur 15 (or wateva ur rep target was) reps??
When did u up the weight? When u could get say 10 reps in one go??
davie
I always used 6-8 as my goal except for legs, so extensions would normally end around 9-10 and the same for squats, leg presses would be whatever i could get, never less than 6 though.
I wait 7-10 secs before finishing the set, as it is one set not two.
In general if I found I was going over 10 reps (for legs) I would increase the weight, extensions just went up and up till I easily repped the stack bar one plate, however when increasing the initial load you must bear in mind especially for legs the effect this may have on your next lift.
So if you have jumped up on extensions and then you have to bear in mind that for Squats you should not increase the weight here too as the quads will be fried from the extra work, so in effect the same weight here is going to be a heavier weight for you, spotters are a must on squats not just from a forced reps point of view but from a safety point of view!
The amount of times i've gone past parallel and thought of shit this ain't coming back up is countless but my buddies are there to pull me up!
You are training on the edge here, it is easy to go over it so be careful! haha sounds real dramatic but be safe!
ta ta
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I always used 6-8 as my goal except for legs, so extensions would normally end around 9-10 and the same for squats, leg presses would be whatever i could get, never less than 6 though.
I wait 7-10 secs before finishing the set, as it is one set not two.
In general if I found I was going over 10 reps (for legs) I would increase the weight, extensions just went up and up till I easily repped the stack bar one plate, however when increasing the initial load you must bear in mind especially for legs the effect this may have on your next lift.
So if you have jumped up on extensions and then you have to bear in mind that for Squats you should not increase the weight here too as the quads will be fried from the extra work, so in effect the same weight here is going to be a heavier weight for you, spotters are a must on squats not just from a forced reps point of view but from a safety point of view!
The amount of times i've gone past parallel and thought of shit this ain't coming back up is countless but my buddies are there to pull me up!
You are training on the edge here, it is easy to go over it so be careful! haha sounds real dramatic but be safe!
ta ta
Natural al.... i sent figgs an article by trevor smith on beyond failure trainng, it is pretty nuts lol.
So wen u say rest pause how many reps r u getting b4 u take ur 7-10 second break??
davie
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Around 6-8, if i got 8 then the likleyhood is I would then go over ten reps and therefore up the weight next week. But after a set reached failure initially i would only really ever get 2-3 reps out after.
Thats just me though, Mentzer advocated 1-3 reps for instance on inc bench after pre exhausting the pecs so even within the rules of HIT there is some play in my opinion.
ta ta
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I'm recovering from the flu. I'll get back at it soon enough. :-\
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I'm recovering from the flu. I'll get back at it soon enough. :-\
Get well, take a shit load of Vitamin C.
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I'm recovering from the flu. I'll get back at it soon enough. :-\
Thats what happens when you dont exactly follow Mike's rules, you are now officially overtrained ;D
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Get well, take a shit load of Vitamin C.
I've been drinking oj by the gallon.
Thats what happens when you dont exactly follow Mike's rules, you are now officially overtrained ;D
hahhahaha if I get the flu from overtraining with 4 sets I don't want to know what would happen if I did 20!
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Indeed, I suggest you not try it ;D
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I'M BACK! ;D
I havn't posted in a while because of school and also because my first workout following my flu recovery was an embarrassment! My workouts since then have been good, but I'm going to start posting logs again once I finish this workout cycle. I'm still getting the hang of HIT, plus I'm slightly weaker from being bed ridden for 5 days. I'm feeling better each day and I'm optimistic about my next workout cycle.
I wish you sll good workouts (and good health!).
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I have vast experience with HIT, however after reviewing my training I'm sort of doing a "world tour" of training protocols at the moment.
One thing I found with HIT though and this is my own personal experience is that you need to keep rotating certain exercises, I'm not talking deads for squats or any of that gayness i'm talking about certain bi/tri exercises shoulder work outs you get the idea.
Let us know if the need to change exercises extends to other protocols, may just be a normal progression.
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So you're basically gonna say "fcuk that" to Mentzer's reasoning on recovery and growth between workouts?
Mentzer's is just one take; a paradigm. Something to try and either stick with, modify as Yates did, or abandon altogether if it doesn't work. No holy grails required.
Myself i agree with the belief that 2-3 days is sufficient rest, after which time the muscle's progress actually begins to slide backwards. The only exception to that would be in cases where the muscle's still sore, in which case continue resting. The only other argument i can see against 2-3 times a week is CNS stress, which is far from certain.
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It's good that I had gotten into the habit of switching exercises from workout to workout already. I'll hold on to that habit for as long as I train.
HIT not only makes sense, it's a science. And science is fact. Sure, there may be rival training protocals, but HIT has proven itself through science.
I plan to switch up training protocals like you're doing. I really just want to try them all. I might start Arthur Jones and Trevor Smith's programs sometime in the future.
It may seem like "science", but don't take it as gospel. Try it, gauge for yourself and retain only those things that work. Trying every possible protocol's obviously the best way to gain better perspectives as to relative efficacy of HIT or anything else. Without those perspectives, it's hard to accurately judge one program on it's own.
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Anyways my HIT leg work out went like this
3x Squats warm up sets
1 x rest pause set of leg extensions (i simply could not walk for a few seconds after this set due to my the strength I managed to build up on this exercise )
1 x rest pause set of squats (just really telling my body to do it and ignoring the pain)
1 x rest pause set of leg presses
all sets to failure and concentrating on eeking out every last rep even after you think you cannot move a inch! No rest but for the time it takes to get to the next station
One thing I have found though is my strength did not progress hugely on pressing movements but in other lifts it did.
ta ta
There are reasons to consider varying this approach, in which there's virtually no rest:
-Yates said that in doing the sets consecutively, he subconsciously had problems going all-out on the initial set, knowing what lay ahead.
-Minimal intra-set rests were also an attempt to incorporate cardio into the routine. Many feel it's better to separate the two.
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I'M BACK! ;D
I havn't posted in a while because of school and also because my first workout following my flu recovery was an embarrassment! My workouts since then have been good, but I'm going to start posting logs again once I finish this workout cycle. I'm still getting the hang of HIT, plus I'm slightly weaker from being bed ridden for 5 days. I'm feeling better each day and I'm optimistic about my next workout cycle.
Where does the supposedly "healthy"/all-natural weed intake enter into the cold equation? ;)
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Im not sure which HIT (or branch of HIT) style i am training with, i just kinda adapted it.
Heres was wednesdays leg workout.
1. Leg raise (once i get 15 reps in 1 go i up weight next time)
got 18 reps, then failed rest/paused then continued and got another 6,failed rest/paused then got another 5 reps.
2. squats....target is 12 reps in one go, i got 10, rest/paused then got another 5 before i failed.....i then dropped weight (drop set) by about 35% and forced out 20 reps (thought i was gonna fail at 15 but got 20).
3. Leg press (weight stack in my gym only goes to about 200kg's)......Try and beat last weeks reps total of 28 reps. This week i got 30 reps in one go. burnnnnnn!
4. Ham curls (performed in same way as leg raise).
I use forced reps/drop sets and rest/pause on shoulders/back and chest. But on legs and arms i only use rest/pause and drop sets.
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Also meant to say that i go from exercise to exercise with no rest apart from walking there and taking a sip of water.
I am curious as to wether an upper/lower split has ever been merged with HIT training??
I no this would b tough on the triceps as there being used with chest and shoulders, and either chest or shoulders might suffer in a workout like this, but i was just curious as to what u thought about.
I am currently doing certain body parts on certain days, but the idea of upper/lower HIT split got me thinking.
davie
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Chest: A new cycle begins!
Total training time- 2 minutes
Pec Deck- 70 x 10-12
Incline Press machine- 60 x 10
This workout was pure perfection. I did the reps super slow and went to positive, static, and negative failure. Pure and absolute muscular failure.
When I reached positive failure on the pec deck I held in the peak contraction position for as long as possible until I was forced into lowering. And that I did very slowly. And then my training partner helped my back into the peak contraction and I held once again for a much less amount of time (static failure) and the weight just dropped instead of being a controlled descent (negative failure).
Incline presses done equally slow and I again reached positive, static and negative failure.
Perfection. I'm perfectly content with this workout.
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Super slow? I thought HIT was about intense workouts; going as fast as you can.
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Super slow? I thought HIT was about intense workouts; going as fast as you can.
Wen u do static hold on incline press (or any compound move) r u just holding weight above u, like the start/end position for each rep?
HAve u tried the rest/pause yet, finding it good way of getting extra rep or 2 out, so even after u fail on set u can usually get another rep or 2 out witha rest/pause.
davie
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Wen u do static hold on incline press (or any compound move) r u just holding weight above u, like the start/end position for each rep?
HAve u tried the rest/pause yet, finding it good way of getting extra rep or 2 out, so even after u fail on set u can usually get another rep or 2 out witha rest/pause.
davie
Static holds are meant to be used only during the peak contraction position of a muscle's range of motion. For example, The top position of leg extensions, leg curls and the highest point of a toe raise.
I havn't tried rest-pause yet because I'm still trying to perfect the whole HIT routine.
Super slow? I thought HIT was about intense workouts; going as fast as you can.
NOOO!!! Try both speeds and compare how they feel! Slow is wayyyy more intense!!
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Calves, Back and Hams:
Total training time- 10 minutes
Standing calf rises-
160 x 18
drop set
140 x 9
Machine pullovers-
180 x 9
T-bar rows w/out lower back-
70 x 9
Deadlifts-
295 x 8
Lying leg curls-
150 x 9
drop set
140 x 2
drop set
100 x 4
Workout rating- 9 out of 10
I did the impossible and increased the intensity of my calf training. I used super slow reps, forced reps, static holds and negatives. I was happy to notice an increase in my calf strength (FINALLY!!!!) and was doing non-stop torturous reps.
My back workout was the same, I used super slow reps, forced reps, static holds and negatives, particularly on pullovers. T-bar rows were great and the deadlifts that followed told me I increased on these as well!
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I did the reps super slow and went to positive, static, and negative failure. Pure and absolute muscular failure.
Same thought-IMO super-slow's not necessarily the best move. Reasoning: the intensity and burn created in this fashion has nothing to do with increasing the load imposed on the muscles-all the pain from super-slow may end up developing a muscle's endurance rather than size.
Therefore it's reasonable to wonder whether this is really worth enduring the additional suffering, vs. pain that can be incurred by handling heavier and heavier loads using the abovementioned post-failure techniques like negative failure, rest-pause, burns, negatives, etc.
Nothing carved in stone, i'm not saying i'm right but others have noticed same: super-slow is very painful but i'm unsure that the pain in this case equates to growth. It might for example, cause the muscles to increase their endurance from all the time under tension, but endurance isn't the goal.
That's completely aside from the fact that super-slow training simply isn't appealing to most, is truly gruelling. That's in addition to the fact that most don't find HIT appealing to begin with-adding super-slow it would seem is ideal only for gluttons for punishment. ;D
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Same thought-IMO super-slow's not necessarily the best move. Reasoning: the intensity and burn created in this fashion has nothing to do with increasing the load imposed on the muscles. Therefore it's reasonable to wonder whether this is really worth enduring the additional suffering, vs. pain that can be incurred by handling heavier and heavier loads using the abovementioned post-failure techniques like negative failure, rest-pause, burns, negatives, etc.
Nothing carved in stone, i'm not saying i'm right but others have noticed same: super-slow is very painful but i'm unsure that the pain in this case equates to growth. It might for example, cause the muscles to increase their endurance from all the time under tension, but that's not the goal.
In that case I'm an experimenter. As you know, I'm a masochist in the gym (the more pain the better!), and I can assure you that slow reps are an intensity technique that produces results!
Look at these videos of example HIT training. On most exercises, reps are done very slow. Leg presses, no. Forget about it. That's dangerous and stupid.
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In that case I'm an experimenter. As you know, I'm a masochist in the gym (the more pain the better!), and I can assure you that slow reps are an intensity technique that produces results!
Look at these videos of example HIT training. On most exercises, reps are done very slow. Leg presses, no. Forget about it. That's dangerous and stupid.
Great to experiment. The only caveats:
-Compare a period of super-slow to standard rep speed training, preferably not one right after the other, as the body may aclimate to HIT in general before trying the alternative version.
-HIT's already a niche because it's gruelling. To add super-slow to it is very unusual and just makes it even less appealing to most, even less viable to do let alone to stay on over time, for most.
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Those videos confirm that this is TORTURE that only some can stomach. I can train just as hard but there's something extraordinarily GRUELLING about super-slow that is entirely unappealing. Might work but so would standard rep speed, probably better given that super-slow's going to emphasize slow-twitch endurance fibers. I like the rhythmn & cadence of normal-speed reps, it's part of training that makes it easier to endure.
Those I hope that's not Mentzer there, he looks/sounds like shit.
The super-slow technique was only used by some; Yates didn't use it. Worth trying for some but hard to envision doing this for any length of time.
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Don't forget, this video was filmed soon before Mike's death. He and his brother were both sick for a while priod to their death.
HIT is the most unappealing training program I know of. I'm the only crazy mother fucker it appeals to. ;D It's backed by science and that's all the motivation I need to keep it up.
Slow reps burn and they force you to lighten the lift but I still get progressively stronger while using this method.
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Weeks or months later do same using standard speed, and compare; i'm sure you were planning on it. I'd say don't do it immediately after finishing super-slow, only because the body may be have temporarily exhausted it's ability to grow from the preceeding super-slow training.
Might be better to try the other version either after a week's rest or with standard training in between for a short while.
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HIT is the most unappealing training program I know of. I'm the only crazy mother fucker it appeals to. ;D It's backed by science and that's all the motivation I need to keep it up.
I'm sure it works; only question's whether it's any better than HIT variations or standard moderate set training that also incorporates some post-failure techniques that are less exhaustive per set but still very challenging.
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Hey figgs great log I am enjoying it very much. Great posts!
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Hey figgs great log I am enjoying it very much. Great posts!
Great post! ::)
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Great post! ::)
You're just bitter Ronnie lost again.
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You're just bitter Ronnie lost again.
Most are just fine with 8 wins. ;)
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HIT is the most unappealing training program I know of. I'm the only crazy mother fucker it appeals to. ;D It's backed by science and that's all the motivation I need to keep it up.
keep syain that bro ;D
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keep syain that bro ;D
Without intentionally doing it yesterday i did cable laterals and was static holding at the top (arm parralel to floor) position. that was hard worl, i think i could have been evenmore intense but shoulders are actually kinda sore for the 1st time ever really.
Also i wasnt pre-exhausting back, i did t-bars followed by pulldowns, backs a bit sore but i want it worse than that!! cant really think of any good isolation back moves tho?!
davie
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Without intentionally doing it yesterday i did cable laterals and was static holding at the top (arm parralel to floor) position. that was hard worl, i think i could have been evenmore intense but shoulders are actually kinda sore for the 1st time ever really.
Also i wasnt pre-exhausting back, i did t-bars followed by pulldowns, backs a bit sore but i want it worse than that!! cant really think of any good isolation back moves tho?!
davie
pullovers. The old natilus machine is the best but DB pullovers will work.
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interesting
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pullovers. The old natilus machine is the best but DB pullovers will work.
what gyms have these pullover machines? Why are they so rare? DB pullovers just feel like crap to me, as well it's very hard to isolate the lats in lieu of the chest and triceps doing a good majority of the work >:(
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what gyms have these pullover machines? Why are they so rare? DB pullovers just feel like crap to me, as well it's very hard to isolate the lats in lieu of the chest and triceps doing a good majority of the work >:(
The Nautilus versions are somewhat rare because they were introduced 30 years ago in many cases, aren't part of modern gyms with relatively new equipment. Usually found in long-time old gyms, like YMCAs. Newer versions made by other companies like Hammer are also good.
There is an option for pubes: do decline pullovers, which are better than the standard version, or better still and very similar to machine pullovers, use ab straps. The kind used for vertical leg lifts-keep the arms in and pull UP, using a pullover motion. Very similar to a pullover machine, takes the arms out of the equation. Can be done using either a chin up bar or attached to a lat pulley.
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The one Yates has in Temple Gym is one of the original Nautilis ones....but I saw on their website they are about $5500 so that explains why I've never seen one :o
Oh, and what's up with the "pubes" shit? Try and keep that immaturity in the truce thread ;)
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The Nautilus versions are somewhat rare because they were introduced 30 years ago in many cases, aren't part of modern gyms with relatively new equipment. Usually found in long-time old gyms, like YMCAs. Newer versions made by other companies like Hammer are also good.
There is an option for pubes: do decline pullovers, which are better than the standard version, or better still and very similar to machine pullovers, use ab straps. The kind used for vertical leg lifts-keep the arms in and pull UP, using a pullover motion. Very similar to a pullover machine, takes the arms out of the equation.
I have about 3 gyms locally that have the naut. versions...seems like that's the only piece of the old naut equipment that is still around which is a shame cause it's great stuff. I heard they have a lawsuit againts them over something regarding all that old equipement that's why it's so rare. The hammer version is ok but not the same. I used to work extensively with pullover machines back in the early 90's and they were great for lat work.
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I have about 3 gyms locally that have the naut. versions...seems like that's the only piece of the old naut equipment that is still around which is a shame cause it's great stuff. I heard they have a lawsuit againts them over something regarding all that old equipement that's why it's so rare. The hammer version is ok but not the same. I used to work extensively with pullover machines back in the early 90's and they were great for lat work.
What about those who do not have accessto such a machine??
I had sum shoulder problems (a/c i think) in the summer and it was a time wen i was doing alot of pullover presses (usually sets of 15 reps), there isnt really another way to isolate back tho is ther??
davie
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The one Yates has in Temple Gym is one of the original Nautilis ones....but I saw on their website they are about $5500 so that explains why I've never seen one :o
Oh, and what's up with the "pubes" shit? Try and keep that immaturity in the truce thread ;)
I take the time to suggest alternatives available to him that would never occur to him, and instead of thanx it's more whining. Focus on the positives and training info, which is what this board is about. Something you haven't been about.
Nautilus pullover was probably their best machine ever, but the new ones by other companies are still very good if not identical.
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What about those who do not have accessto such a machine??
I had sum shoulder problems (a/c i think) in the summer and it was a time wen i was doing alot of pullover presses (usually sets of 15 reps), there isnt really another way to isolate back tho is ther??
davie
DB pullovers are a good substitute. You have to make sure you do them right, I'd start off light, go for 20+ reps getting a really deep stretch, hips low, pull with your elbows...search around on the web, I'm sure you can find a really good explanation of how to do them to get the most out of your back work.
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http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/LatissimusDorsi/CBPullover.html
kinda like these but use a dumbell instead of a cable, breath in while your lowering it and try to expand your ribcage, blow out on the way up..remember to pull with your elbows or your tri's will take over.
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Quads:
Total training time-2 minutes
Leg extensions- 175 x 6 + 4 w/ help
Leg presses- 470 x 12 + 6 w/ help
Another GREAT workout! I put on some Pantera and blasted Death Rattle Shakes, followed by Revolution Is My Name, which got my adrenaline fuckin flooding!
I'm using more static holds and negatives than ever before. On my last rep of leg extensions, I held in the peak contraction position for as long as possible and slowly lowered before I got up and went over to the leg press. THAT'S intensity!
Those leg presses nearly caused me to blow an artery! That guy doing leg presses in that HIT video had no intensity compared to me. With forced reps, I went to absolute failure!! I love it!!
Rating: 9 out of 10
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Quads:
Total training time-2 minutes
Leg extensions- 175 x 6 + 4 w/ help
Leg presses- 470 x 12 + 6 w/ help
Another GREAT workout! I put on some Pantera and blasted Death Rattle Shakes, followed by Revolution Is My Name, which got my adrenaline fuckin flooding!
I'm using more static holds and negatives than ever before. On my last rep of leg extensions, I held in the peak contraction position for as long as possible and slowly lowered before I got up and went over to the leg press. THAT'S intensity!
Those leg presses nearly caused me to blow an artery! That guy doing leg presses in that HIT video had no intensity compared to me. With forced reps, I went to absolute failure!! I love it!!
Rating: 9 out of 10
Good for u mate, sounds tuff. Im not a huge fan of forced reps, i mean if im gonna fail then my spotter helps me get that rep finished and probs one more, but i would then have a rest/pause and try get another rep or 2 myself after that.
haha he might not have ur intensity, but he was making sum great noises with each rep he did, so he sounds the part lol.
davie
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Keep the updates coming
what about deadlifts, you didn't mention them in your logs
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Keep the updates coming
what about deadlifts, you didn't mention them in your logs
Thanks for coming through. ;D
I do deadlifts every back workout. I should have at least 2 back workouts with deadlifts logged in this thread. My last back workout is posted on page #3.
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i can full squat the same weight you leg press for 10.
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i can full squat the same weight you leg press for 10.
lol but figgs is still a youngster so we should give him credit for training hard for a full 2 minutes.
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lol but figgs is still a youngster so we should give him credit for training hard for a full 2 minutes.
hahahahaha, damn i expected that when he said one set of leg presses that it was like 10 to 12 plates on each side for full reps, that's the only way i'd brag about doing i set for legs.
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hahahahaha, damn i expected that when he said one set of leg presses that it was like 10 to 12 plates on each side for full reps, that's the only way i'd brag about doing i set for legs.
Maybe he only counted one side. Figgs seems really thick with short limbs so it could be possible he is doing twice that easy!
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i can full squat the same weight you leg press for 10.
I'm sure you can. That's the only downside to HIT. All my lifts are much, much less than what I'd normally do.
lol but figgs is still a youngster so we should give him credit for training hard for a full 2 minutes.
It's not just training hard for two minutes, it's training harder than you can ever imagine for two minutes. Harder than you've ever seen anyone, pro or gymrat, ever train in your entire life.
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Maybe he only counted one side. Figgs seems really thick with short limbs so it could be possible he is doing twice that easy!
Really juvenile; Alexxx here with a swimmer's bod should be considering any plan to improve.
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Shoulders and arms:
Total training time- 8 minutes
Deltoids-
DB side laterals- 15 x 12
DB press- 40 x 3
drop set
25 x 4
Reverse pec deck- 120 x 10
Biceps-
Close grip underhand pulldowns- 140 x 10
Triceps-
Cable pressdowns- 50 x 10
Dips x 8
Well, I've done it again. I've exceeded myself. I was even more intense then I was last time. All sets were taken to absolute failure (as always) and I can't complain about a single thing.
Well, maybe I'm being anal, but I should have chosen a lighter weight to DB press after my laterals. I had to drop set because the 40s were too heavy (as strange as that sounds to me because I was doing the 40s when I first started training). Next time I'll go for the 35s. But the workout was still spectacular.
Workout rating- 9 out of 10 (10 without the drop set on DB presses!)
I took a few pictures afterwards but none of them came out any good. Here's a little arm shot. They were 16 1/2 a few months ago and I'd bet they're 17s by now. With HIT, they'll be 17 1/2 in no time!
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Really juvenile; Alexxx here with a swimmer's bod should be considering any plan to improve.
I think Alex is a cool guy, but I think I may have offended him by saying that my bodybuilding idol trains harder than his bodybuilding idol. And then proving it! ;D
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hahahahahahahaha, are you kidding me? you're using only 40lb. db's on PRESSES?
Yep, but keep in mind this is RIGHT after DB laterals. And with the dumbell laterals I go to positive failure with slow forced reps, static failure and finally I reach negative failure before dropped those 15s and go immediately into my 40 pound DB presses. It looks funny but the way it feels is no laughing matter!
I was DB pressing the 80s before I started HIT and I really consider delts a weak point. I hope I can do more after this HIT cycle is over. But for mass, HIT is really packing it on my delts so far!
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I think Alex is a cool guy, but I think I may have offended him by saying that my bodybuilding idol trains harder than his bodybuilding idol. And then proving it! ;D
I love you too figgs but Mentzer < Arnold. :P
You will realize at a certain point that the amount of weight you lift dictates the size. Keep training hard you seem like you know what you are doing.
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hahahahahahahaha, are you kidding me? you're using only 40lb. db's on PRESSES?
Unless someone's done true HIT with the help of a training partner, there's no way to judge what 40s feel like in that context. At the end of doing strips sets, each set done to failure, the last set might involve 15 lb. DBs.
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Why did you not do your heavier compound movements like your shoulder presses first? Why also is there so few reps with your sets? I worked out shoulders just the other day in what i percieved to be the HIT way of training but almost did the exact opposite of you. Here's an example, I did seated military presses with 225 for 12 reps then dropping the weight down to 185 til I was unable to do another rep, then using 135 until I fatigued on that one as well. The went straight to the raises with 40lbs for both front and side raises and just running down the rack until I couldn't move the 10lber's. It seems that HIT just reads as go until you blow kind of concept. With you picking a weight that is heavy initially and then burning out the targeted muscle groups to failure in the fastest time possible. Even though I was unable to do any more shoulder presses, the raises still were easy for about the first 8 reps. Your progress so far in this tread you're writing is very impressive and very helpful in helping pick out the right exercises for this style of training.
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Why did you not do your heavier compound movements like your shoulder presses first? Why also is there so few reps with your sets? I worked out shoulders just the other day in what i percieved to be the HIT way of training but almost did the exact opposite of you. Here's an example, I did seated military presses with 225 for 12 reps then dropping the weight down to 185 til I was unable to do another rep, then using 135 until I fatigued on that one as well. The went straight to the raises with 40lbs for both front and side raises and just running down the rack until I couldn't move the 10lber's. It seems that HIT just reads as go until you blow kind of concept. With you picking a weight that is heavy initially and then burning out the targeted muscle groups to failure in the fastest time possible. Even though I was unable to do any more shoulder presses, the raises still were easy for about the first 8 reps. Your progress so far in this tread you're writing is very impressive and very helpful in helping pick out the right exercises for this style of training.
I won't comment for Figgs but I'll say what I think he intended to do. First one of the protocols that exists in HIT training is "pre-exhaust". By doing isolation movements before his compound movements he's stimulating the delt muscle while not allowing the tri's to get involved in the movement. this way when he does his actual pressing movements his delts already are "worked" and won't suffer from the assistance his tri's are going to give him. Obviously you're gonna get more benifit from using max weight on the pressing movements but when you did them did you're shoulders fail or did your tri's? it's all about getting maximum overload on the bodypart you're training, try pre-exhausting next time or double pre exhausting next time and then doing your pressing movements. It's a different approach mantally than what you'll be used to but you'll probably get a totally new feeling in your shoulders when your done.
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cool page with lots of good concepts that can be used by anyone doing hit training...I really enjoy reading this stuff, it might not all work for everyone but some stuff can be carried over and used by almost everyone in this thread:
http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/Beyond_Failure_Training_-_Trevor_Smith/m_93079/tm.htm
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It just confuses me how one gains strength training this way when not moving the most amount of weight possible in each exercise but, the pre-exhaust makes sense.
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It just confuses me how one gains strength training this way when not moving the most amount of weight possible in each exercise but, the pre-exhaust makes sense.
it's all about how much "direct" stimulation the delts are getting vs. how much they're getting while the tri's are involved...
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That article you posted in another thread sounds exactly like what I have been doing. Either way, It seems the results will come due to the simple fact that they are a different way of training than the ways both figgs and I used to do it. One of the first rules to bodybuilding people seem to forget is to always be changing the rules of the game up. I hope to see the results figgs is seeing very soon.
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It just confuses me how one gains strength training this way when not moving the most amount of weight possible in each exercise but, the pre-exhaust makes sense.
Here are a couple of versions of pre-exhaust. There are more, or try your own variations and then post the results:
1/ Do a superset of an pre-exhaust exercise followed by a compound.
2/ Do multiple pre-exhaust sets in standard set fashion with rests in between, then follow those with multiple compound sets. This is the version Yates uses, saying that the first one didn't appeal.
Consider:
-What is effective
-What appeals to use on a regular basis-if it works but doesn't appeal, will you use it?
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That article you posted in another thread sounds exactly like what I have been doing. Either way, It seems the results will come due to the simple fact that they are a different way of training than the ways both figgs and I used to do it. One of the first rules to bodybuilding people seem to forget is to always be changing the rules of the game up. I hope to see the results figgs is seeing very soon.
nothing works for everybody. To say you have to do 4 sets of benchs followed by 4 sets of inclines followed by this and then this is totally moronic if you ask me. To say you must train like I do is moronic as well. Lots of things work. I remember a few months ago there was a clip of Branch Warren doing DB presses from the 05 BFTO and his range of motion was limited to probably the middle 1/2 of the movement and people were loosing thier minds. The dude has some of the thickest pecs in the world and was moving huge weight so what was the problem? There is merit in everything...finding what works for you is the key to this sport.
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Here are a couple of versions of pre-exhaust. There are more, or try your own variations and then post the results:
1/ Do a superset of an pre-exhaust exercise followed by a compound.
2/ Do multiple pre-exhaust sets in standard set fashion with rests in between, then follow those with multiple compound sets. This is the version Yates uses, saying that the first one didn't appeal.
anyone interested in a good read should check out the old ellington darden books, you can get them pretty cheap...like massive muscles in 10 weeks. I dont' agree with everything he says but it's a fun read none the less.
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I just came back from a back and shoulder workout.
For back i ded deadlifts, t-bar rows and pulldowns, all done in slight variation of HIT, which most of u know what i mean.
All compounds, but for shoulders i did cable laterals 1st, only b/c i dont feel that doing presses hits my side delts as much as i want. Probs b/c of what natural al was saying about tris getting involved alot. So i do cable laterals 1st then Db press, shoulders are pooped.
And i beat my rep target on Db press with a weight i would b using wether i did laterals 1st or not.
davie
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That article you posted in another thread sounds exactly like what I have been doing. Either way, It seems the results will come due to the simple fact that they are a different way of training than the ways both figgs and I used to do it. One of the first rules to bodybuilding people seem to forget is to always be changing the rules of the game up. I hope to see the results figgs is seeing very soon.
Yeh bro i dont think it has to be set in stone, i mean i pre-exhaust for quads and shoulders b/c i think that the compound 1st doesnt always hit everywer like i want it to (tear drop/side delts).
And i use compounds for 1st and 2nd exercise on all other body parts.
davie
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Yeah I hear ya. I'm not a fan of the little "dink" movements for my legs. I haven't changed much up when it comes to training them other than more intensity while doing them. I only do front squats, hacks, and leg presses for them. I feel they grow bigger and stronger and HAVE since I cut out all the leg curls and extensions that I felt were just wasting my time.
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Chest and back:
total training time: 10 minutes
Chest:
Pec deck- 70 x 7
Incline bench machine (1 arm)- 60 x 7
Back:
Machine pullovers- 140 x 8
Close-grip underhand pulldown- 150 x 6
Deadlifts- 315 x 6
Rating- 9 out of 10
This is the first workout since watching Mike Mentzer's HIT video. Not only did I learn a thing or two from it, but I was also VERY motivated by the film!
All went very well. I would have given my rating a ten if my grip didn't give during my last rep of deadlifts. I need some chalk right away.
I'm really noticing improvements! I really am! It's unbelievable. And I'm still working to perfect my HIT program, so I'm only going to expect it to get even better!
Wickedtruth, although I'm using much lighter weights now, those light weights are increasing very rapidly from workout to workout. It's something to get used to and I might become embarrassed when being seen screaming and turning red from using half the weights I'd normally do, but goddamn this is the way I love to train.
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Thighs:
Total training time- 5 minutes
Leg extensions- 170x10
Leg press machine- 280 x infinity
I had to switch to full stack to reach failure
Leg curls- 140 (I guess) x 9
Rating- 8 out of 10
I'm a bit dissappointed with this workout because I was being a bitch during those leg extensions. I did reach failure but I was experiencing soo much pain it was almost unbearable! After watching the Mentzer video I tried doing them the way he had his trainee doing them. 5-6 seconds up, 3 second hold and 5-6 seconds down. The burn came fast and only got worse and worse!
After the leg extensions I tried a new machine. A leg press machine of which the seat moves back and forth. I hopped on this one right after those leg extensions and did endless reps with the weight I chose. I then increased only to continue rep after rep. I couldn't take it anymore after about 20 reps and stuck on the full stack and got 3 more reps! I'll know next leg day to use the entire stack for this one.
My leg curls were great. I did one set after warming up my hams with those deep presses and did slow reps, static holds and negatives until I failed on all three lifts. Great set.
My unpreparedness gives me a rating of 8. I feel I did a very good job and will definetely progress from this one workout, but I was a bit psychologically unprepared for that pain during those leg extensions and I went a bit too high in reps on leg presses, but these are learning experiences for me and all that's left is to take note of it and rest until my next workout.
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Calves
Total training time- 1 minute
Standing calf presses- 180 x 20
Rating- 10
ANOTHER increase!!!!! ;D
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Depending on what your cardio looks like, it may actually help you recover.
If it is low intensity, I mean like taking a walk for 40 minutes and working up a little sweat, then it will help you recover.
High-intensity cardio will be like training in some ways though.
-Hedge
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figgs, I saw a pic of you on the forearm thread over on the G&O board. I was pretty damn impressed, good job. I like you're program overall. I was wondering what your mindset is going into a set and what you do to stay focused during the set.
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Keep up the good work Figgs. I'm on my 3rd week of this high intensity stuff and I'm loving it. I feel thicker, stronger, and look fuller as much as a day after the workouts. I'm only doing it for another three weeks before going back to my regular routine to see if it made much of a difference. Your thread has helped alot with training decisions and ideas. Keep them coming.
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figgs, I saw a pic of you on the forearm thread over on the G&O board. I was pretty damn impressed, good job. I like you're program overall. I was wondering what your mindset is going into a set and what you do to stay focused during the set.
Let me answer this on the little big guy's behalf.. "I I you know do those damn weights.. you know I lift them up and then I contract the musel. Then I think of every guy that was abused and you know think to myself how painfull it would have been if I had to go through that slowly so you know I do it very slowly and think of those guys."
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Depending on what your cardio looks like, it may actually help you recover.
If it is low intensity, I mean like taking a walk for 40 minutes and working up a little sweat, then it will help you recover.
High-intensity cardio will be like training in some ways though.
-Hedge
Yeah, I like high intensity cardio. It's all about running as fast as I can for as long as I can.
I think I'm just going to risk it and keep up my cardio the way it is. I just hesitate before running with sore thighs though.
figgs, I saw a pic of you on the forearm thread over on the G&O board. I was pretty damn impressed, good job. I like you're program overall. I was wondering what your mindset is going into a set and what you do to stay focused during the set.
That's a very good question.
You have to gain a specific attitude while training with HIT. You have to be assured that every workout is better than the last. That you can't give any less than 100% effort. And that you will reach your personal goals.
I imagine myself going into battle and waging war with the weights. If I give up short of failure, the weights win the fight. I consider myself Napoleon of the gym. So I'm doing pretty good. :)
Keep up the good work Figgs. I'm on my 3rd week of this high intensity stuff and I'm loving it. I feel thicker, stronger, and look fuller as much as a day after the workouts. I'm only doing it for another three weeks before going back to my regular routine to see if it made much of a difference. Your thread has helped alot with training decisions and ideas. Keep them coming.
That's great! I'm glad my log came to be a useful tool for you! ;D
I'm going back to my normal routine in 4-5 months. I really want to learn as much as I can about HIT before I do
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Let me answer this on the little big guy's behalf.. "I I you know do those damn weights.. you know I lift them up and then I contract the musel. Then I think of every guy that was abused and you know think to myself how painfull it would have been if I had to go through that slowly so you know I do it very slowly and think of those guys."
I find it hard to compare the pain one feels from HIT to the emotional pain caused by being victimized by abuse.
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I find it hard to compare the pain one feels from HIT to the emotional pain caused by being victimized by abuse.
I'm sorry. I though it would be appropriate seing how all the squadlings are roaming these boards. Please forgive me champ!
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I'm sorry. I though it would be appropriate seing how all the squadlings are roaming these boards. Please forgive me champ!
The Squad almost had you in their filthy clutches!!
Arnold could never...
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The Squad almost had you in their filthy clutches!!
Arnold could never...
Never.
And Mentzer could never...
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It was actually Dave Draper who is bodybuilding's most underrated pimp!
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haha Mentzer and Draper put together still couldn't hold Arnold's candle! :P
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hey figgs how is the progress coming along?. are you getting stronger in your lifts/are u gaining size?
i've been wanting to try this routine out, but i just cant bring myself to do it, i cant see how it would work as well as a high volume workout..
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haha Mentzer and Draper put together still couldn't hold Arnold's candle! :P
There was that one year...
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hey figgs how is the progress coming along?. are you getting stronger in your lifts/are u gaining size?
i've been wanting to try this routine out, but i just cant bring myself to do it, i cant see how it would work as well as a high volume workout..
I'm improving as much as I'd ever want to as a natural. HIT is definetely working better than volume training.
You should try it as long as you're able to push your limits.
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There was that one year...
is that from 79 or 80?
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is that from 79 or 80?
1980, a great year for Mike, physiquewise.
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I'm improving as much as I'd ever want to as a natural. HIT is definetely working better than volume training.
You should try it as long as you're able to push your limits.
This is amusing. You are able to say this within WEEKS of training with HIT, let alone months. This makes me doubt your credibility, and whether you're objectively gauging your progress with HIT. I smell an emotional attachment here ;)
Nothing personal though, it really could be that you're making all that great progress, in which case I congratulate u for those gains. Infact I should congratulate you for finding a routine you "enjoy" so much ( I know u wont like my preferred word of choice, since HIT is so hardcore and so painful ;D) but lets try to keep it real here.
Also, great effort on your part, leg etensions to failure w/ all those reps and intensity techniques is definitely takes an insane amt of pain endurance...and to jump on leg presses after wthat with no rest...well, you're insane ;D
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1980 Arnold won cause he was in better shape and had better mass on the parts that mattered at the time.
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awesome man, i think i'm gonna look into it some more.. figure out a routine, and give it a shot starting next week!
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This is amusing. You are able to say this within WEEKS of training with HIT, let alone months. This makes me doubt your credibility, and whether you're objectively gauging your progress with HIT. I smell an emotional attachment here ;)
Nothing personal though, it really could be that you're making all that great progress, in which case I congratulate u for those gains. Infact I should congratulate you for finding a routine you "enjoy" so much ( I know u wont like my preferred word of choice, since HIT is so hardcore and so painful ;D) but lets try to keep it real here.
Also, great effort on your part, leg etensions to failure w/ all those reps and intensity techniques is definitely takes an insane amt of pain endurance...and to jump on leg presses after wthat with no rest...well, you're insane ;D
Yeah, because I'm training with correct HIT, I'm getting the kind of results that Mentzer has always promised. And he has said to expect gains right from the start, as with any other successful training routine.
Which word better replaces "enjoy", eh?
Yeah, that was hard! Next workout should be even worse!
1980 Arnold won cause he was in better shape and had better mass on the parts that mattered at the time.
What, like legs? ::)
awesome man, i think i'm gonna look into it some more.. figure out a routine, and give it a shot starting next week!
Good luck and prepare yourself! If you have any questions, pm me.
Check your library for any of his books!
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Yeah, that was hard! Next workout should be even worse!
Hey bro i know what u mean about legs not being fun, i had to drop me squat right down as im doing heavy leg extensions to failure first, but its creeping back up again lol.
I did
leg extensions 190 for 18, failed, rest/paused then got another 6, failed, rest/paused and got another 4 then totally failed lol.
Squats....only 225 for 9, rest/paused and got another 4, dropped the weight down and got 21 enjoyable reps lol.
One leg at a time Leg press....225 again, this was easy, got 17 with left and 19 with right. ress /paused and got another 9 with each,dropped weight and got 30 with each leg.
V hard moving straight from one exercise to the next with no rest except walking to machine/rack etc.
You really have to lower a couple of weights wen u start and start building them up again, a real ego check.
davie
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Hey bro i know what u mean about legs not being fun, i had to drop me squat right down as im doing heavy leg extensions to failure first, but its creeping back up again lol.
I did
leg extensions 190 for 18, failed, rest/paused then got another 6, failed, rest/paused and got another 4 then totally failed lol.
Squats....only 225 for 9, rest/paused and got another 4, dropped the weight down and got 21 enjoyable reps lol.
One leg at a time Leg press....225 again, this was easy, got 17 with left and 19 with right. ress /paused and got another 9 with each,dropped weight and got 30 with each leg.
V hard moving straight from one exercise to the next with no rest except walking to machine/rack etc.
You really have to lower a couple of weights wen u start and start building them up again, a real ego check.
davie
You're the only crazy bastard I know who could pre-exhaust quads with 28 reps before squatting for 21 reps!! Unbelievable!
The ego check has to be the hardest thing to overcome while on HIT!
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You're the only crazy bastard I know who could pre-exhaust quads with 28 reps before squatting for 21 reps!! Unbelievable!
The ego check has to be the hardest thing to overcome while on HIT!
Haha thanks, remember it wasnt just a astraight 28 reps, it was 18 then a rest/pause for 10 seconds then 6 then fail then 10 second rest/pause then 4 more.
squats wer tough even with 225 for 9 parralel reps (im 6'1 so its a long way to go down lol), followed by 10 second rest/pause then 4 more tough reps. Then dropped weight to lighter weight and got the 21 reps.
leg press wasnt much fun done one leg at a time.lol.
Dud ur using positive, static and negative failure....that sounds superhuman to me!!
davie
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So with hit you don't do drop sets? ???
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So with hit you don't do drop sets? ???
I do, after iv failed then rest/paused and failed again.
I think figgs is referring more to Mentzers style of HIT that hes following! In that style u do not use drop sets.
davie
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You're the only crazy bastard I know who could pre-exhaust quads with 28 reps before squatting for 21 reps!! Unbelievable!
The ego check has to be the hardest thing to overcome while on HIT!
Stepped it up again today bro and increased all my leg weigths b4 todays workouts.
Leg raise....198 for 18 1/2 reps, rest paused for 10 seconds then got another 5 1/2 reps, failed, rest/paused then got another 5 b4 i failed again.
Squat........225 for 12 reps (i only got 9 last week so im 3 reps better this week-booooya lol.), failed then rest/paused and got another 2 reps. Then dropped weight down and got 22 reps.
Unilateral Leg Press..........
(left leg 1st) 242 for 14 1/2 reps, failed, rest/paused then got another 6. Dropped weight down a bit and got 30 more reps, failoed, rest/paused and got another13.
(Right Leg) got 18 reps then failed, then rest/paused and got 10 more. Dropped wight down a bit and got 32 reps,failed then got another 16.
Im once again raising my leg raise weight wen i got to gym next week, +im also upping squat weight and unilateral leg press weight aswell.
V good overall!!
davie
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Shoulders and arms
Total training time- 10 minutes
Deltoids-
Machine side laterals- 90 x 7
DB bent over laterals 15 x 14
Biceps-
Nautilus preacher curls- 90 x 8
Triceps-
Cable pressdowns- 60 x 10
machine dips- 155 x 11
I can hardly believe it. One day after this workout my delts are sore. My side delts have gotten sore from only 1 set! By biceps too!
I tried a new machine for my biceps. The nautilus preacher curl. This exercise is unique and very valuable because it offers resistance in the peak contraction position, something that does not exist for free weight bicep exercises. I took advantage of this and used it in the most intense way! My reps would be the usual 4 seconds up and 4 seconds down, only in the peak contraction position I would scqueeeeeze my biceps, while thinking "touch your face!" so that my biceps reach the ultimate contraction position! And THAT was especially painful on my last rep, or "growth rep".
My tricep workout was absolutely insane. Cable pressdowns with textbook form while doing such slow reps makes it burn worse than ever! And to do that to failure and follow it up immediately with machine dips is a real challenge!
Rating- 9 out of 10
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chest/back
Total training time- 20 minutes
Chest:
Pec deck- 70 x 6
Incline machine press- 70 x 6
Back:
Pullovers- 155 x 6
Close-grip pulldowns- 160 x 3
Deadlifts- :(
Everything went fine. Every lift increased. And then deadlifts. I got into an argument with an employee of my gym right before I started my working set of deadlifts. The guy told me his job was at risk if his boss sees me still working out. The argument ended with me on my knees telling him how I'm training for competition and that this one set means more to me than he'd ever understand. I did all the talking I could but he just didn't let me do it.
Goddamn I couldn't have ended a workout any worse. This is my first truly shitty workout in a really long time.
I decided to do deadlifts in my training partner's basement, but his bar was too thing and I just couldn't grip it. I had a shitty set. I wanted 315 for 8. I got 5. Fuck.
Striving for perfection will only leave one dissappointed. I'll accept this defeat and use it to fuel my fire. I'm determined to make my next chest/back workout blow this and all the others away. By that I swear. That will be a hell of a workout!
Rating- fuck ratings
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I haven't read the whole thread Figgs. Why would some guy lose his job if the gym boss sees you working out?
Before you fuck off the ratings altogether, how do you rate your progress so far? I assume your diet and sleep is in order, and I'm guessing you're natural (?), so rate the HIT for us.
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I haven't read the whole thread Figgs. Why would some guy lose his job if the gym boss sees you working out?
Before you f**k off the ratings altogether, how do you rate your progress so far? I assume your diet and sleep is in order, and I'm guessing you're natural (?), so rate the HIT for us.
Why rate it in the middle of it? Besides which, it's rather obvious how he feels i'd say.
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chest/back
Total training time- 20 minutes
Chest:
Pec deck- 70 x 6
Incline machine press- 70 x 6
Back:
Pullovers- 155 x 6
Close-grip pulldowns- 160 x 3
Deadlifts- :(
Everything went fine. Every lift increased. And then deadlifts. I got into an argument with an employee of my gym right before I started my working set of deadlifts. The guy told me his job was at risk if his boss sees me still working out. The argument ended with me on my knees telling him how I'm training for competition and that this one set means more to me than he'd ever understand. I did all the talking I could but he just didn't let me do it.
Goddamn I couldn't have ended a workout any worse. This is my first truly shitty workout in a really long time.
I decided to do deadlifts in my training partner's basement, but his bar was too thing and I just couldn't grip it. I had a shitty set. I wanted 315 for 8. I got 5. f**k.
Striving for perfection will only leave one dissappointed. I'll accept this defeat and use it to fuel my fire. I'm determined to make my next chest/back workout blow this and all the others away. By that I swear. That will be a hell of a workout!
Rating- f**k ratings
Figgs man who the heck cares about that guy. Your training is holy! If they don't allow you to train then switch gyms dammit and ask for a refund.
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That really sucks abt the deadlifts dude. Change gyms as soon as possible. None of this planet fitness bullshit >:(
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Seriously! That guy was a total pussy. That's LA Fitness for ya! Gayest gym in the world. I have all the machines I'll ever need, but it's such an unmotivating training environment. Not unmotivating to the point where I'd have to follow rules like "no grunting". HA!
There's some hardcore trainers. There are other really hard working naturals, but not a lot at all! My training partner and I stand out soo much. We're completely surrounded by all these people who don't know what to make of us.
I haven't read the whole thread Figgs. Why would some guy lose his job if the gym boss sees you working out?
Before you f**k off the ratings altogether, how do you rate your progress so far? I assume your diet and sleep is in order, and I'm guessing you're natural (?), so rate the HIT for us.
My results are pretty good. They're not supergains or anything, but it's definitely the best routine I've ever used. I'm getting a lot stronger. I noticed I'm now much stronger at all calisthetics.
I do a lot of calisthetic exercises outside of my HIT routine. I have a weight training class in school. I don't work out there because it has really shitty equipment, but I do a lot of calisthetics there. Nothing to failure, but for fun.
Figgs man who the heck cares about that guy. Your training is holy! If they don't allow you to train then switch gyms dammit and ask for a refund.
That really sucks abt the deadlifts dude. Change gyms as soon as possible. None of this planet fitness bullshit >:(
I just don't know of any hardcore gyms close to home. There's just soo many people in NY.
Yo Alex, that average looking fool tried sympathizing with me and told me "Look, I work out too, although I don't look like it, so I know how you're feeling." hahaha
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Seriously! That guy was a total pussy. That's LA Fitness for ya! Gayest gym in the world. I have all the machines I'll ever need, but it's such an unmotivating training environment. Not unmotivating to the point where I'd have to follow rules like "no grunting". HA!
There's some hardcore trainers. There are other really hard working naturals, but not a lot at all! My training partner and I stand out soo much. We're completely surrounded by all these people who don't know what to make of us.
My results are pretty good. They're not supergains or anything, but it's definitely the best routine I've ever used. I'm getting a lot stronger. I noticed I'm now much stronger at all calisthetics.
I do a lot of calisthetic exercises outside of my HIT routine. I have a weight training class in school. I don't work out there because it has really shitty equipment, but I do a lot of calisthetics there. Nothing to failure, but for fun.
I just don't know of any hardcore gyms close to home. There's just soo many people in NY.
Yo Alex, that average looking fool tried sympathizing with me and told me "Look, I work out too, although I don't look like it, so I know how you're feeling." hahaha
You should have taken your shirt off and humiliated that little bum!
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Im thinkin abt starting a journal of my own here. Need a little contrast to the HIT hype around here ;D No, seriously I think it'll be fun... should serve as good motivation not only for myself, but bein the same age and having almost the same amout of training exercise as you, I think we could motivate each other to work harder in the gym. I jsut hope the trolling can be kept to a minimum. I'd like your thoughts on that, and also Merry Christmas!
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Im thinkin abt starting a journal of my own here. Need a little contrast to the HIT hype around here ;D No, seriously I think it'll be fun... should serve as good motivation not only for myself, but bein the same age and having almost the same amout of training exercise as you, I think we could motivate each other to work harder in the gym. I jsut hope the trolling can be kept to a minimum. I'd like your thoughts on that, and also Merry Christmas!
Yes! I recommend you start one! It would be great motivation for everyone here, including myself.
Davie and I exchange workouts which helps to motivate eachother as well. So you're welcome to join the trio!
You should have taken your shirt off and humiliated that little bum!
hahaha yes!
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Thighs:
Total training time- 5 minutes
Quads:
Leg extensions- 170 x 9
Leg press machine- 330 x 8...390 x 2
Hams:
Lying leg curls- 125 x 7
Rating- 9 out of 10
Great workout! I was prepared for the burn during those leg extensions after my last leg workout. Again, the tempo was 6 seconds up, hold for 3, and 6 seconds down. Just unbelievable.
The leg presses were great. I was going nowhere with the first weight, which was 3 plates shy of full stack on the machine, so I upped the weight to full stack. My first rep was hard as hell! I barely made it without a spot! And my second was even worse! I went for a third but was shot. Nothing left. I collapsed, completely satisfied with my quad workout.
Hams was an intense one set. Nothing compared to quads but excellent for a ham workout.
I would have given myself a rating of 10 if I didn't have to change the weight during leg presses.
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Thighs:
Total training time- 5 minutes
Quads:
Leg extensions- 170 x 9
Leg press machine- 330 x 8...390 x 2
Hams:
Lying leg curls- 125 x 7
Rating- 9 out of 10
Great workout! I was prepared for the burn during those leg extensions after my last leg workout. Again, the tempo was 6 seconds up, hold for 2, and 6 seconds down. Just unbelievable.
The leg presses were great. I was going nowhere with the first weight, which was 3 plates shy of full stack on the machine, so I upped the weight to full stack. My first rep was hard as hell! I barely made it without a spot! And my second was even worse! I went for a third but was shot. Nothing left. I collapsed, completely satisfied with my quad workout.
Hams was an intense one set. Nothing compared to quads but excellent for a ham workout.
I would have given myself a rating of 10 if I didn't have to change the weight during leg presses.
Very cool bro. I know u say i work legs ahrd, but i dont use a 6 seconds up, 6 seconds down. Now thats nuts!!lol.
Got legs today actually. upping leg raise to 209, looking for 15 reps (hopefully more), upping squat to 231, looking for 12 (hard after extensions). Unilateral leg press using 242, looking for 15 reps a leg.
Yummy lol.
davie
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Nice workout.. was that 2 sets of leg presses or one right after the other?
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Very cool bro. I know u say i work legs ahrd, but i dont use a 6 seconds up, 6 seconds down. Now thats nuts!!lol.
Got legs today actually. upping leg raise to 209, looking for 15 reps (hopefully more), upping squat to 231, looking for 12 (hard after extensions). Unilateral leg press using 242, looking for 15 reps a leg.
Yummy lol.
davie
Nice! What do squats feel like when pre-exhausted with leg extensions? I havn't tried that yet because the squat rack is so far away from the leg extension machines.
Nice workout.. was that 2 sets of leg presses or one right after the other?
1 set of leg extensions and 1 set of leg presses. Doesn't sound like much but judging by the way it feels...
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No, I read that right... I was jsut asking u if u rested in between switching the weight on the leg presses. I guess thats been answered already with the above reply.
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No, I read that right... I was jsut asking u if u rested in between switching the weight on the leg presses. I guess thats been answered already with the above reply.
Ohhh yes. No rest inbetween adjustments.
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Nice! What do squats feel like when pre-exhausted with leg extensions? I havn't tried that yet because the squat rack is so far away from the leg extension machines.
Squats feel sore and painful and i dont know y i do it to myself lol.
I got 15 reps with 209 on leg raise, then rest/paused and got another 6, then rest/paused and got another 4.
I then got 8 reps with 231 (targets 12, il get it in week or 2, aslong as i get morer eps next week im getting better), rest/paused and got 2 more reps.... dropped weight down a bit and got 15 more reps.
242 on leg press, got 16 with right and 15 with left, rest/paused and got 6 more with the right leg and 7 more with the left. dropped weight down a bit and went again.
As i said b4....yummy.
Legs r toast still.
davie
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Squats feel sore and painful and i dont know y i do it to myself lol.
I got 15 reps with 209 on leg raise, then rest/paused and got another 6, then rest/paused and got another 4.
I then got 8 reps with 231 (targets 12, il get it in week or 2, aslong as i get morer eps next week im getting better), rest/paused and got 2 more reps.... dropped weight down a bit and got 15 more reps.
242 on leg press, got 16 with right and 15 with left, rest/paused and got 6 more with the right leg and 7 more with the left. dropped weight down a bit and went again.
As i said b4....yummy.
Legs r toast still.
davie
LOL I think the same thing. Why do I do this? Who knows, we just do lol.
Good luck reaching 12 reps wth 231!
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LOL I think the same thing. Why do I do this? Who knows, we just do lol.
Good luck reaching 12 reps wth 231!
Thanks bro, i got 12 reps last week with 220, so 231 will come in coupl weeks i hope!!
It is hard tho after doing heavy leg extensions!!
Got chest and arms tommorow, im still trying to decide on chest exercises im gonna stick with, been doing incline Db and decline DB the last couple weeks.
davie
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HEY!
8)
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davie and figgs are prolly twins, separated at birth.
Lemme know when you guys meet up IRL for a workout.
-Hedge
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davie and figgs are prolly twins, separated at birth.
Lemme know when you guys meet up IRL for a workout.
-Hedge
"IRL" sorry to sound stupid, but i dont get it?
davie
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"IRL" sorry to sound stupid, but i dont get it?
davie
in real life
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Figgs got the flu? What's the deal here?
C'mon boy, holiday's done!
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Thanks for clearing that up natural al....
figgs i told u i was upping leg weights again for this week, and i did so in my leg session yesterday.
1. Leg raise (15 rep target) 14 1/2 reps with 220, failed the rest/paused and got 4 1/2 more then rest/paused and got 3 1/2 more.
2. Squat (12 rep target) 12 reps with 231, probs could have got 13, but i was too happy that i beat last weeks rep total by 4 reps lol. Then rest/paused and got 3 more. Dropped weight down and got 15 reps, rest/paused and got another 6.
3. Unilateral leg press (15 rep target) 10 reps with Right leg with 286, then rest/paused and got another 5. Dropped weight down a bit and got another 21.
Left leg 8 reps with 286, then rest/paused and got 4 more. Dropped weight down a bit and got another 21.
All in all very good session, im up to the heaviest weight my gym has on leg raise (not as heavy as alot of u can lift, but im getting there), so il have to bump rep target up to 20 reps.
Was pleased i beat last weeks rep total on squats by 4 reps, and that i reached my rep target so i can up the weight next week again.
Leg press was hard after raises and squats. But i worked until i couldnt reach lockout anymore.
davie
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where the hell are you?
If figgs doesnt return for anotehr fewa days, I say davie take over this bitch!! 8)
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where the hell are you?
If figgs doesnt return for anotehr fewa days, I say davie take over this bitch!! 8)
I may just do that lol
davie
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i have been trying hit for a week now and i truley enjoy it even if it doesnt work that much(which hasent been a problem yet)and i think i will try it for the next 6 months just so i can give a completley honest opinion
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where the hell are you?
If figgs doesnt return for anotehr fewa days, I say davie take over this bitch!! 8)
Agree, they're practically brothers anyway. 8)
-Hedge
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Agree, they're practically brothers anyway. 8)
-Hedge
Aw hedge, i am afraid to tell u that the brotherly relationship u think i have with figgs extends only to our mutual love of weight training.
davie
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i train with figgs all the time. we go to the same gym and are good friends. he and i have both finished HIT training. only a few workouts with standard reps/sets have been done after our 6 weeks of HIT. what we've gathered so far is although we have made noticeable gains in size throughout our high intensity training, we have gotten weaker. we dont know the answer for this, throwing a few ideas around, however we are hopeful that in a few weeks training with standard reps/sets we will not only increase rapidly in weight but we will break through any plateus we had before starting HIT training. i must admit im disappointed with the results of HIT training as far as my functional strength during a set is concerned. i dont know if this happens to everyone or just me and figgs. we will see the true outcome in a few weeks and i will then decide if i will cycle another 6 weeks of HIT training into my workout schedule again. good luck to all HIT trainers!!
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i train with figgs all the time. we go to the same gym and are good friends. he and i have both finished HIT training. only a few workouts with standard reps/sets have been done after our 6 weeks of HIT. what we've gathered so far is although we have made noticeable gains in size throughout our high intensity training, we have gotten weaker. we dont know the answer for this, throwing a few ideas around, however we are hopeful that in a few weeks training with standard reps/sets we will not only increase rapidly in weight but we will break through any plateus we had before starting HIT training. i must admit im disappointed with the results of HIT training as far as my functional strength during a set is concerned. i dont know if this happens to everyone or just me and figgs. we will see the true outcome in a few weeks and i will then decide if i will cycle another 6 weeks of HIT training into my workout schedule again. good luck to all HIT trainers!!
Hey bro, thats a shame about the strength results.
Too be honest im loving it at the moment, the way im training (based mainly around compound moves) is working very well (touch wood). My strength is increasing on everything, and due to some set weight stacks (pulldown machine only going to 100kg's), i am now running out of weights on some machines.
I hope to keep going with this for a few more weeks (its hard stopping wen ur still progressing), and then change to a more explosive routine based around cleans and snatches (im a rugby player) etc, for 3-4 weeks, then have a week off, then start the HIT style routine again.
davie
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My good friend nodeal covered it. We got bigger, YES! Stronger, NO! We got fuckin weaker!!
We're back to our normal routines. I'm actually starting gymnastics exercises and incorporating them into my workouts. I'm going to be a gymnast one day. I have a long road ahead of me, however. Wish me luck!
HIT was a thrill. It was training at the highest possible intensity. It was fun while it lasted, but it just didn't do for me what I want out of training. Try it if you'd like because what happened to me and my training partner may not happen to you.
Davie, you're awesome bro and you were doing a much better version of HIT than I was (which happens to not be the way Mentzer preached).
One final word: Mentzer is a cvnt.
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My good friend nodeal covered it. We got bigger, YES! Stronger, NO! We got fuckin weaker!!
We're back to our normal routines. I'm actually starting gymnastics exercises and incorporating them into my workouts. I'm going to be a gymnast one day. I have a long road ahead of me, however. Wish me luck!
HIT was a thrill. It was training at the highest possible intensity. It was fun while it lasted, but it just didn't do for me what I want out of training. Try it if you'd like because what happened to me and my training partner may not happen to you.
Davie, you're awesome bro and you were doing a much better version of HIT than I was (which happens to not be the way Mentzer preached).
One final word: Mentzer is a cvnt.
LOL If you are looking to make awesome strength gains and size you should try DC. Since you have a training partner you can use more of the free weights exercises and become strong as a bull on them.
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LOL If you are looking to make awesome strength gains and size you should try DC. Since you have a training partner you can use more of the free weights exercises and become strong as a bull on them.
Thanks for the suggestion! I have to learn more about the whole routine first. There's plenty to read up around these boards so I'll eat up all the knowledge I can!
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Thanks for the suggestion! I have to learn more about the whole routine first. There's plenty to read up around these boards so I'll eat up all the knowledge I can!
Yeah go on www.intensemuscle.com under the dogpound section and read the thread entitled "begeners read this first". It's an interview from MD mag with Ron harris and Dante. Should answer all your questions plus there is way more info on that board.
I am still banned though. ;D
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I am still banned though. ;D
I thought you and DC were cool?
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I thought you and DC were cool?
Yeah we are. Dante gives great advice and is a great guy too! It's the board sherrif.. Skip Lacour finally figured out how to make an ip ban. :(
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My good friend nodeal covered it. We got bigger, YES! Stronger, NO! We got fuckin weaker!!
We're back to our normal routines. I'm actually starting gymnastics exercises and incorporating them into my workouts. I'm going to be a gymnast one day. I have a long road ahead of me, however. Wish me luck!
HIT was a thrill. It was training at the highest possible intensity. It was fun while it lasted, but it just didn't do for me what I want out of training. Try it if you'd like because what happened to me and my training partner may not happen to you.
Davie, you're awesome bro and you were doing a much better version of HIT than I was (which happens to not be the way Mentzer preached).
One final word: Mentzer is a cvnt.
Hey figgs....i am sorry to hear u did not have the success you wer hoping for, as a routine for building ur body, i am glad u had success, tho its a shame about the strength gains. maybe its was the super intense pre-exhausting that had something to do with it, i am not 100% sure yet.
Thanks for the nice comments bro, i am enjoying it alot. the only real isolation/pre-exhausting im using is laterals b4 press behind necks (attempting to hit lateral delt harder), and leg raise(isolation tear dop a bit more) b4 squat and leg press.
Its great seeing the weights go up and as i said b4 im running out of weight on machines. I am having to up rep target on leg raise from 15 to 20 reps, as i managed all the weight stack for 15 reps. You have to make little changes like that (changing standing lateral raises to seated etc), but im loving it.
Took a diff mate of mine through a chest/arms workout on fri, after chest and bi's we started tri's with close grip bench, he started with what he thought would be far to light a weight, he couldnt get 3 reps lol.
its been good discussing diff trainng methods with alexxxx,pumpster etc recently. good to see we can all agree or completely disagree, but still have good debate about it.
davie
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deconditioned athletes
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deconditioned athletes
In what way??
davie
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In what way??
davie
HIT is bullshit.....its been fucking proved long ago. also definitions of what constitute HIT confuses alot of people..also they way people count sets has fucked up the minds of loads of people. some people count warm up sets as sets...some dont (yates).
HItters also believe a little bit of volume will overtrain them..and when the minds believes then the body will follow. your body can do more than you believe....: also instead of lower volume to pathetic levels....maybe the answer is to stop going to FUCKING failure in every set...you stupid f**k mentzer
and ohh..i read everything mentzer wrote
and less isnt more...smarter isnt more....more volume smarter is more
lots more to write...but do as you wish
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HIT is bullshit.....its been fucking proved long ago. also definitions of what constitute HIT confuses alot of people..also they way people count sets has fucked up the minds of loads of people. some people count warm up sets as sets...some dont (yates).
HItters also believe a little bit of volume will overtrain them..and when the minds believes then the body will follow. your body can do more than you believe....: also instead of lower volume to pathetic levels....maybe the answer is to stop going to FUCKING failure in every set...you stupid f**k mentzer
and ohh..i read everything mentzer wrote
and less isnt more...smarter isnt more....more volume smarter is more
lots more to write...but do as you wish
If u are referring to mentzers heavy duty training, then that is different from HIT. I am a High intensity follower, bu that does not mean i follow mentzers teachings.
I dont pre-exhaust, or go to static and negative failure.
I use pretty much just compound movements, go to positive failure, use rest/pause and drop sets. I call this HIgh intensity training b/c well it is.
I am loving it, and just b/c training like mentzer might not work for someone, that does not make all High itensity training useless, or less effective than high volume!!
davie
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pics?
I love pics!
interesting!