My HIT log

[figgs]

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!! )

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)

[Hedgehog]

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

[figgs]

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.

[Hedgehog]

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

[figgs]

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?

[Your MAAAAaaaa]

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

[figgs]

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!"

[Your MAAAAaaaa]

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

[davie]

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

[natural al]

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.

[Your MAAAAaaaa]

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

[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

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

[Your MAAAAaaaa]

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

[figgs]

I'm recovering from the flu. I'll get back at it soon enough. 

[Eyeball Chambers]

I'm recovering from the flu. I'll get back at it soon enough. 

Get well, take a shit load of Vitamin C.

[Moen]

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 

[figgs]

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 

hahhahaha if I get the flu from overtraining with 4 sets I don't want to know what would happen if I did 20!

[Moen]

Indeed, I suggest you not try it 

[figgs]

I'M BACK! 

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!).

[pumpster]

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.

[pumpster]

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.

[pumpster]

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.

[pumpster]

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.

[pumpster]

I'M BACK! 

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?

[davie]

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.