HIT Rob

Two extremes, imo nether are ideal. On a side note, 3x Britain's strongest man and worlds strongest world competitor Glenn Ross lives a down the road from me, at 36st, functional is not the word i would use to describe him...Obese is the word i would use... https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRhhKneL07ybhLrhDRDzC8nzw3Np_1WOwGjpBY62iNu7uXOj6Z85Q Imo the bodybuilder/strongmen from the 40s and 50s possessed what would be considered the best of both worlds. They weren't "shredded" (well, Vince Gironda and Chuck Sipes were), but they were lean and muscular, moreover, they were not only bodybuilders, they strongmen and all round great athletes. Pound for pound these guys were much much stronger than today's steroid/growth hormone infused druggies. There were many greats at that time, but my favorite BB/strongman/athlete of all (and many have argued the greatest BB of all time) was the late great Steve Reeves... https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRi3cE8KXJ3Z9bMbNBowWngQQZJqRF6WZhzKxdS9bYF3T8acUor This man was not only a tremendous bodybuilder, but he was also a good gymnast, boxer, horseman and strongman, he could clean 275lbs from his knees and lift 230lb men of the ground with his teeth...to name but a few, oh and he was 100% natural!

I think you'll find this interesting Bodyart... Scroll down and read what "Turpin" has to say on the matter, i completely agree with him. Note...the massive improvements he's made to his physique in the last 30 years of from HIT, yet, his body-weight has pretty much not change. http://www.drdarden.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=C771805F5CB3A52FBE509DEF107AF680.hydra?id=655648

Hey MF, Definitely think there is room on the market for a wider range of quality vegan supplements, hopefully all goes well for ya mate:) Best of luck Rob

18-5-14 Timed static contraction training 1. Seated Leg press 2. Underhand Pulldown 3. Chest Press Machine 22-5-14 TSC training 1. Chest supported Row 2. Shoulder press machine 3. Seated Leg Curl 4. Leg Extension Lower back has flared up badly this last week or so, had to really up my meds, so training wise, I've been using a static zero movement protocol to keep the major muscles groups stimulated. On the compound movements i held the resistance in the position of maximum motor arm, and in the full contracted position on the isolation movements. I went with just one static hold to failure per movement (lasting roughly 50-70 seconds).

All good this end mate (if i could just stop eating crap:)) Much like myself mate, the injuries dictate what i can and cant do... Nice BP, though i'd be more concerned about going through the ceiling and ending up in the kitchen sink lol

Great stuff Mike, some dam good weights being moved there:) Do you tend to have mainstay movements you stick to or do you like to change angles etc?

Your not one of those people? Coulda fooled me

Don't know I've anyone seen this in the news, but i thought it was brilliant...and they say cats aren't loyal... http://5newsonline.com/2014/05/14/video-cat-fights-off-attacking-dog-to-save-kid/

Hey Ross, Done properly, BOTH HIT and HIIT are great for "cardio" , the main difference, is that HIT is "low force" high intensity exercise, whereas HIIT is "high force" high intensity exercise. Yes, nice set up, kind of push/pull split of sorts, and to a degree, full body workouts:)

Love it:)) Wee tip... Forget counting reps, just focus on the muscle/s working, smooth turnarounds at each end of the rep and training to failure. If you do want to compare apples with apples when it comes to the training itself, use a stopwatch and track the time under tension/load and the weight used, OR do count the reps, but not necessarily on every workout, do the same workout again several weeks or workouts later and compare results:) HIT trainer and Mr N.I BB champ recently said this on facebook... "For all those people that count their rest periods between sets, record reps, rep tempo etc - that's all fine and dandy, but it all means jack shit if your not pushing yourself to that uncomfortable place were changes take place".

This afternoons workout... 1. Underhand chins - negative only 2. Dips - negative only 3. Pec deck flye machine - timed static contraction 4. Kettlebell high pulls supersetted with 5. Shoulder press machine - negative only 6. Unilateral D-B curl - negative only Exhausting workout, really fatigued, however, my strength has went up in leaps and bounds since putting the emphasis on the negative portion of the rep, my arms are up a half inch:)) (now 17"flexed) Not massive by any means, but still, not bad for a stroke victim, with 3 herniated discs, a doggy kidney and an irregular heart beat lol...

I'd recommend the "Yates" style Barbell Row, using a reverse grip (which puts the biceps into their strongest position, making them less of a weak link), with the upper body at a 70 degree angle, pulling the resistance into the waist. This is a superior movement for developing lat thickness/mass. I personally don't use it anymore due to low back issues, so these days i prefer low incline bench D-B Rows.

Thanks for the links Rob, and the insight. I definitely need to watch them a couple times to get the points down well, but it sounds like he's saying we are predisposed to grow to a certain size, given our skeletal composition, and that we don't see any real benefit from our training until (roughly) at least a week after each session. It makes sense, especially given the "cut healing" analogy John Little uses; though I wonder if skeletal muscle tissue responds/heals faster than dermis. One thing I can't seem to get over is that, even though I do one set to failure, invariably I can rest a few minutes, and come back and do another set. Pretty much anyone could, so it seems. But, I'm going to watch the entire seminar. Note above that I bought his book, so hopefully I'll have a greater understanding after that. No worries mate, Indeed that's what John is saying, we all have a genetic medicated limit. However their are many who fail to recognize this. I would have to say Chris, i find machines fatigue my muscle's more so than free weights do, probably due to the fact i can achieve greater muscular contractions. I've encountered quite a few hitters who've said the same, so possibly adding a little more volume when using free weights is wouldn't hurt, experiment and see how ya go with it:) As Mike pointed out the other day, this type of training can take a while for the individual to develop the neuromuscular efficiency require to "let it all hang out" in just one set, so again perhaps you may require 2-3 sets. Markus Reinhardt sums it up perfectly in this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyeMgu_xUyk For myself, I've been doing this for years ,when i go to failure there's no way in hell i could perform a second set to failure, even if i waited an hour lol. In fact a 15-20 minute workout leaves me generally fatigued for sometimes several days after. But this is what is required Chris, we must literately threaten our own physiology when we train, the body will take this on board and to protract itself from future assaults of the same magnitude it'll come back stronger. For those who believe one should leave the gym feeling "invigorated" i can only say they are sorely mistaken:)) Best wishes and good luck Rob

Btw Mike, you don't have to perform one prolonged hold as Drew Baye describes, you can also perform it as John Little's recommends, ie in rest pause fashion (which i prefer), several 15-20 second bouts with short rest pauses in between. This makes it psychology easier, and I believe this also allows you to deeper inroad the muscles as most can not hold it for one prolonged hold to failure and end up terminating the set due to the sheer discomfort of the metabolic waste build up.

Hey Bud, When it comes to static holds and compound movements, you want to hold only in the position of maximum motor arm (here you'll be forced to recruit muscle fibers more aggressively to sustain the contraction). On this exercise, that's just before parallel. Honestly, i can only describe this as a bastardized version of a wall sit.

Hi all, Just thought i'd share this exercise, (great for those whom train at home or in the gym)... I was introduced to it last year by HIT trainer and current Mr Northern Ireland BB champion John Martini (bastard:) It remains one of the hardest exercises I've ever done, i performed it last night and could barely walk home, the 15 minute walk took twice as long lol, at one point i considered falling to my knees and crawling up a very slight hill hehehaha:) Here is a Drew Baye article on it... http://baye.com/diy-timed-static-contraction-hip-belt-squats/ I'd be interested in hearing the thoughts of anyone who can perform it to failure:))

Hi Chris, These will be of interest to you... Mike Mentzer of training to failure (listen carefully to the first 5 minutes) John Little on frequency (fast forward to 51.30, very interesting what John has to say here) http://www.highintensitynation.com/2011/01/high-intensity-interview-of-the-month-john-little/ Mike Mentzer of training frequency (listen carefully to the first 4 minutes) Hope this helps, let us know what your thoughts are:) Best Rob

Here's a question for you Rob ~ do you think the same should be applied to running I just did a 50km race at the weekend, thought I went ok (4hr45 and 5th place). My performances on lower mileage weeks/less training seems to be reduced in the sense that I generally run slower and my body feels more tired. Once I pick my running up to around the 50-80km a week over 4-6 days I noticeably run better. I have no problems or issues with recovery and definitely don't feel like I need the extra rest days just for the sake of resting. So, I'm inclined to feel like I'd rather keep the weekly mileage on the slightly higher side (even though each session has a specific purpose and I'm not just logging 'junk miles' for the sake of running) rather than maybe training harder but less. Interested in your thoughts, and realise that running a) might be a curveball b) might not be applicable to the theories of HIT c) you have no idea because you have never been asked before PS: Sorry to crash your thread Ross, and sorry about the shit gig you just went to lol. Hey mate, I'm sure you've heard of a Principle in exercise physiology referred to as S.A.I.D (Specific adaptation of imposed demands), your training at the moment with a specific goal to improve upon your existing endurance levels, therefore in your case, it does stand to reason that when you train more (aerobically), you make better progress and preform at a higher level. That being said, HIT training (when done with the rush factor), has shown to be very effective for improving cardio function, one study that springs to mind is the Arthur Jones West Point Military Academy study in 1975, were subjects (who were already very fit) greatly improved the 2 mile running times after 6 weeks of Nautilus only training. My apologies for crashing your thread also Ross:)

Precisely mate, you've simulated the body sufficiently, a second set is unnecessary and for most..too much. That's a very good question - Intense physical stress effects the entire physical system, there is systemic fatigue, not just localized, localized recovery actually happens pretty fast, however systemic recovery takes considerable longer. Mike found 4-7 days (depending on the individuals recovery ability and level) to be the precise amount required.

Not at all Chris, in fact there's been well conducted research in recent years to show one can do just as well using high reps, at the other end many do well with low reps and heavy weights. I wouldn't go super high reps, as you want to stay within an anaerobic pathway. I wouldn't recommend foregoing the warm-up sets for a treadmill, bike, jumping jacks etc, reason being, you also want to warm-up nero-muscularly for the bigger more intense training to come, you want to "simmer to the boil".

@ Ross and Chris I hear ya guys on the low volume/frequency training, i love to train too, and when i first discovered HIT, i was reluctant to follow the recommendations of its proponents, despite their achievements. It wasn't until i spoke with Mike himself did i began to believe, using the most objective language i ever heard, he helped me develop a much more of a relaxed understanding of it all. He told me about one client in particular, David Paul (Mikes favorite client) an actor from the 80s/bodybuilder had been training 6 days a week, for up till 2 hours a day for several years with zero improvements made (because he enjoyed working out). Mikes first recommendation to him was to take a 3 week layoff, on his return to the gym, in just one month with Mike, he increased his squat by 185lbs and gained 6lbs of muscle!! Not bad for an advanced athlete who had already been training for 20+ years:)

@ Ross and Chris I hear ya guys on the low volume/frequency training, i love to train too, and when i first discovered HIT, i was reluctant to follow the recommendations of its proponents, despite their achievements. It wasn't until i spoke with Mike himself did i began to believe, moreover he helped me developed a much more of a relaxed understanding of it all. Mikes recommendation of training only once every 4-7 days (and in some cases as little as once every 10 days) wasn't something he plucked out of thin air, his recommendation was based on how his clients responded (thousands of them), one client in particular, David Paul (Mikes favorite client of all) an actor from the 80s/bodybuilder had been training 6 days a week, for up till 2 hours a day for several years with zero improvements made (because he enjoyed working out). Mikes first recommendation to him was to take a 3 week layoff, on his return to the gym, in just one month with Mike, he increased his squat by 185lbs and gained 6lbs of muscle!! Not bad for an advanced athlete who had already been training for 20+ years:)

Yeah mate, gotta be careful, its an explosive movement, though i try not to swing the KB just as much. Weight plates might well work as well.

Hmmmm good idea, I've been using barbell uprights for shoulders and it isn't comfortable on my wrists, shoulders or elbows ahha. Hey Ross, For years I've been looking for a better movement for the shoulder complex, upright rows and high pulls with the barbell or dumbbells (using different grips) irritates my shoulder joints, and with overhead presses, i feel the triceps give out before the delt's do. That being said, i don't feel an overhead press is necessary as the frontal delts get sufficient stimulation from movements such as Dips and Incline/Chest Presses. I like lateral raises (machine, cable or D-B), however because of the disadvantaged leverage, progress is very slow on them. Moreover my on the D-B and cable version my forearm extensor muscles give out before my delts do. But a friend recommend this, Kettlebell high pulls (btw, this is the friend)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrewa_0zyDw Because of how the resistance is distributed, i felt no joint discomfort and all the stress in the shoulder complex and traps. I first tried the movement with a D-B, buts its no were near as good as the KB.

Well that depends on how much you weigh and what chairs you have haha, I've been using wooden ones once a week for the past couple of years and haven't had an issue ... Yet Lol, that's true, i'm just somewhat reluctant to advise someone to do something that may not be safe:)