HIT Rob

Some great articles here about the fraud that goes on within the fitness and bodybuilding industry, written by highly experienced HIT trainer and natural bodybuilder Dave Landau... http://www.exercisefraud.com/

Hi Dylan, Do you coach or play in the soccer? Used to be a good keeper until my back let me down:)

Currently in the process of taking a short layoff due to my lower back playing up last Thursday, i have a constant bad "toothache" like pain in my groin area due to one of the bulging disc's in my lower back pressing on a nerve, unfortunately very little can be done for it, all i can do is try not to irritate it and medicate myself, thankfully its easing. On my return to the gym i'm going to have't to change things from what i'd planned to do, I've been mulling over some idea's for a month or so now anyway, but after also weighing up the risk vs reward, i going to abandon the heavy consolidated training for a slightly different approach. When i look over some of my old training journals, compound movements have always delivered best results in terms of increased strength and power, but when it comes to hypertrophy, targeted isolation movements, that provide resistance in the fully contracted position, combined with high stress techniques such as static holds and rest pause have (for me) provided superior results. Given my current situation, i'm going to began employing the latter again. The movements i planning on using.... Chest - Pec Deck Flye Machine Lats/Rear Delts - Chest Supported Hammer Row Or Incline Bench D-B Row (unfortunately i don't have access to a pullover machine) Shoulders - Machine or D-B Lateral Raise Traps - Shrugs Low Back - Weighted Back Extension Biceps - Underhand Chin Triceps - Shoulder Width Grip Chest Press Legs/Hip - Leg Extension - Leg Curl - Thigh Abduction and Adduction - Calf Presses Abs - Seated Crunch Machine I'll continue to use compound movements for Biceps and Triceps (though the range of motion will be limited or Nil), additional curls, press-down's and Extension's have done nothing for my arm development over the years. If i do decided to leg press or static squat, they'll be performing in low stress pre-exhaustion fashion. I'll be performing these movements to how John Little recommends in his Advanced Max Contraction Training Book, ie over a 3 way split.

Hey Mike, Looking good, nice bicep peaks and flaring lats;) How your new eating plan been going?

Interesting read, thanks for posting, i'm surprise its only 4x as high (based on how what i seen in the gym over the years), and not just from sloppy form, but also, from training muscles through positions of dis-advantaged leverage (which is why i now use static holds and limit my ROM on exercises). But as i stated previously, if the individual avoid's exaggerated ROM, lifts under control, smooth turnarounds etc, its a very safe way to train. The likes of John Little and Doug Mcguff have overseen 150,000 one on one HIT workouts with clients and never had someone get injured. In fact they've done their fair share of helping individuals rehabbing injuries. Personally, my injuries were caused from years of training my muscles through a "full range of motion", as well as high impact martial arts training.

What I'm saying is that each individual's limit, be it strength or flexibility, is a moving target that will change with training and adaptation. Right now my strength limit and flexibility limit is different than it was a year ago, and different than it will be a year in the future. I do not believe that there is any specific genetic code that dictates that an individual will only be able to increase their strength up to some certain point, and never ever any further. Of course flexibility is slightly different because at some point you will be hindered by actual physical objects (you can't stretch your leg through your chest, for instance, no matter how flexible you are). However, I believe there is pretty much always room for adaptation. Ahh, i'm with ya now mate, I believe there is a limit, and reason being, there are many genetically limiting factors among individuals, when it comes to strength and muscle size for example, skeletal formation, muscle belly length, metabolism, muscle fiber density, nero-musculature efficiency, intra-muscular coordination as well as physiological barriers that all play a role in determining how far an individual can go. When it comes to flexibility, the same is true, there are genetically limiting factors. This being true, it only stands to reason that where there is genetically limiting factors, there is a genetically mediated limit.

"There's no genetically mediated limit of adaptation that we're running up against" Perhaps i'm picking this up wrong, but are you suggesting that we as individuals don't have a genetically mediated limit for flexibility or increasing strength?

Perhaps its "flat out incorrect" with YOUR experience, they must do things differently in the U.S, several years ago for a period of 3 years i also practiced yoga in 2 different countries with several instructors (as a supplement to martial arts training), i found for MY experience what i stated to be flat out true, i was encourage to push my limits (positions of exaggerated range of motion held for prolonged periods), as where others in the classes i attended....despite the fact some of those people were complaining of back pain, hip pain, wrist pain etc.

lol, I hate that stuff too, one of my work colleges drinks about 6 cans of it day and barely eats anything, he runs around work all day like a banshee on speed, and the smell of that stuff first thing in the morning is even worse...boke. My fav Red Bull event was that guy that dropped from space at a zillion mph, that was something else:)

That's true B&B, though if you weight train wisely, ie controlled none explosive reps, smooth turnarounds, (and not using exaggerated ranges of motion), the potential for injury is much lower. The thing with flexibility is, it has a strongly genetically mediated limit, a muscle can not "increase" its flexibility without tearing something or losing its tonus, but with yoga, one is encouraged over time to push that genetically mediated limit further, which is not the best idea, as this is one limit that can not be transcended.

Hey MF, Certainly does mate, i've been watching the red bull cliff diving this week, might even get the swimming trunks on and hit the diving board:) If there's a title wave comes your way you know whats happened he he:)

Yeah seen that lol, i know were your coming from though, the media can over state the facts to make it more dramatic and bold. Personally though, i don't doubt some of the findings, the exaggerated ranges of motion, and obscure positions held for prolonged periods for many is just asking for trouble.

LOL, in fairness the media are just presenting the information at hand.

Happened to come across this interesting article about the dangers of yoga... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2084334/Strokes-retina-damage-trapped-nerves-Is-yoga-doing-harm-good.html

I would not recommend training 5-6 days per week, no human alive needs to train that much, this is especially true for someone in their 40s and upwards, as their naturally ability to tolerate stress decreases. Moreover, by your 40s and upwards, your body has had more exposure to wear and tear issues. I would strongly recommend a low force high intensity approach (Yes, intense training is stressful, however you wont be exposing yourself to it often), similar to Dr Doug Mcguff and John Littles body by science approach. Maximizing stimulation with minimum wear and tear on the body. Best of luck Rob

Hey there:) I have no experience with Insanity per se, however i have had years of experience with high impact training, to which at 36, am now paying a heavy price. I've very serious lower back problems (am awaiting surgery) as well as knee and shoulder issues. I would strongly recommend "low force" high intensity exercise, done lifting weights smoothly and under strict control. If you want to get additional cardiovascular benefits, simply reduce the rest periods between exercises. The most important factor of fat loss any exercise program is the maintenance of lean muscle tissue, strength training is the only reputable way to do that.

so simple yet i didnt even think of this! cheers mate, maybe could do the jreps kinda thing too?. my pecs are effin killing already from this morning, painful day tomoro i thinks! Yes mate, you could use J-rep reps or 1 1/4 reps, that why you'd be achieving more contractions per unit of time (as well as solving the issue that many Hitters come across...ie lack of resistance:) But hold off on that until you've no where else to go, when the progress train is in motion, don't through anything on the tracks. Oh the DOMS are good aren't they lol, that's one draw back from training your muscles so infrequently, longer recovery times permits for a greater level of performance, which in turn results in a deeper level of fatigue, but that's a trade off i'd rather have. Have a great week mate:)

Great progress mate, good stuff:) If your close to maxing out equipment such as a pec deck, slow your rep cadence down, reduce it to a 2-4 second positive, 2 second hold in the contracted position, then a 4 second negative. Or (John Martini had me do this one) Use you normal rep cadence, however on every 2nd or 3rd rep, perform a superslow negative, changes everything:)

Hi Ross, If your not training to failure, you could certainly get away with training 3x per week, as right now it sounds like your still developing skill / intra-muscular coordination. That being said, as you grow progressively stronger, you will need longer recovery periods, if you don't, you'll see your numbers grind to a halt. But If you properly regulate your intensity, volume and frequency accordingly , you could in fact reach your full genetic potential in as little as one to two years. "Strength is finite, it doesn't take long to reach the upper limits of your abilities" This was told to me by a former british powerlifting champ, here he is at bodyweight of 74kgs Deadlifting over 600lbs That was 20 years ago, he now focuses on bodybuilding (trains in his very well equipped garden shed), thought recently he's started power training again. He keeps a training log on the Dr Darden HIT forum, heres the link...http://www.drdarden.com/readTopic.do?id=550337&pageNo=61#bottom I've spoken with him on many occasion on another HIT forum, extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and helpful individual, learned a lot from him.

Am in the same boat mate, need to clean up my diet aswell. That all looks good, are you going to be eating that water with a knife and folk lol (sorry, just joking:). Something that i'll started use this last few months in hemp seed oil, its in a black wine style bottle at Tesco's, called The Good Oil, its 25 times more omega 3 than olive oil. Tasty too:)

That looks frecken lovely:) I really need to be more adventures with my food.

Hit the gym tonight for a full body workout of sorts... 1. Seated Leg Press Machine stack x 14 reps to failure 2. Iso Hammer Pulldown 100kgs x 8 reps to failure, then a 10 second rest pause, followed by one static hold to failure 3. Iso Hammer Shoulder Press 90kgs x 4 reps to failure (little too heavy, i'll drop down 5-10kgs next time) Each movement was performed to failure with a 2-2-4 cadence (no pause on the LP and SP). The next workout will be Hammer Deads, Chest Press machine and Hammer Rows. Love the new gym, much better equipment and atmosphere in the place.

Hi Clank, I would recommend a seated leg curl machine, the lying and standing version's can be awkward. Yes, the hamstrings are engaged in movements such as squats, lunges, back extension's and stiff legged deadlifts, however you can not achieve a full contraction with these movements.

15-20 years ago, my thinking was similar to your own, that is, i "felt" like the wasn't doing enough. Little did i know that even though i was performing just one direct biceps exercise, and one direct triceps movement, i was actually overtraining. It wasn't until i eliminated ALL direct arm work did my arms actually begin to signs of improvement. The arms receive more than enough stimulation from compound movements such as underhand pulldowns/chins, heavy rows, high pulls, dips, bench presses, shoulder presses etc, to then add additional direct arm work in many cases is just too much. The only time i actually use direct arm work now, is when i'm using pre-exhaustion on the larger muscle groups (as less weight can be employed on the compound movement). In general Eden, i always found that the less exercise i do (within reason), with greater intensity of effort, the better the results, and even though i "feel" i could do more, i don't, as the purpose of going to the gym is to stimulate growth, not to see how much we can endure. Stimulate, rest and grow! The most productive program I've found for my arms was this Bill Sahli (a world class hit trainer with 45 years experience) powerbuilding routine, in fact i myself return to using a very similar routine every so often. Workout A PUSH 1. Weighted Dips 2. Close-grip Bench 3. Squat or Leg Press Workout B PULL 1. Deadlifts 2. Rows or High Pulls 3. Underhand Pulldowns or Chins * 4-7 days between workouts (to allow for full systemic recovery) * After warm-up sets, perform just one set to failure per movement * Salt in some "high stress" techniques, such as static holds, partial reps, rest pause etc (no more than one of these techniques per workout)

By the sounds of it, your not obsessed by this, but painfully confused... These type of routines and articles are usually written by people who have absolutely NO CLUE, with regards to exercise physiology. Are you really thinking of performing heavy squats and leg presses on a tuesday, then heavy deadlifts, rows etc the very next day? Eden, its a simple biological law, that as you grow stronger, so to, do the stresses on your limited recovery ability, so as you grow stronger, you dont require more training, you require LESS training. Those who fail to make peace with this fact, well see the progress grind to a halt.