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Core Beliefs
About High Intensity Training
A routine that believes that progression is based upon strength gains on a
routine that is based upon the theory that you do the smallest amount of volume
to produce the greatest results. HIT routine believe that you stimulate a muscle
by pushing to close to or beyond what it can cope with in a short unit of time,
while draining very little recovery reserves, thus produces size and strength
gains. HIT believes that size (cross sectional area of a muscle) is directly
relative to strength, and thus a routine based upon regular and measurable
strength gains will result in an increase in muscular size. Any routine that is
abbreviated (short in duration, low in volume) and high in intensity (pushing a
fibre close to or beyond momentary muscular failure) constitutes a HIT routine.
Various HIT Routines
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BRAWN
20-Rep Squat Routine (As invented by Stuart McRobert and popularised in the book of the same
name)
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1. This is a
highly abbreviated routine that should be done twice per week
2. The squat should be performed such that the first 10 reps are hard to
achieve, the following 10 are to be performed in one's or two's until the
20 reps are reached. This is a massively draining exercise.
3. Reps should be performed slowly and in strict style, a tempo of 301 is
suggested and 402 for longer range movements.
4. Rest between sets can be as long as 3 minutes.
5. If sufficient intensity can be generated, you need do only 1 set of
each exercise. You should never do more than 3 sets.
6. You must aim to increase the weight on the bar by a small amount (no
mater how small) at each workout. |
Squat
1x20 reps. Super set with
Pull Overs
Donkey Calf Raise 2x15-20 reps
Stiff Legged Dead Lift 2x15-20 reps (Once a week only)
Parallel Bar Dips 2x6-9 reps
Bent Over Row 2x6-9 reps
Seated Press 2x6-9 reps |
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Dorian
Yates Heavy Duty Training (As popularised in Dorian Yates's books and
video)
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1.
A less abbreviated routine, allowing for slightly higher volume and
consequently slightly lower intensity on each set.
2. It uses a four way split on the body, so each body part is only
trained once every 6 days.
3. The program is a two days on, one day off program.
4. One maximum effort set is done for each exercise (in the main), with
warm up sets being done first, stopping far short of maximum efforts.
5. Rest between sets ranges from 1-2 minutes for the smaller muscle groups
and 2-3 minutes on the larger ones.
6. You should aim to increase the weight by a small amount at each
workout. Use or forced reps is advocated.
7. Reps should be performed in strict style with a constant tempo, 201 is
suggested. |
| Chest
and Biceps
Incline Bench Press 1x6
Hammer Chest Press 1x8
Incline Fly's 1x8
Cable X-Over 1x8
Incline D/B Curl 1x7
EZ Bar Curl 1x6
One Arm Preacher Curl 1x8
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Legs
Leg Extension 1x11
Leg Press 1x11
Hack Squat 1x7
Lying Leg Curl 1x8
Straight Leg Deadlift 1x8
Single Leg Curl 1x8
Standing Calf Raise 1x11
Seated Calf Raise 1x8
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Back
& Rear Delts
Machine Pullovers 1x9
Hammer Pull Downs 1x8
Bent Over Rows 1x6
Seated Single Arm Row 1x7
Rear Delt Raise 1x10
Dumbell Rear Delt Raise 1x8
Hyperextension 1x8
Straight Leg Deadlift 1x5
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Shoulders
& Triceps
Smith Machine Front Press
1x6
Seated Lateral Raise 1x9
Cable Lateral Raise 1x9
Dumbbell Shrugs 1x10
Triceps Press Down 1x11
Lying Triceps Press 1x6
Single Arm Kick Backs 1x9
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Heavy
Duty (As popularised by Mike Mentzer)
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1.
A highly abbreviated routine training bodyparts every forth day.
2. Using the following split:- Chest and Back, Legs and Abs, Shoulders and
Arms, Legs and Abs
3. The program is repeated in a sixteen day cycle.
4. One maximum effort set is done for each exercise (in the main), with
warm up sets being done first, stopping far short of maximum efforts.
5. Rest between sets ranges from 1-2 minutes for the smaller muscle groups
and 2-3 minutes on the larger ones.
6. You should aim to increase the weight by a small amount at each
workout. Use or forced reps, heavy negatives, rest pause, statics and
pre-exhaustion are the norm.
7. Reps should be performed in strict style with a constant tempo, 201 is
suggested or even slower at 302. |
| Chest
and Back
Pec Deck 1 x 6 - 10
Incline Chest Press 1 x 3
Pulldowns 1 x 8 - 10
Deadlift 1 x 8
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Legs
Leg Extension 1 x 10 (or
static)
Leg Press 1 x 10
Standing Calf Raise 1x11
Seated Calf Raise 1x8
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Shoulders
and Arms Lateral
Raise 1 x 10
Seated Shoulder Press 1 x 10
Bicep Curls 1 x 10
Tricep Dips 1 x 10
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Legs
and Abs
Leg Extension 1 x 6 - 7
Squat 1 x 15
Crunches to failure
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Static
Contraction (As popularised by Pete Sisco and John Little)
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1.
A highly abbreviated routine training the whole body once a week or once
every two weeks.
2. The program is repeated in a variable schedule based upon results and
recovery rates.
3. One maximum effort set, a static contraction, under maximal load
performed, performed to failure, preceded by an intense negative.
4. Rest between sets ranges from 2-3 minutes for the smaller muscle groups
and 4-5 minutes on the larger ones.
5. You should aim to increase the weight by a small amount at each
workout.
6. Reps are not performed - only intense maximal statics in the strongest
range of motion.
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| Workout
1
Shoulder Press 1 x 5 - 10
second static
Cable Row 1 x 5 - 10 second static
Weighted Crunch 1 x 5 - 10 second static
Bench Press 1 x 5 - 10 second static
Barbell Shrug 1 x 5 - 10 second static
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Workout
2
Lat Pulldown 1 x 5 - 10
second static
Close Grip Bench Press 1 x 5 - 10 second static
Cable Curl 1 x 5 - 10 second static
Leg Press 1 x 5 - 10 second static
Toe Press 1 x 5 - 10 second static
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Power
Factor Routine (As popularised by Pete Sisco and John Little)
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1.
A highly abbreviated routine training infrequently.
2. Using the following split is the norm:- Chest and Back, Legs and Abs, Shoulders and
Arms, Legs and Abs
3. The program is repeated in a variable schedule based on results and
recovery.
4. One to three sets are performed per exercise in the strongest range
with purely partial movements and near maximal weights over a specified
duration.
5. Rest between sets ranges from 1-2 minutes for the smaller muscle groups
and 2-3 minutes on the larger ones.
6. You should aim to increase the power factor or power index each workout
by adjusting the reps, weight or time under tension.
7. Reps should be performed in strict partial style with a constant tempo
in the strongest range only.
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Chest
and Back
Incline Chest Press
Pulldowns
Deadlift
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Legs
Leg Extension
Leg Press
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
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Shoulders
and Arms
Seated Shoulder Press
Bicep Curls
Tricep Dips
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Legs
and Abs
Leg Extension
Squat
Crunches to failure
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| Posted by |
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Questions and Answers |
| Gabriel P. |
Question |
HIT Routines: Hi,
At Mike Mentzer training when you say it s repeated in a 16 day cycle this means that each 16 days we should train only about twice per week
Thanks |
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Answer |
yes thats right gabriel , you do each body part once over a 16 day period , so you basically train one body part then rest 4 days before training the next body part.....this programme is set to maximise recovery in between workouts. hope this helps |
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| ritz |
Question |
HIT Routines: hi, im 20years old and have been training for about 1.5 years i weigh just under 11stones and am 5 7, i have gained alot of muscle in that time but my arms are still very small for some reason, i train bis and tris on fridays and do about 9sets for each, in the H.I.T routines bis and tris are only trained once a week with 3sets. surely this can t be enough for arm growth can it any advice on how to get bigger arms ps, great site and prices it beats all your competitors online ) |
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Answer |
Arm size is often determined by genetics. Some people simply have smaller muscle bellies in their arms, especially slim individuals. This is not to say that you can't and won't build bigger arms but there are some things to bear in mind. You cannot build big arms without putting on a lot of mass allover. At 11 stone in bodyweight, nobody will have large arms, it is physically impossible. Arms grow in proportion to overall mass, so you'll need to look at building a much bigger phsyique all over to see a major change.
Now, not everybody agrees with the principles of H.I.T but one thing almost all trainers will agree on, regardless of their preferred methods is this - direct arm training does very little for actual arm mass. Mass is generally built by major force production times a certain amount of volume. In fact, regardless of whether you follow H.I.T or a totally different routine, one of the main facts of physiology is that your triceps are designed to project force when extending your arms - essentially heavy bench pressing or weighted dips does more for tricep mass than millions of sets of tricep extensions. Weighted chins or pullups with your palms facing you will cause far more bicep growth than a million sets of curls. Your arms are simply used to project force from the major muscle groups. You won't find a guy with huge triceps who doesn't have a decent amount of chest and shoulder mass. You won't find a truly great bicep development absent a powerful back. Your body works in chains of muscle groups, not as tiny individual muscles working alone.
H.I.T is very low volume and some people seriously disagree with its principles but regardless for arm development concentrate on big exercises such as dips and chins and make sure you are using a full range of motion to elicit arm involvement as much as possible. Try close grip benching to hit the triceps a little more. Essentially you need big weight exercises or body weight to really push your arms to grow. Remember though that your arms are used in almost any upper body exercise, not just in isolation. Once you can bench big weights, or dip your bodyweight plus a belt full of plates or do multiple chins with a weight belt or iron vest on you will have big arms even if you never did a seperate arm exercise in your life.
Also eat more and put more mass on allover and your arms will start to grow a lot too. If you have naturally slim arms this may be slightly slower than other body parts but you can make them grow in all weight training systems. |
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