High Intensity Training: HIT

[Sean Reed]

....
if someone starts a thread about some Tibet Meditation Program, and they passionately want to explain how it will make us healthier, then power to them. It probably won't be a thread I subscribe to, but who am I to interfere with someone wanting to passionately articulate their experiences on something that has been successful to their health achievements?

Peace ...

https://www.buddha101.com/c_meditation.htm

 

[Vince]

I also use TRT to help me live a healthy lifestyle. I am on the skinny side, but I do like to exercise daily. Using a low-carb diet has definitely helped me keep my weight under control. I'm 62, I did post some of my recent pictures. Thanks, I'm finally making gains again.https://www.excelmale.com/forum/threads/do-i-still-need-protein-if-im-trying-to-tone-vs-bulk.13299/ hopefully you will become a active member of excelmale

 

[Vettester Chris]

https://www.buddha101.com/c_meditation.htm

Ha, LMAO!!! I'm all over it! Tell you what, if they have a routine where I can hook up my Fender Strat while doing this, I'm in!!

 

[Sean Reed]

Ha, LMAO!!! I'm all over it! Tell you what, if they have a routine where I can hook up my Fender Strat while doing this, I'm in!!

Hmm, I had you pegged as a Gibson Les Paul kind of guy

 

[Vettester Chris]

Hmm, I had you pegged as a Gibson Les Paul kind of guy

Had a ES339, and love Les Pauls. Was on the fence for a ES335, but ended getting a Gretsch 6136 DC White Falcon ... Ughh, sorry for derailing things here LOL. Just don't get me talking guitars or motorcycles and I can usually stay pretty focused!!

 

[Sean Reed]

Had a ES339, and love Les Pauls. Was on the fence for a ES335, but ended getting a Gretsch 6136 DC White Falcon ... Ughh, sorry for derailing things here LOL. Just don't get me talking guitars or motorcycles and I can usually stay pretty focused!!

Chris: I am the King of Threadjacking, you are fine.

This thread has motivated me to do another article on HIIT, as applied to weight training. Instead of sprinting then walking this program has you going all out on a set with very little rest between sets, just long enough to get straps tied. You spend 15-20 seconds doing a set, then about 10 seconds getting ready for your next set.

This type of program uses HIIT in a bodybuilding framework. It is one I have a tremendous success with and this success is well supported by the academic literature.

I use this system myself. Every now and then I will do a regular training session to compare my strength levels. Last week I did a chest workout, one of my weaker body parts to measure strength gain/loss over the last 6 months.

6 months ago, I was able to do 9 reps with 80 lb dumbbells on the flat bench. As mention, chest is my weakest body part. The other week I was able to crank out 13 reps.

Will remarked below that HIIT was a topic that was popular in the 80's and 90's, but has long since been debunked via the academic literature. That statement is completely false.

In writing the article I have come up with more than 15 sources and studies that support the claim that HIT training is more often than not superior to more conventional training. I could gather many, many more articles, but at some point I need to stop and write the thing.

Nearly all of the studies of the last 20 years have found HIIT to be a superior way of training. The only true weakness of HIT is that it taxes the body so hard that you can't do it every day. That is why Dorian advocated a 2 day on one day off schedule. The beauty of my system is that you get cardio and weights all at once over a 35 minute period, and you only need to train 4 days a week for complete fitness.

Researchers have known for a long time that HIIT burns more fat. In 1994 (Tremblay, Metabolism) researchers found that trainees lost three times as much fat (via caliper measurement) using HIIT as opposed to steady state training.

When I embarked on this type of training my goal was conditioning and my hope was that I would not lose too much strength training this way. Needless to say, I was very pleasantly surprised by the strength gains.

 

[Sean Reed]

I need to make a couple of basic concepts clear to avoid confusion.


First: We have High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) a concept that has usually rotated around more traditional cardiovascular training. Instead of, say, steady state jogging, you instead sprint hard for 30 seconds, then walk for 20 seconds over a 20 minute period. This type of training has received the most attention from researchers over the last 20 years and is widely regarded as being more effective (for fat burning especially) than traditional steady state training.


Second: We have High Intensity Training (HIT) which, in general, has been applied to weight training.


HIT usually means less volume but more intensity. Sets are taken to failure. Forced reps are utilized as are drop sets and other techniques to load your muscles much more than if doing a more traditional set that does not go to complete failure.

The article I am in the process or writing applies the Interval concept to weight training. Think of techniques like supersets, or better yet giant sets. For example, you do a wide grip pull-down than a narrow grip pull down. You do a wide grip row and then a narrow grip row. However, instead of stopping you continue to train that way for a bit more than 20 minutes strait until you have completed a full back, trap, rear delt workout.


You can then run over to the tread mill for a bit more HIIT cardio and viola, you have done a complete weight and cardio workout.


It bears repeating that this type of workout burns more fat. Everyone knows that, as is evident in the scientific literature. The question is, how much strength and or muscle do you sacrifice training this way, and that is where I have had the most remarkable results, I have gotten stronger. My clients also have gotten stronger.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The things I miss while I am on vacation

HIIT was never good for my lazy ass. Moderate weights and cables are good for my old body LOL

 

[Sean Reed]

The things I miss while I am on vacation

HIIT was never good for my lazy ass. Moderate weights and cables are good for my old body LOL

As I get older, I use more machines and higher reps. After my shoulder surgery I switched to a 10-12 rep schema which was higher rep than my old power bodybuilding program.

I was working with IFBB pro Frank Roberson, and Frank does all 20 rep schemas, and he is 285 lbs at five ten with a small waist.

A 20 rep set can be extremely HIT. My muscles are screaming by rep number 12. Keep in mind I did more than 30 years of lower rep power bodybuilding prior to that. My profile picture is of me winning the light heavyweight division of the NPC Mr San Francisco contest.

6 weeks prior to that I did a 600 lb deadlift.

In some ways, 20 reps can be harder than pulling 600 for 1 rep.

In my companion article, I transition from HIT to an application of HIIT to weights. The evidence is overwhelming (tons of articles in the academic literature) demonstrating the superiority of HIIT for cardiovascular fitness.

HIIT as I apply it to weights means no rest (just the 10 seconds or so that I need to transition from exercise to exercise) between sets. It is massively taxing on the cardio system, and it replicates the kind of stress the body is under when doing combat sports. I use it to condition fighters.

What that means is 10 minutes in I am struggling to get 8 reps of incline dumbbells at 55 lbs.

AS I discussed, I predicted that I would get in good fighting shape from my application of HIIT, but I was sure that my strength would drop off.

The motto of heavy basic for strength gains has always been a truism for me.

What I surprise it was that after 6 months of HIIT I actually was stronger than I was before.