This one took me a while to make, I hope you found the video interesting and cool in some way! :) Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:48 Part I: History of High-Intensity Training 1:56 Part II: Common Themes of High Intensity Training 5:14 Part III: The Colorado Experiment: 63lbs of Muscle in 28 days 9:06 Part IV: Training to Failure vs Not 19:14 Part V: Low Volume vs High Volume 22:58 Part VI: Low Frequency vs High Frequency 30:53 Part VII: Positives of High-Intensity Training 35:37 Part VIII: Conclusions
Thanks! I really like your content. I had my DNA analyzed by dr Anthony jay. He said I had slow twitch muscles that would respond better to high volume low weight exercises. I switched to that and noticed a distinct change in muscle growth. I just thought you might be interested in the genetic aspect of training.
Interesting, however, the research actually isn't that clear if slow-twitch predominant individuals actually respond better to higher volumes, it's possible, but more research is needed :)
My experimenting in almost every program has taught me this. All programs work. I have done high volume training 5 sets. I have done nucleus overload 100 reps very low weight in a huge set. I have done only bodyweight. I have done only resistance bands. I have done only dropsets. I have done heavy duty 1 set to failure 6-10 reps. I had gains with ALL OF THEM. The one thing that will alter your results is the quality of reps, your food, you daily life and the curret state of your fitness level. Dont try for the ultimate program. Just do what you like o what your time allows you. When i work too many hours i prefer HIT or dropsets because i can finish a workout session in 20 mins.
I agree, it all about avoiding and counteracting the adaptations of the body. Do something for too long your body will adapt. Mix up your meso and macro cycles and keep the body guessing.
My favorite is the drop set work out. Giving little to no time to rest between sets gives a great pump. I love it when I’m grunting and struggling with the lightest of weights, because I know I have exhausted all muscle movement, and picking up a pencil will now be a challenge!!
One thing I will never understand, why most men are obsessed with the size of their muscles… I’ve always found how hard I can punch someone’s face into their brain to be much more of a relevant and inspiring framework. As any bodybuilder knows, their muscle is inversely proportion to their athleticism. As an athlete, looking at body building culture shows a bizarre world driven by even more bizarre mentalities. Great info, I enjoyed listening, and i leave as confused as ever about wtf is going on with these mindsets. Go run, take care of your heart and lungs too. Try hitting a punching back to find out how pathetic you really are! Lol
One aspect of heavy duty HIT training that seems to be not mentioned here is that of momentum. Mike Mentzer taught to have no momentum when raising and lowering the weights, which dramatically increases the time the muscles are under tension.
You can have momentum when doing the partials and the forced partials/cheat reps at the very end of the set when you cant get another strict one, as long as you still control the eccentric. But the majority of the set should be done with as little momentum as possible. Anyways, he mainly trained with machines so that he could focus on the movement and not the stabilisation of it, and its pretty hard to get momentum with machines
Mentzer counted the amount of seconds on the static, negative and positive as volume rather than the amount of reps in the video where he trains a bodybuilder named Markus.
What I find most informative is that 1 set isn’t less effective and it takes 1:5th the time. Most normal gym goers have careers, families, etc so hit training even if equal is far superior in practicality
In my opinion, HIIT training is more suitable for the majority of people even if it gets you just 85-90% of the results of the other approach. That 4:5th the time for only 10-15% is not worth for gym goers with family, career, another hobbies etc. Basically, from a Pareto principle point of view, for those that are not professional bodybuilders HIIT is the best :)
@Whammer79 agreed and it’s why I have clients do extender sets. I think 1 set to true failure is enough but most don’t achieve that so I have them do drop sets, myo reps, negatives, etc
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines I’m jacked, almost stage ready on hit. Lazy is a far cry and laughable. It’s time efficient. Would you count pennies one by one or use a coinstar machine?
In my experience, have done high volume, bro splits, HIIT etc, I, at 52 years old, have seen more gains, rapidly, doing a high intensity ( HIT ) style workout than any other workout in my life. For me it’s all about intensity and ample recovery!
@@sora5075 Yes, always! Go to failure, drop the weight 20-40lbs, and immediately go back to failure. I consider this to be one true set. I also practice 5 second negatives and on occasion, super sets. Dip’s to failure straight into push-ups for example 💪🏼
Yea I agree. It seems like they assume that all people have the neural adaptations to activate 95% of their motor units. Which is far as hell from the case. Most are really more likely to only be able to recruit about 60% . And triggers a response is not the same as triggers optimal response.
Agreed. When you hear Dorian talk about training to failure he's talking forced assisted reps, negatives, etc. Barfing after your set type absolute failure. He was going so far beyond gassing out with 80% 1rm. I don't train at that kind of intensity, nor do I achieve that kind of result but that's not my fitness goal either.
I think the connection can be learned. They should initially train with much lighter weight than they can handle to absolute positive failure, very slow rep counts, breathe deeply through the mouth as needed. I think this will train the connection. If you are routinely gasping for breath on that last rep, you have probably made that connection.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines For natural lifters what do you consider big? Plenty of people training HIT style can get as big as moderate volume, pre-steroid bodybuilders, like Reg Park or Steve Reeves. My measurements are bigger, but I am also, admittedly, fatter. I'm not interested in competing, am middle-aged, and uninterested in crash dieting to see abs. I care far more about health and feeling big and strong, and more generally youthful than my age, than being shredded.
One thing that needs to be pointed out in part 5: low volume vs high volume is that high intensity typically involves much slower reps than the traditional rep, usually 4 seconds concentric, 2 seconds peak contraction hold, and 4 seconds on the eccentric. So roughly 10 seconds per rep, which means six reps is going to take at least one full minute. The studies provided were comparing a single traditional set not taken to failure vs 3 traditional sets of the same nature. So in that case, yes, 3 sets would certainly be better for muscle growth. But that study did not reflect a single set as outlined by HIT protocol. Volume is just the total amount of work performed within a given training session, so time under tension would be a valid measurement of total volume. Now compare a set of 10 reps using a slower HIT style, 4-2-4 cadence vs a standard 3 set of traditional training, where you would perform maybe 1 second in the positive, 1 second in the negative. So 20 seconds per set approximately, for 3 sets you’re looking at about 60 seconds total where the muscle is under mechanical tension, whereas the single set of HIT training for 10 reps at 10 seconds per rep would last for 1 minute and 40 seconds. So, in terms of time under tension at least, HIT would actually be MORE volume than traditional 3 sets. This of course is only when directly equating time under tension to volume. I’ve never really considered HIT as “low volume” for this reason. It’s less reps and sets than traditional training sure, but in total time for the muscle to be performing work it’s moderate - typical training volume compared to other forms of training
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines The idea of HIT is to target fast twitch type II fibers and to fatigue them in that one set so You dont have to bang out doezns of reps resulting in overtarining. You wrongly associate fast twitch name to only them working in quick motions. They work in slow reps as well. Esspecially when the muscle is fatigued and has to recruit as many motor units as possible to push through the motion.
@@jonahanderson2663 i get your point about the HIT sets taking longer time than a normal set, but does it take as long as 3? not sure man. just because u dont train hit doesnt mean you quarter rep 12 dumbell presses and call it a day. u can easily implement good technique and slow controlled reps training high/moderate volume or whatever u wanna call the "opposite" of hit or the other training method shown in the video. BUT lets say even if 1 HIT set does take as long as 3 of the others. if you want to maximise 1 set with time under tension that equates to 3 normal sets, and u wanna perform them slow and controlled to failure at about 10 reps, you are not gonna be able lift as much weight as someone going to rpe 8-10 at around 10 reps as well, at 1/3 of the HIT pace given there are decent rest times in between sets. so lets say the HIT set is able to db press 30kg dumbbells and the other group is able to press 36kg, the other is essentially doing more workload (more weight moved given the range of motion is the same) , and workload/weight moved is also a factor for volume so even if both are doing 100 seconds of time under tension, the HIT set are only doing 100 seconds of 30kg vs 100 seconds of 36kg. so i dont think necessarily HIT is low time under tension either, but it certainly in most cases - or when performed in regards to how its meant - is lower volume than doing eg. 3 sets per exercise - and its also less workload being done throughout the entirerity of the workout. not saying this means hit is worse for muscle growth, but given the studies shown in the video, it certainly suggest that training close to failure isnt worse than training to failure, that training higher volume can be better and that training in higher frequency also can be better. i wont neglect the style of training as being effective, and im sure many people will see great results; its less time consuming and even fun at that - so theres many goods. but i do think that the average trainee will benefit more (given the litterature) from training "high volume" (i dont have a great name for it bcs high volume sounds so dramatic, but the typical 3x10-12 kinda style training is what i mean) and that the style on averages gives the most optimal hypertrophy.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines Lifting weights in slow and controlled fashion is: 1) safer 2) more effective -> more time under tension + training also the eccentric motion and holding of the excercise 3) requires more strength, thus logically is harder and more efficient
The amount of research and work put into this video is truly extraordinary. Unbiased, scientific, evidence based and visually beautiful presentation? You cannot get better than that.
Once you actually work out as intensely as Mike intendet, youre not ever gonna question the low amount of volume. When i go to complete failure in my one set I cannot imagine doing another.
Mike Mentzer made me develop a love-hate relationship with working out... too bad I cannot workout as hard as I intend to because I moved to a new gym and I can't make too much noise to disturb others (heard old people working out there call security), so I am looking for a new approach.
I've been doing a sort of hybrid of high intensity / high volume. I pick a load that makes me go to failure at around 6-10 reps. For the very next set, I reduce my weight by something like 10-30lb and do it again. Each set is progressively lighter than the previous, going for a total of 4 sets. E.g. if my first set had a 150lb load, my 4th and final set might only have 60lb. But by that point, I'm struggling just as much to complete 6-10 reps as I was with the first set. My whole session lasts maybe like, 25-30min, and I finish things up with 10min of high intensity cardio before heading out the door.
@@bitskit3476 sounds like you are an idiot. you first get what you need to hit the stimulus to grow muscles , then you just waste time and exhaust yourself with lighter sets for no reason. Its like if you want to eat to eliminate hunger, you eat and then when you are full you decide to eat more with the idiotic reasoning "why not? i still have something in the fridge. maybe if im not hungry anymore i will be even more not hungry by eating 2nd time". you need to HIT training for your brain before you do anything in your life.
Exactly. And that is where this video falls short and seems biased….the combination of high intensity and slow tempo training and lower frequency are not considered as a whole. Mentzer had a very specific recommendation for frequency (his Mr. Olympia program) and it was 72 hours minimum. He continues to mention 10 to 14 days. There’s nuances with Mentzer programming and one has to consider the shock effect that he obviously appeals to and wanted in order to gain a following. Up until this point I had complete faith in the producer of these videos. That has shifted.
This was very well made. I've personally tried many different workout programs and always ended up exhausted (and not having enough time) doing a regular 3/4 times per week routine. The 1-2x a week routine keeps me on track with progress, I have much better energy levels and have more time to do important things outside of the gym. Overall, even if I lose 10-15% in gains, I'm happy to trade that for the time, energy and ease to follow the program.
You are right. We have many things more important tham be in side of the gim. Always ask me, how to do work out with out chance your life or thoths. No chance your cosmovition is important.
I am 62 and have 45+ years of drug-free bodybuilding behind me. This does not mean that I have gone balls to the wall for 45 years, I have tried many routines and started writing routines years ago. I now run 3 days a week on. Day 1 all front muscles (Quads, abs, chest) Day 2 all back muscles (hams, glutes, calves, back) Day 3 shoulders and arms. I run a HIT method where at least the last set in each exercise goes beyond positive failure and only 2-3 exercises are used per body part. After a lay off, I put on 15lbs in 3 months and became leaner, but this was my body just getting back to where it was less than a year prior. It took me many years to put on the muscle that I have. Sets are Warm-up, Hard warm-up, hard-working (very possibly to positive failure such as dips), set 3or4 goes beyond positive failure with ETUT (various methods). After finishing the first exercise per body part, the next exercise, a warm-up is not needed, and possibly only 2 working sets can be utilized. Your body has great memory that will last up to 2 weeks for strength, so training the same body part in 7-8 days will maintain your positive movement till a stall comes. When a stall comes, cut way back and cruise for 2 weeks. I just hit a point like this and that was after 6 months of moving forward. An example of this training might be: Ex 1 - dips or weighted dips 3-4 sets, last sets PF and beyond PF. Ex 2 -Incline DB press moving from wide and elbows back to narrow and straight-up (in the same set) till the weight can no longer be moved, possibly only 2 sets. Finishing Ex 3 with say, dual cable squeeze for 2, past positive failure sets. Total of 8 sets for chest. I even run my time like this- Quad Ex 1 -finish - chest exercise 1 -finish - quad ex 2- finish and so forth. I will extend a set for longer than normal, going from bench lying tricep extensions to the DB's then pressed together, push press off the chest, sit up and start to curl both DBs till failure and then go to single arm hammer curls to finish one set without stopping. This is great heart training as well. Generally, I do each WO day in just under an hour and perform around 20 total sets with warm-up sets. Resistance training is the greatest training ever invented, go hard when you are lifting and lift drug-free.
Steroids aren’t a bad thing. Just do a little bit it’s perfectly natural. Men do trt all the time. In sports all athletes use it they just use clinical doss not “pro” amounts.
@@AnnhilateTheNihilist I am sure they are widely used and our training may seem to demand use if you are going to achieve more muscle than what is natural but it is not natural. As with any drug, it becomes part of your life, where a portion of your money goes. Gains are not permanent, stop the drug, and the muscle leaves, this can then give a strange look. It is much better to just put on muscle naturally and be smaller.
Amazing your runs. However, remember that some individuals are born gifted. Others never get the gift of being born with a fantastic body that just needs a little push to get the result, i will say 90% of the people will take between 4-6 years to get where to want to be. Others will do it in 1-3 years because of their body type. It is funny to me that i started to train in a gym in April of 2022, and i got more gains today than people who got years in the gym; also, i noticed that most people just focus on the copper body and lower body nothin, i start opposite way, lower body priority and upper body after and the result are astonishing.
@@christiandehlinger3731 For good or for bad the latest research shows a permanent gain in muscle nuclei after roids use. Some gains are permanent, presumably up to 10 years and more after stopping use.
@@DmitriyLusin I could bend to see what you mean but there are many health problems related. Yes, what I am saying may be a sprig harsh but we see all the pics of pros that were on and now off; they are great evidence for me. I look at Dorian Yates now, good shape, and I at 62 would stand next to Dorian and fare pretty well, though not as genetically gifted as Dorian, I am lean and have good muscle development. I push myself and experiment but do not desire to squash my own testosterone production with HRT. I would be interested in testing to see what the numbers are. Funding for my family and debt is a far more important corridor for my hard-owned dollar than purchasing muscle drugs from whoever. I think I have found a super workout formula for the natural lifter. I know each of us varies greatly but this 3 days on with1/2 body splits and alternating that WO day between upper and lower muscles set to set, and pushing past failure on one or two sets is very good. One of the neat aspects of it is the cross-training or partial-training of all body parts in each workout. WO 1&2, the arms and shoulders get much work and they need more work but then receive their own day. I am working on the rep count in the sets and I think I have found some magic but what I have to do is come out other than just comments. At 62, drug-free I am getting better! Take care.
Both systems are equally effective. It really comes down, for me, how long does one want to spend in the gym? Either basically live in the gym or have a life outside of the gym. Personally, I’ve used both methods of training and in my case, have experienced greater results ( by far ) doing a HIT program. Plus, this allows me to go on morning walks with my dog, surf, go fishing, hang out with my daughter, cook nice dinners for my family, work, enjoy time with my wife… how? Im not spending 2-3 hours, 6 days a week in the gym . Up to the you, what are your priorities.
60 to 75 minutes 5 days a week is more then enough for volume training. I say enjoying your training long term is more important than having more time away from gym. I’ve been training over 45 years and I’ve met no one who can train heavy duty all year long. It’s not enjoyable and more prone to injuries. A cycle of HIT a couple times a year for 3 to 6 weeks is a nice break from volume training but as a steady training strategy will cause burnout and injury.
Agree. I have trained in my past between ages 22-26 from 128lbs to 180lbs. in a period of two years super-setting. Had a gym to myself. Gym bro and I really kicked it. Morning workouts and night workouts. At 30, became dad to six kids plus an adoption. Free time went there. Now, in my 50's started back. Went from 148lbs to 165lbs in 6 months. Working out 6 days per week sometimes 5. So I got my gains with my common sense and previous experience. Muscle memory kicked in. So is it really possible? HIT? It's like a faith step for me...
I stalled in growth using traditional training methods and I have had so many injuries over the years that eat into my gains. I started HIT training one set to failure twice a week and started making gains again. This maybe just because I was over training but making gains while having so much extra free time for hobbies (BJJ and basketball), while reducing my risk of injury has made this the perfect fit for me. I am glad I found it.
It's good that it works for you. I had the opposite experience. Training to failure made me too tired and lethargic. I felt wiped all the time. Then switched to volume training without going to failure. Still feel tired after a workout, but don't feel wiped/lethargic.
@@dagaffer2269 Sounds very much like you're heavily lacking proper GPP. No base means no stable foundation. A lot of lifters never know this. The other guys activities accounts for a good GPP base.
The biggest issue I have, is not the type of training, but not leaving enough time for recovery or working too hard/long and therefore, not recovering in time for the next workout. I think that recovery is the biggest factor for success. I think "that" is where Mike Mentzer's secret was.
I totally agree. When I first started working out, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" was my guide. Arnold advocated multiple sets of each exercise to failure. I took it to heart and tried my best. But, going to complete failure, doing multiple sets , combined with working out each muscle group at least twice a week, I was overtraining my muscles and overwhelming my nervous system. I was never able to train more than a month, or maybe thee weeks, before I needed a layoff. I just couldn't go anymore. But, one interesting thing I did notice; about four to six days after I started my layoff, I noticed my muscles just puffed up. And I felt really strong too. That correlates to what Mike Mentzer said about the muscles 96 to 120 hours of rest after intense training. I only started reading up on MM's HIT training a few days ago. I really wish I'd have ran into it when I was younger.
@@ocalavictory3728It’s curiously the same case to me, my guide through my short path in bodybuilding has always been Arnold, I used to do his split and many set per week, at some point it worked ‘cause I was very new on this, then I started to feel week, tired and my CNS was pure trash. Now I researched a lot about Mentzer’s and Dorian’s methodology to train hard but being to recover, I was burning out myself, I was doing even dropsets with a high volume training 💀
As well as I got stronger I had to add rest days in order for the adaption to take place we the body builder will be as strong and as big as there genetics allowed in under e a yr
I have been adding volume but pyrimiding my weight up to the last set where I would go just shy of failure amd nit go more than 39 second rest between sets amd still you must add more rest or after your traing every 120 with volume you peridoze training and every heavy day you prioritize one body part add more volume or whatever the point is you'll go up in reps 3 to 6 as long as you have allowed flr complete adaption to occur after the body recovers the problem is none of you have ever evenstatd properly why the body grows muscle its a defensive mechanism period once you know that you will carefully dose the volume as well as the frequency I have mastered the art I cam state I'm the best in the world
I absolutely believe during the time of a study that higher frequency training would have positive effects probably beyond that of low-frequency training but that is not a year, 3, 5, and so on! This is for the rest of your life if a lifter comes to a correct understanding of what the goal is; of course, goals can vary; so something about goals must also be stated. Genetic potential as given by God and desire plays a huge part in all of this. I understand and appreciate trying to use a methodical approach and as I have said, what an information-packed video! I just smashed the subscribe button. Many people can draw but there are few artists as not all have the drive or discipline. High frequency and volume lifting takes its toll in time, particularly with the drug-free lifter, believe me, been there! Keep up the good work!
What many fail to realize is that the "three sets of ten" NEVER referred to 3 "working sets" but instead actually meant two warm up sets followed by ONE working set, which was written in the old barbell courses.
That sounds like an extraordinary claim. Do you have evidence of that? Because "how many sets" has always seemed to refer to WORKING sets (with a variety of ways to properly warmup) AFAIK.
Totally right. Back in the day when I began working out, everyone would just ramp up to a hard top set. So when a program called for 3x8 or 4x10 or whatever, you would gradually add weight into the bar set by set and reach failure in the last one. So technically the first sets would be like warm up.
Right on. Started training in 1959. At that time most barbell sets actually came with a course recommending full body training, one set of ten,using progressive resistance, three times per week. One exercise per body part. Using this method I grew stronger and bigger. I was Olympic weight lifting and won every meet in my weight class for three years. About ten years later (of off and on training)I needed more weight and decided to buy a whole new set of weights. By then, Weider was the most popular company and Sam’s Club had the best price. His course at that time was recommending two sets and a four day split. I tried it and I experienced gains in strength and size. In fact I have experienced growth using just about every plan out there. Variety seems to be the key as Arnold said, you must shock the muscles.
Both ways work. As far as study's go, I've read many and most of them are flawed. They either used people who were untrained and it was the adaptation of their CNS which caused the quick growth or used the "RIP" idea which is impossible to determine. An example of study's gone wrong is the one done by Brazilian and Swedish researchers into pre-exhaustion super sets. They found that after one such set, the monitored EMG of the Pecs were lower proving it didn't work. Yet, the idea behind pre-exhaustion super set was to temporarily make the delts and triceps stronger pushing the chest past the point of failure. This test really proved it worked but the researchers didn't understand the exercise principles themselves and were unable to see it. Beware trusting study's. They are not created equal. At 66 years old I've done both types of training throughout my life. The volume workouts are much easier than the all out full intensity workouts which really push your muscles and mental stamina to the limit. While volume is easier on the body as a system, all the reps add up over time and your joints will start to complain. However, High Intensity work will wear your system down over time so be careful if you go that route. The bottom line here is no matter what you choose, the body doesn't want to change. That muscle is practically useless in every day life and trying to grow bigger muscles is not a normal human activity. There will be drawbacks when you train for size and there is a price to pay no matter how you do it. It's all a trade-off. Don't confuse muscle size for health. They are not the same. Both styles of training will build muscle and yes ... if you're going to train to failure you can't do many sets and if you're not willing to push yourself to the limit doing less than maximal work, you must pile on the volume. Like I've said both ways work. Choose the way according to your mental stamina and ability to push yourself and all will be good.
You are correct , big muscles don’t always equal ultimate health, although building muscle and or maintaining is important to combat age related sarcopenia ( muscle loss ), for every day tasks such as getting off a chair etc, what I like about HIT is it allows time for days of stretching which is so important when one gets older .
@@wintertime331 Not just that but packing on the muscle increases your metabolism. There are many studies that have come out through out recent years showing why it's great to hit the weights and build muscle.
Hi, hope you see this. You mention "HIT will wear your system down over time". Could you explain further on what you refer to as "system". Is it a mental or physical consequence or both? Also from your experience, has HIT been better for your joint health in the long run. Thanks!
@@g.......g When I say "system" I'm referring to your energy system and how overtime, you find yourself easily tiring and having a harder time recovering. This is why most modern programs have a down time built in where you actually take time off from your specific style of training. You might train another way or even not at all but your energy system does need to recover if you're giving it your all every week. Most of the time it's lighter training to get the blood flowing allowing your body to recover from the stress. The fatigue buildup is real. As for joint issues, I've got to the point where I just can't do certain movements because my joints are killing me. I understand this happens to many people over time regardless of the type of training. In fact, I've completely changed how I train since I'm approaching 68 because for me, I now train to keep from having to use a walker when I hit 70. Training for longevity and training for muscle size and strength are not the same thing.
First and foremost, thanks for a great video. I'm 60 years old and have just started training (about 4 months ago). A month ago I was recommended to read Mentzer's book and have started trying to train to failure and taking 10 seconds (approx) to complete each move. For me, as a novice, training to failure seems better (simpler) because I'm probably too inexperienced to know when I'm 'n' number of reps from failure. I've also decreased my frequency of training. I find I'm much more tired after training to failure, but I am seeing reasonable gains in strength and muscle size, so for now it's working, but it's early days. The problem is the lack of or conflicting research, plus difference between individuals results that make it all so confusing.
Haven't looked the actual studies through, but I always have a feeling that failure in these studies isnt the same as the complete failure the hit guys speak of. I'm guessing it's in most studies at worst the point when you really don't want to make another rep, and at best the point when you can't make another rep with your ~80% one rep max.. which would leave plenty to do running down the weights until the utter and muscle complete failure of which hit people speak.
I agree. I have to go to the gym and use machines to feel safe enough to just keep pushing till complete failure. Barbells I have to guess and when i do i attempt one more rep.
Also to consider is some of the techniques used to go beyond positive failure, such as: negatives, forced reps, pause reps, etc. This might lead to a greater stimulatory effect for strength and hypertrophy (and additional recovery required) as many HIT advocates claim, especially in trained athletes. Research addressing these factors would also be very interesting.
That's the problem with these particular studies. There are way to many variables that will always struggle to have a "control". Every body is different including there psychology so how does a study account for this? It is very difficult to do. I could write a thesis just about this topic.
No actually the researchers have put a lot of time and energy into their work. He's just parroting what their results were. You know you can do your own, the internet is full of these kind of studies.
@@olderthanyoucali8512 he condensed hours of research into a 30 minute video that's far more palatable for the average gym goer. No one's discrediting the researchers, they're awesome too and the video points anyone interested in more detail to their studies. It's a win for everyone.
I almost never comment on youtube but after all the effort you put in to deliver such an info-dense video the least I can do is to compliment you. Thank you for your amazing work
I’ve been doing 1 set to failure every 2 or 3 days and I’ve been seeing amazing growth from short workout sessions. I don’t have to be a gym rat to reach my natural limits and I haven’t ran into any plateaus because I let my muscles recover and adapt.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines You are by far more insecure than any HITer I have ever seen. The fact that you're responding to me and upvoting your own comments is proof of that.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines I'm not a HITer. I do high volume. See? Your insecurity lead you to believe that I was a HITer merely because I called you out. You're really just proving my point here.
If you haven't hit any plateaus yet as a natural, you're probably not experienced enough. Your natural limits get to you eventually, though it might take years.
This video is very interesting, congratulations. The only thing I want to point out in favor of high intensity training is that, even if it produces slightly worse results than high volume training, it produces them with a much smaller investment of time. My opinion is that a mixture of the two methods is ideal for individuals who do not intend to compete but only to maintain a good body by training as little as possible. The real question we should ask ourselves is what is the MINIMUM number of sets to gain mass and not what is the maximum!
@@HouseofHypertrophy Right if one were say to have asperations of becoming an amateur bodybuilder and then maybe pro, they would go with the most optimal, even if the extra hypertrophy is not that great vs whatever other protocol.. If you're just doing it to be strong, fit and look good naked for the ladies, and want to spend way less time and days in the gym and the protocol is effective than there is no reason to disregard it if it's actually effective and meets your goals.
The amount of work you put into these is amazing. This one in particular is a doozy. I've been considering a HIT style workout, not because I think it's better but because with a baby and another baby on the way I'm trying to write a program that can hit all of my muscles in as little time as possible just until life gets a bit less mad
Training to failure signals the body that unless it becomes stronger it will be crushed or injured. I can't think of a better reason for the body to start doing its magic
This is a fantastic summary. A lot of High intensity people advocate a slow concentric and eccentric rep cadence between 4-10 seconds each way. They claim this reduces the sheering forces and reduces the chance of injury when going to failure. This is something I’ve employed myself. I am kind to a hybrid. I like the whole one set to failure but with a much higher frequency.
An anecdotal training split that I came upon was 5 day full body, 2 sets per exercise. 1st set is a warmup set, second set is the working set. Warmup set is anywhere from 30-50% of 1rm and generally leaves about 5-6 rir, second set is 80% 1rm done to complete failure. I would do this every day during the workweek. My results were great. The reason I came up with this program was to stimulate muscle protein synthesis as much as possible. I think this deserves to have some studies done on it. I gave it up because I have major issues with sleep and therefor just about anything I do results in overtraining, however when I was doing it I got the most compliments about my physique I ever have. Next thing I want to try when ready for it is to use 1-3 rir on the working set and see if that keeps me from going into over training (the closer we get to failure the longer it takes to recover) etc. what was also good about this program was the amount of exercises I could get done in a day. There’s no need to rest along time after the warmup set, then after the working set I am off to another exercise immediately. This makes the workout rather challenging since I could easily fit in 10-12 different exercises per session.
HIT also benefits the general population that doesn't have the time or desire to put in the extra sets. I would rather someone work out 3 days a week for 30 min than not at all. So for very busy or sedentary people I usually recommend the 1 set to failure program. Once they see change then the feedback loop might push them to experiment or decicate more time. Too often newbies are given a 70 min a day program needing 4-6 days at the gym which can be discouraging.
I wonder if HIT gets most of our possible gains versus volume which may pros but more in gains but at the cost of a lot more training time. What % does HiT leave on the table?
This is my strategy for myself. I'm young. I have work, I have hobbies, I have friendships, I want to have relationships. Dedicating upwards of 6 hours in the gym a week is a lot for my life, and that's not including going to the gym, showering in the middle of the day, etc. I also like cardio exercises like running and biking, and those eat up time too. When my life slows down I might find myself having more time to dedicate to resistance training, but for now I'm looking for the most gains per minute spent, and I can get that if I push myself in a set until my muscle literally cannot move the weight or even prevent it from falling.
Love these vids. For me, I think the take away when it comes to the macro of bodybuilding is do better every week. Lift a little heavier. Add an extra rep. Progress as much as you can and you really should be alright. No need to over complicate.
I get why we need these ideas for the competitors. But like you said, as long as I’m doing something challenging and added more weight or an extra rep, over time (might not be optimal or the fastest), I will progress.
Coclusion: Current literature does not suggest high-intensity of training. Training to failure isn't essential. Higher volumes tend to be better than lower volumes Higher training frequency are perfect for muscle gains Still high intensity training will build a substantial amount of muscle and strength
Highly individual. I’m a professional endurance athlete and for the life of me could never put on any muscle training with high volume. Only when I switched to HIT, I saw a positive marked departure in my lean muscle mass.
I truly appreciate your videos. I'm an advocate of HIT and you have done an excellent job of presenting valuable information of many variables while also alluding to the possibility of different strategies being optimal for different physiological responses. Good work!!
I just want to say I absolutely love your videos' unique aesthetic. The vibrant colors on the black background, the simple but aesthetically pleasing models - I can't quite explain why, but I think it looks fantastic. I really hope to see more like it from your channel. Thanks for all the great content!
Another great video. 👌 I personally get the best results working up to a single top set to fatigue for 2-3 exercises per body part twice a week. Any more than that does not provide additional progress in muscle or strength & often leads to more overuse injuries & feeling run down.
I do something similar with resistance bands, 1 drop set, 2-3 exercises per body part on a 3 way split, day 1 legs day 2 push day 3 pull day 4 rest/ stretching Everyday steward mc Gill Big 3 every day for core. Single arm dumbell hold on wobble board for ballance, try closing you eyes it's 🙄
Thank you so much for this video i can’t express how discouraged and overwhelmed i was before this video please never stop what you’re doing as long as you’re enjoying it.
I've done and tried various methods of weight lifting over the past 30 years. But the biggest and widest my body ever got was the three weeks i worked at Fed Ex as a package handler, loading and stacking boxes into a truck. The boxes were usually on average about 35 lbs a piece? Some boxes were much bigger and heavier, some smaller and lighter. I worked 4 hours a day, 5 days a week doing that. It was brutal. I made sure to eat alot after my shift. My previous exercise regimen of lifting weights for 45 minutes per day did not prepare me for Fed Ex lol.
Unusual to see a hard laborer gain a significant amount of muscular size. I knew lots of young guys who bought into this and would bail hay to increase strength. They always lost size and strength but, gained endurance
@@JesusChrist5000 agree that one needs to adjust calories depending on goals but, proper stimulus is paramount. No matter how many calories a marathon runner consumes he will never put on muscular size because, this type a of training does stimulate hypertrophy in skeletal muscles. No doubt hard labor develops , some strength, some endurance and often a degree of mental toughness but, if your goal is building size and strength, it is not an efficient stimulus.
Bruv! Who are you and where have you been!? How has the TH-cam algorithm failed so miserably and not suggested your channel to me years ago, although I’ve been watching Biolayne’s and rp strength’s content for years?! Anyhow: thank you so much for this perfect video. Every second was well used, the information presented perfectly both regarding timing, explanation, putting in context, cross referencing, comparing, length, depth, volume and last but not least: your voice and flow of language. I’ll spend the rest of the day watching every video in your channel. Cheers !
I've been training for about 6 months now, and am doing low frequency to failure training. I've found for personal experience that my muscles hurt for 3 or even more days after the workout, and in this time my strength Is drastically reduced. I feel like in the studies they didn't push hard enough when they failed.
If you’ve only been training for 6 months I don’t think you can accurately make judgments as you have no baseline, anything will cause hypertrophy in you. That being said I do agree lower volume can do the job.
If your muscles hurt more than one day you are doing something wrong. Either nutrition is not rights, sleep is not adequate or training at higher volume. The aim is to recover from lifting and build muscle and not keep your body destroyed for a few days.
@@fayizfz Nonsense. Some soreness for a couple of days fading around the second day is absolutely normal, especially in the middle of a cycle. Sometimes it's just because a particular workout was intense.
Great stuff. Also to consider is some of the techniques used to go beyond positive failure, such as: negatives, forced reps, pause reps, etc. This might lead to a more significant stimulatory effect and results for strength and hypertrophy (and additional recovery required) as many HIT advocates claim, especially in trained athletes. Research addressing these factors would also be very interesting. Dr. Stan
I've gotten some really good results with this... I started competitive bodybuilding at 17 back in 2003, but I went back into it in my 30s just three years ago. I had not trained seriously in over a decade due to some serious injuries, and my workouts were really difficult when I started back in especially which can be expected (lower testosterone, difficult doing certain movements and not having the same coordination anymore, not to mention training with an injury that effects balance is really rough). I had been doing the older style workouts I did when I was young - training each major muscle group once per week and smaller twice, and it was hellish - not going to lie. I didn't put on much size after muscle memory gave up on me about a year in. I had continued on making hardly any progress (going from about 190lbs stage weight to only 194) and I decided to switch it up to a sort of Dorian Yates-ish style. Going to failure was a big issue, and slowing the tempo down was another that I had to get over by simply going by "count" rather than rep as I'd lose count of one always lol... I got back into condition to step on stage, and actually had realized I was starving constantly not realizing I was gaining size. I noted that I couldn't get back down past 208lbs without looking emaciated and I was like... "well, shit... It worked!" In closing, bravo to whatever works best for you - I have no dog in the fight, I just know what is working best for me at the moment. if I plateau, back to changing it up. Best of luck to you in your endeavors, Dr. Stan - I am just starting rest-pause for my second working set (on exercises that I do 2 sets on, mostly isolation movements that don't cause so much systemic stress), so please let me know how your rest-pause adventures go, my friend.
I appreciate your work on this video. It is clear you made this without bias. I really think part VI of the video does prove HIT is worth it- even if only for the time you’ll save in the gym haha. I’ve done high volume most of my life, and I recently switched to HIT. Honestly I just feel better with high intensity, low frequency.
The main problem that can arise when trying to argue that one set to muscle failure may not be enough is the terminology of what people in research mean by the word failure. In studies, the word volitional failure sometimes appears, which means a refusal to work when a person felt that he could not continue to do it, while the followers of HIIT use the word failure to mean momentary muscle failure, that is, physiological muscle failure ( You can read James Steele "Clarity in Reporting Terminology and Definitions of Set End Points in Resistance Training" where the issue of muscle failure terminology is discussed). Perhaps that is why the stimulus in fact from one set of momentary muscle failure (0RIR) may be higher than from, for example, three sets that are performed to volitional failure ,since the first option of failure implies a real failure of the muscle to do the work, while in the second case, the person stops the set when it just becomes difficult for him (even if it is, for example, 5RIR). In this case (if, for example, we are talking about stimulating repetitions) , we can assume that the volume from one set is higher than from three.
I see what you're saying, but I'm skeptical true failure provides any more mechanical tension than stopping 3 to 0 RIR based on the reasoning outlined in the video. But yeah, studies that have subjects to failure will always have the limitation of not knowing how close to true failure they were (particularly the studies that employ volitional failure).
@@HouseofHypertrophy assuming there is an equal amount of stimulus between a set to failure (0RIR) 5RM compared to 2RIR (i.e. 3 stimulating reps), then this could actually mean that there is no difference in stimulus between a 3RM vs 5RM set. In other words, if additional repetitions did not add a stimulus, then the conclusion will be the same as written above.
@@manishkulasekara3408 In this case, it was about muscle failure vs volitional failure .Muscle failure (MMF) this is a specific definition. Everything else is not related to muscle failure but can be related to advanced techniques (such as drop-sets)
@@ДимаМ-з3ж I see what you mean, I usually go to volitional failure, sometimes its form failure if im mastering technique. Either way HIT training has benefited me so much
For general fitness the Pareto principle kicks in. 80% + of the gains for 20% of the time. 1 set 10 movements 3x / week. 1 1/2 hours of training time a week. Add weight when you can do 15 reps, no warmups needed.
I agree with your opinion that Mike Mentzer used information available to him at the time to formulate his program. There are a lot of assumptions about muscle growth and recovery in his book. I followed his training program for several months before switching to Dorian Yates' program. I trained with a fairly large and lean bodybuilder who was a HIT proponent so I have reached failure the way HIT prescribes it. Those single working sets to failure make you want to die rather than continue the set. I found that I was gaining some muscle on Mentzer's program but there was little definition BC of low frequency and not much increase in size because Mentzer didn't believe that 1 g of protein/lb (or similar) of bodyweight is needed, let alone aggressive caloric surplus. So my progress was slow. The conclusions I got from my experience with HIT is to be hyper focused during my workouts, document progress and of course knowing what true failure is. Also, I find it important to mention that generic elites such as Mentzer and Yates respond differently to training than 99% of people. HIT works for them but so would every other program.
so what i was taught from this video is no matter what style of training you do, it is gonna be equally beneficial and the key to do it is constistency. thats all i got out from this
We had a rule in gymnastics about #3. If you can't do it 3 times, you didn't do it at all. The first time was an accident, and the second time was a mistake. The third time, you did it. This may seem harsh, but because gymnastics moves can seriously hurt you if you do them wrong(as in a competition), keeping good form was essential.
Genetics is the flaw in weight-training studies because it's a powerful variable that can dramatically skew results, identical twins' training would deliver better analysis.
Best video of all time, honestly, this is how peer reviewed, scientific/statistical studies should be presented on all subjects. Very much appreciation to all the incredibly hard work you put into this tremendously high quality presentation. Also - for the comment scrollers. Long story short, based on the literature, the most important things are a) you are training, b) you are not giving less than about 70% - 90% of your all when training, c) you get adequate rest and that additional factors including mental and physical health paired with dieting can directly affect your results and d) that keeping a journal of your own personal experience over dozens of weeks with different modes of exercise will help you determine which regiments/routines and levels of intensity/frequency work best for your body. With a simple reminder that training and training relatively hard is the true key to strength increase and muscle hypertrophy. My small piece of advice to additionally state is that not only is training above 69% optimal, progressive overload is most definitely an integral and fundamental part to the longevity of your success for both strength increase and muscle hypertrophy.
I think it really comes down to your body, goals, the lifts you do & genetics. For example, if I’m going to do lunges, extensions, side laterals, dumbbell flies & hammer curls in a workout I’m obviously going to need 3-5 sets minimum to do any work, whereas if you do barbell squats, dumbbell overhead press, machine bench press & barbell curls all to complete failure with partials or drop sets, the muscle will be just as damaged as it was from the other workout with 1-3 sets.
If I had too choose it would be hands down Heavy Duty H.I.T.T, high volume for me is starts off good in the beginning but it always it catches up. Train safe💪
@The Batman I think what I’ve been learning is to listen to your body take those in between rest days and like you said plitting the upper and lower body helps. And switch up the exercises when you get bored
This is an amazing video, the quality, the explanation and the diagrams clearly highlight HIT, its principles. The scientific explanations are very well spoken and are clear, as well as the unbiased explaining make the video amazing. Good stuff I’m subscribing 👍🏼👍🏼
I think the last slide is important to note. Different lifters probably have different experiences. I tend to gain more with 1 set to near failure than doing multipe sets. I will perform lighter warmup sets though.
Yep. I think we are a minority. I perform 1 workout per muscle group per week. 1 warmup set with 5 reps in reserve and then 1 set of BLOOD AND TEARS :))
@@achannel7553 I am slimmer. Would lower volume be better? I am trying to figure out my best training but have hit multiple plateaus in the past so am not sure. How about frequency?
I go up in weight slightly. I do moderate weight warm ups so it is not technically 1 set. I do definitely notice better gains with lower volume. I do need to train some exercises such as bench about 2-3 times per 10 days to progress however. @@tonyvee5799
Personal experience, but I’ve done both HIT and Moderately High Volume. They honestly both work. I think everyone should try both. I’ve read studies where it showed an even split of high responders for both systems. Everyone should probably start with HIT first because it teaches valuable lessons such as learning what true failure feels like, how to eat and recover. HIT is more forgiving than high volume because of the magnitude of the stimulus. High volume causes more muscle damage (which isn’t a really a driver of hypertrophy but rather an increase to recovery). You can always add volume in when you’re not seeing results with HIT such as doing a down set or rest pause after your main set, but going high volume you can’t exactly continue to keep adding more and more sets. I would recommend everyone try HIT for 3 months head on then switch to Volume for 3 months and see what works better for you, because we’re not the average of study results but rather unique individuals that will respond to one or the other better. Edit: I want to say one last thing. If we look at Dorian Yates’ training, for example, he was doing 4-8 sets to failure most of the time (he released a book on his training and it showed how he also did rest pause). Studies are flawed because they try to keep confounds at a minimum, so it doesn’t reflect the variety of things people do. Isolating 1 exercise and doing 1 set for it and comparing that to doing 3 sets for the same exercise is different than completing 3-4 exercises and building up to a maximum set or two. Maybe they should do a study where you take the same number of exercises (say 4) and one group works up to a single set to failure on each. Then take another group that trains 3 sets per exercise leaving 2-3 reps in the tank. This would be a much more viable way to study the differences.
I was on a plateau for about a year and researched into Mike Mentzer. I started hit training and seen amazing progress. I’m doing more strength work right now but HIT training definitely works with enough rest and the right diet. You really just have to hit maximal effort
@@charlie7531 Nope, lift three days a week. Eat lots of protein and get in some glucose even on off days, and take a good multivitamin. If you train extremely hard on those three days and fuel the growth process you will be forced to grow basically. “You might gain a little fat from the sugar but you can always cut later”
While HIT earns you insignificantly less muscle than multi set, the amount of muscle gained relative to the amount of time spent in the gym is a massive difference. To top it off, while you may increase a slight bit more muscle with multi set, it surely is not worth the mileage done on joints and ligaments which is another form of recovery that the video has not addressed. In the long run practicality to the average joe wanting to look like Brad Pitt from Troy, you will benefit significantly more from HIT training than you would multi set. If you are competing and want to turn your gym routine professionally, multi set will obviously be more important as slight bit of gains could mean the difference between winning or losing. For those thin wristed individuals who are prone to injury, HIT training is their best bet. Injury could cost you months to recover. That alone could set you back farther than the speed of multi set muscle gain vs HIT.
I think you make some good points dude! However, I'm personally a little more skeptical whether multi sets would truly be worse on joint and ligament health long-term. I think the body can be quite adaptable and handle many things, ligament and joint strength could potentially increase and stuff. But this also probably varies between individuals :)
@@HouseofHypertrophy this is is why I use HIT. Yes, studies make it abundantly clear that for muscle building high volume is superior. However, HIT still works and you will see gains, but spend less time in the gym. That extra time is worth it to me. I want a great physique, but I’m not a pro body builder, I just want to look like I lift to the average person.
HIT I’m 3 weeks in. 3x a week strength training. Same results as high volume and less trips to the gym. Mentzer was all about minimal optimal dose! Who wants to do more sets for net zero gains?! Also strength increasing. My plan is to add in fst-7 principles 6weks in for muscle burn and ROM.
The studies showed that you get slightly better results by doing at least 3X the work. What that means is that while volume training is slightly more effective, HIT is more efficient.
🤣🤣studies say 3 times ? instead of reading science books why don't you enter the real world and speak to lifters who have been doing it for decades you never know you might learn something ?🤔
Great information, i am pretty sure in the hit audiobook by mike mentzer he DOES state that HIT is more for trained individuals who have plateaued. HIT would definitely work with untrained people as that is when you make your most gains, perhaps that foundation is different to training a newbie with high rep in terms of either strength or size, it would seem logical that high rep would train a newbie for strength, just an observation of what ive seen.
Thank you, I have not explored the relationship between nutrition and recovery times, but presumably surplus of calories enhance recovery, as for how much I'm not sure. I'll check it out though
Thank you for the tremendous time and effort in putting this great video together. As someone with limited time and no aspirations of competing- it seems if the low volume/high intensity route produces no more gains - or frankly even only 75-80% of the gains of a higher frequency routine - the time savings alone both in terms of trips to the gym and time spent while there would make the high intensity route very appealing… As the adage goes - the most effective form of a medicine is the one the patient will actually take!
I lifted for years with some gains, but not particularly impressive... but when I switched to low volume, I very quickly increased in both size and strength. I now sometimes add more volume, but still keep it on the low side - - 1 or 2 sets of usually 2 exercises per muscle group. I had thought I was training to, or close to failure before, but training with just one set taught me what going to failure really means and the value of going beyond failure, with static holds, forced reps, partial reps, ending a set with a few negatives... It's very hard to accurately judge how close 3 reps short of failure is, so even if that's good enough, if going to actual failure doesn't hurt hypertrophy and strength, it seems logical to aim for failure. I've done both the Arthur Jones/Casey Viator style full body workouts (though with free weights and basic pulleys, not Nautilus), and the Mike Mentzer split. The full body produces the best result in short time, but after a month or two becomes too draining and is less sustainable than Mentzer's spilt system. I like to do a month or 2 of full-body at least once per year, doing a split for the rest of the year. I think my body favors low volume, but I think adding an extra set now and then can also help, as can an occasional period of doing high volume. You might consider doing a video on periodization - - how changing the system and levels of volume used, now and then, can help get past plateaus. Still I think my baseline workout works best at low volume - - anything else is just to shock past a plateau. People who feel they respond better to high volume may find HIT good for breaking through their plateaus and teach them true muscle failure. Going to failure isn't sustainable with high volume, but the lesson may help reach higher levels of intensity. I like more frequency than Mentzer used - - closer to Jones' but doing a split, instead of full body. I'd also add, that if you are not aiming to be a competitive bodybuilder, if you have a time consuming job, family, school, etc. the short duration, less frequent HIT workouts are more efficient and accomplish, if not the same results as high volume workouts, very, very close... close enough for any hobbyist or health-conscious trainer, and in a fraction of the time.
One thing none of these studies will ever be able to prove to me is that the participants understand what "to failure" actually means. If you are doing it correctly, you literally can't do anymore sets.
There is a not widely known thought from Mentzer: We do not know if absolute failure is really needed, maybe 90% is enough. The problem is that we cannot measure it. There are only two clear points in a set, 0% and 100% (in other words zero rep, or repping until you cannot do it anymore). That is why we need to do it till failure to be sure that we certanly passed that unkown stimulus line short of failure.
My strength has exploded by doing HIT with 1 set to absolute failure i.e. your training partner helps you do 1-3 reps past technical failure plus an additional negative hold. This is the approach Yates does when people train with him; , rest pause can also be used for exercises where you can't get assistance to go past failure. I don't know the science behind it, but I'm training 4 times per week, once per body part, only 1 hour per session and the progress is really good.
Could you tell me how to set this up? let's say I do a leg day, do I have to take every leg exercise I currently do and with one set go to failure? or do you do it differently?
@@ilbuonpacio2252 1 set to failure is possible, that if u have a partner helping u out on that last few reps. If not just add in 2 or 3 more set. Decrease the weight and all out again. The key is intensity and all out on ur reps. Not save them for next session.
People in the comments really didn't pay attention to the video. Working close to failure is necessary for hyperthrophy, but unless you are a beginner low volume isnt optimal or necessary for most people.
Its simple: the closer to failure, the less volume is needed. The further from failure, the more volume is needed. There is a sweetspot where type II fibers activate, you want to reach it and stay there as often as possible without impairing recovery or longevity. By henemmans size principlez you reach it faster with more loads. If you reach it via occlusion mid set (lighter loads inducing fatigue and an anoxic environment that bring the type II fibers online) youll need more reps to first activate it, but since the neuromuscular system will be less taxed you will be able to produce more sets. Recovery will be impaired due to the sheer tax in the cardiovascular system tho. Anything, any theory any program is a variation in application of these principles. Proceed according to your personal preferences but keep in mind the inverse relationship between volume and intensity and how all that matters is activation of type II fibers no matter the method chosen.
It’s all highly individual. I’m a professional endurance athlete, with strength element present. And for the life of me could never put on any muscle training with high volume. Only when I switched to HIT, I saw a positive marked departure in my lean muscle mass.
Great video. 1 set only needs to be greater intensity than higher volume training. This is why they train to beyond failure. It is a balance of volume, intensity and recovery and one is not better than the other! Just do what fits in with everything else in your life. Also it is not a race to get bigger or stronger. It should be a lifestyle choice over decades unless you want to compete so you don't need to rush it. Fast initial gains means plateaus later. Consistency and injury prevention are more important than any other factors.
1 is better than the other when it comes to time efficacy. If you can get the same results from one set to failure, true failure, you can be out of the gym much quicker, especially if you don't have time to go to the gym as much due to other hobbies and responsibilities. There are tons of bodybuilders that have used the 1 set to failure going back for decades all the way to almost 100 years and these people were natural.
@@robmen1402 I would agree with that if you can go to or beyond failure on an exercise. However beyond failure can include rest pause or be a cluster set or negatives or static holds. So 1 set becomes more of an extended set. I like to have 45s rest between Heavy compound sets (rest pause) and 1 min between isolation sets going to failure each set. For pure strength I don't think you can beat low rep sets across with plenty of rest between or supersetting the exercises to get the rest.
@@Cloppa2000 I do both static and 5 second eccentrics in every single rep with proper form. But, yeah if you're talking pure strength training, nothing is going to beat low rep sets, I fully agree with you. But, if your'e looking for hypertrophy and strength 1 set to failure is def real and works. You get strong and build muscle.
@@robmen1402 Would you treat compound and isolations the same? Would you mind giving an examples of say Squats and Curls? When you say static holds and slow negs every rep.. do you mean every rep??? So in one set of say 10 squats would you static hold part of the way down or just slow neg on this? Every rep? I was thinking of doing a slow neg on the last rep.. Is your style of training like Jay Vincents?
As always, the recommended training volune/intensity is whatever you can do consistently. I like more frequently and less intense. Once i lose momentum it's hard to build it again, so i dont like taking rest days.
You'll build more muscle if you rest, if not, you'll just burn out your body. It's all mental. You need to push yourself back to working when you take the right amount of days to rest
I just found this channel and boy oh boy it is AMAZING. I have never seen better production quality. Subbed, liked, also I smashed the bell enough time with 3 reps in reserve !
In my experience as a non-competitor and as a natural, HIT is the best program for gaining the most muscle with the least amount of time in the gym. Only, it requires a lot of effort in a short time, and it is not within everyone's reach. You have to accept to suffer, to suffer a lot. When I see videos of bodybuilders, even very famous ones, as if they were at their maximum for hours, I think to myself, either they are not going to the maximum, or they are doing this because they are filmed
@Mantastic-ho3vm Precisely, to do HIT correctly, you need to have a lot of courage and willpower. Most of the time, those who start the HIT and say that it does not work, it is because it is too intense for them, and they prefer 4 sets of 10 REPS with a clear conscience, without having forced too much. Afterwards, I'm not saying that this training mode doesn't work, but the HIT works very well if you execute it correctly. In fact, what you're saying is that Mentzer trained thousands of people with HIT and he had no results, but people still came to see him? In fact, I know very well why many coaches hate HIT, it is much more profitable to tell a person to come and train 6 times a week, without forcing too much, that way you earn more and people are satisfied don't ask too much of them. Whereas in HIT, we will ask people for very big efforts, and 2 or 3 times a week, so it pays less, and many people are dissatisfied with the "too intense" efforts that are asked of them. Afterwards, I don't care, everyone thinks and does what they want. Me, I'm talking about my positive experience, for your information, know that I've been doing bodybuilding for 12 years, at one time, I was doing 5 training sessions of 1h30 with cardio in HIIT 3 times a week. I did this program for 4 years, so before saying that I'm lazy, you should first know my background. Then, I tried other things, and finally, the HIT, which for me is very functional and works very well, but for that, you have to get your fingers out of your ass and not be afraid of a hyper effort intense.
@Mantastic-ho3vm You really say anything. The HIT is 45 minutes to 1 hour. Then it's 45 minutes really intensive, not just dragging yourself around the room lifting 50 different weights while making faces and showing off in front of beginners. The HIT works very well, probably why those who pass hours every day in a gym are aggressive with this method. Mike Mentzer, Dorian Yates, Arthur Jones, Casey Viator, are all dumb assholes and I guess you're a lot more muscular than those guys.
@Mantastic-ho3vm What you say is completely false and confirms what I say: those who say that the HIT method does not work, do not apply it correctly. Apparently we are not talking about the same thing. Read the book "High intensity training, the Mike Mentzer way",1 if you have the opportunity, to understand what HIT is. In HIT, a typical session includes between 5 and 6 exercises and lasts 3/4 hour, 1 hour maximum. Depending on the weights and the intensity, you can do 1 to 3 sessions per week. You must also count the warm-up series, 1 SET of 10 REP at 50% of 1 RM, 1 SET of 4 REP at 75% of 1 RM, then the work SET with a weight that allows you to do between 7 and 9 REPS, until failure, all in the most perfect form of exercise possible.
So, if mechanical tension is the primary driver of hypertrophy, why aren't power lifters more muscular than bodybuilders? Wouldn't increasing mechanical tension or at least the quest to increase be the ultimate driver? Plus, 0 RIR is failure. BTW, how does anyone gauge 3 RIR let alone 5 RIR? Do they perform sets to failure and then back off 3 reps for future workouts? A person does 12 reps to failure and then decides to back off to 9 reps for the future sets? If so, where are the progression gains made if not pushed to true complete failure? If always stopping 3 reps short of failure, how is data complied to account for progress? Adding weight to progress then resets the number of reps which would be 3 reps short of failure. The discussion switch to training frequencies is somehow leaving the intensity factor out. I would agree if training intensities are the same which I assume is NOT training to true failure, the capacity is there to train more frequently and allow more gains. Take the lower frequency group and mandate they take advantage of more recovery time by making them work at a higher level of intensity and then compare the results. True HIT does require more recovery time and if it doesn't, the intensity level is not high enough. .My post is NOT to contradict your fantastic videos, it is just to offer substance for additional discussion. Thank you.
Interesting studies. Some of this when translated to the real world might also depend on people's ability to train. As in making the time to train. HIT might be better for busier people as it may mean less time in the gym therefore, increasing success in consistency. HV might be optimal for athletes since part of their daily routine whether school sports or professional sports/bodybuilding is already calculated in their workday.
Very well put together, rational, reasonable and balanced vid on a tricky subject given all the varying data. Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce it. Very helpful.
At first I laughed at Mentzer’s suggestions of 5-6 days off …. until I tried it. Then I started getting stronger each and every workout. I do a Push/Pull-legs split, where normally a given workout has at least 6 days for recovery, and, occasionally 7. Interspersed around workouts are 25 min treadmill sprint intervals as well.
When something comes up, such as a bad chest cold, holiday conflict, I just take a few extra days, and, oddly enough, even with 10-12 days between like workouts, still end up stronger. ( I don’t do just 1 set , however, I do 4-7 sets, depending on body part)
Higher frequency also has higher chances of putting yourself in a catabolic state rather than anabolic. Not everyone responds the same but over using the muscle can absolutely cause catabolic reactions. As far as hitting you one rep max , most people call their one rep max at the point the pain is too much rather then complete failure.
I will do whatever training method works for me! Whatever that might may be, but I can guarantee you it WILL never be just on set of anything. I will continue to do warm up sets for my joints and then work to failure.
When you are on a very busy routine, HIT is gold. But, I'd say it requires a lot more discipline to work it "right" than regular 3 sets/exercise. Thanks for the video!
This is a pit of an strawman to Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer, since they didn't advocate for training to failure, but beyond failure with a set starting with dynamic movement, then transferring to static hold and then to resisting negatives. One would think that since there is science showing that negatives also build strength and contribute to hypertrophy, the HIT training described by Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer, might provide the body with more diverse stimulus and hence results. I'm not saying it would be superior, just that this comparison didn't really test the actual HIT training as describer by Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer. By the way - love your content and videos. Very well made videos and super informative.
I actually lost muscle size on volume workouts. But I gained size faster than ever by doing one set per body part once per week. It makes sense when you think about it. A single set to absolute failure is hard on a muscle. It takes at least 3 days to compensate (recover) and then another 3 days (or longer) to super-compensate (grow larger than before). If you're somebody that recovers slowly, it might work better to go even longer between workouts. Everyone is different so you need to discover the sweet spot for your own body.
I appreciate the hardwork into the analysis and I know it was a lot of work. Genetics probably play a role and i would toss all non trained studies. I tried with volume and not to failure for years but like you said leaving 3 in the tank when you actually have 7 is hard to judge and i never got a good pump and just became a gym rat.. HiT worked best for me when I was young and had amazing results but now the cardiac requirements on squat etc will make me pass out and worried I'll have an episode. So I modify HIT on squats and only do it on one legged press etc. But getting the pump and better strength gains back. The one thing that wasn't covered was time in gym, with my busy life being in the gym 4-5 days a week for an hour or more is too much commitment when I can get the same or better results 2-3x a week and be out of the gym in 30. You can look around and you see almost no intensity at all these days.
Great content! A big issue I’ve seen pop up is most people don’t know how far they are from failure. They’ll tell you they can’t do anymore and grind our 5 or 6 more reps. I strongly believe many people train like this.
if your last rep is the same speed as the first it isnt failure, when the weight gets half way up and you contemplate life thats usually close to failure lol.
@@BradleyCTurner your rep speed decreases linearly and then exponentially towards failure. So your 12th rep will never be as fast as your first, even if you aren’t near failure. Measuring RIR is something you get from experience.
I think if you train to failure on a regular basis you don't need to every time because you get a sense of when you're one rep to failure, which is almost as effective for stimulating growth but 100% safer. So by going to one rep away from failure most of the time one may drastically reduce the risk of hit training with only a negligible reduction in overall effectiveness.
@@gavinfarris7624 I agree. the issue with training to failure is that you just can’t recover. Why inhibit your recovery if you can get 90% of the gains by keeping two reps in the tank
This was very informative. Having started HIT, I'm seeing that after 2 months strength gains and obviously less time in the gym suits my busy lifestyle.
@LancastersRealtor first 2 months I noticed strength only but big difference from volume training where by I was tired constantly and got weaker. 4 months in now, noticing by measurements getting bigger finally.
@Mantastic-ho3vm I will, giving it time as I'm still not quite where I wanna be. But I'd say if volume has not been working or hit a plateau, then what you got to lose.
When I first started working out I followed the Colorado experiment. I was severely underweight (122 lbs at 5'11.5) and 22 years old. The amount of weight I put on was insane. I won't even say it here because people never believe it. I made myself sick with eating and I only worked out twice a week for about a half hour. So I had some newbie gains, I had some normal weight gain, but I measured body fat before and after and I never put on any fat outside of keeping the same ratio. If anything the biggest problem with the program is that it was boring. If you like working out you're never in the gym :s
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines no sales pitch here. Literally just a guy talking about my experience. Pretty sure tim ferris isn't gonna give me a cut of his book sales 🤣
@@coachandrewb ignore this guy , as you can see he antagonizes rather than rationalizes , and many on here have challenged him to supply pics and measurements to no avail, he has a hate on for the Mentzers and HIT , and his comments borderline childish lunacy lol .
I’ve been training years there was once a point I was doing less because I was so busy but was thinking damn I’m looking better . As for one big muscle group per week , i still don’t be fully recovered from the previous muscle group cns burnout , I take a few days off and my motivation feels through the roof . I agree with Mike on the most* part . I try take about 2/3 days off it’s hard because most people are addicted and can’t stay away less is defo more sometimes . Maybe I been off a while so my recovery is taking longer because I’m tryna build back after a long lay off .
Seems to me it's just 2 different ways to expose muscles to stress/tension but they both lead to the same result. As an older guy my joints are a real issue, I ask myself how many times a week do my joints bend in high frequency training vs HIT and it's hundreds of times more but of course loading the weights up in HIT puts extra load on the joints too. I consider that during HF training I actually expose my joints to far more load compared to HIT but spread across a longer period of time. So in total from a joint point of view HIT is a godsend for us older guys but having said that , my personal experience has been that HIT is much harder mentally and physically - much harder. My take on this whole debate is that you should do a mixture of both and in this way your body doesn't get too used to a specific routine. I consider that once your body gets used to your routine it has already adapted to those stresses and has no reason to adapt further hence the progressive overload reasoning to keep further stress happening but this has it's limits too, how heavy do you get to before you hit your limit?. I was doing 220kgs presses at one point but got used to it - my joints let me know that wasn't gunna work for me and the idea of adding even more weight was ludicrous and asking for trouble at my age and this is where a few months of HIT comes in handy. The idea of taking up to 14 days off training is frightening but when you think about it you're kinda going back in strength and restarting again forcing you to again build up from lower weight. Everyone is the same but also very different physiologically speaking but one thing we all have in common is the need to keep changing it up to progress.
@@jumbothompson Well it certainly feels like it, I have to really dig deep after a break, pushing weights that felt "easy" before the break now seem a lot tougher to lift - is that a loss of strength? Beats me but it certainly feels like it.....
This one took me a while to make, I hope you found the video interesting and cool in some way! :)
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:48 Part I: History of High-Intensity Training
1:56 Part II: Common Themes of High Intensity Training
5:14 Part III: The Colorado Experiment: 63lbs of Muscle in 28 days
9:06 Part IV: Training to Failure vs Not
19:14 Part V: Low Volume vs High Volume
22:58 Part VI: Low Frequency vs High Frequency
30:53 Part VII: Positives of High-Intensity Training
35:37 Part VIII: Conclusions
Your work is soooo underrated. You changed my life man. Thank you!
Hey dude, thank YOU for your kind words! They are awesome to hear :)
Thanks! I really like your content. I had my DNA analyzed by dr Anthony jay. He said I had slow twitch muscles that would respond better to high volume low weight exercises. I switched to that and noticed a distinct change in muscle growth. I just thought you might be interested in the genetic aspect of training.
GREAT WORK!
Interesting, however, the research actually isn't that clear if slow-twitch predominant individuals actually respond better to higher volumes, it's possible, but more research is needed :)
My experimenting in almost every program has taught me this. All programs work. I have done high volume training 5 sets. I have done nucleus overload 100 reps very low weight in a huge set. I have done only bodyweight. I have done only resistance bands. I have done only dropsets. I have done heavy duty 1 set to failure 6-10 reps. I had gains with ALL OF THEM. The one thing that will alter your results is the quality of reps, your food, you daily life and the curret state of your fitness level. Dont try for the ultimate program. Just do what you like o what your time allows you. When i work too many hours i prefer HIT or dropsets because i can finish a workout session in 20 mins.
Great comment dude, many many things can work well :)
Great comment. As long as you're working hard and staying consistent you will get results.
I agree, it all about avoiding and counteracting the adaptations of the body. Do something for too long your body will adapt. Mix up your meso and macro cycles and keep the body guessing.
My favorite is the drop set work out. Giving little to no time to rest between sets gives a great pump. I love it when I’m grunting and struggling with the lightest of weights, because I know I have exhausted all muscle movement, and picking up a pencil will now be a challenge!!
I like the way you think...
Can we all take a second to appreciate the effort put into this video, very nice.
Thank YOU dude, that's very kind of you!
One thing I will never understand, why most men are obsessed with the size of their muscles… I’ve always found how hard I can punch someone’s face into their brain to be much more of a relevant and inspiring framework. As any bodybuilder knows, their muscle is inversely proportion to their athleticism. As an athlete, looking at body building culture shows a bizarre world driven by even more bizarre mentalities. Great info, I enjoyed listening, and i leave as confused as ever about wtf is going on with these mindsets. Go run, take care of your heart and lungs too. Try hitting a punching back to find out how pathetic you really are! Lol
Absolutely agreed. I was quite impressed wtih the effort and the channel owner got a new sub because of it!
One aspect of heavy duty HIT training that seems to be not mentioned here is that of momentum. Mike Mentzer taught to have no momentum when raising and lowering the weights, which dramatically increases the time the muscles are under tension.
You can have momentum when doing the partials and the forced partials/cheat reps at the very end of the set when you cant get another strict one, as long as you still control the eccentric. But the majority of the set should be done with as little momentum as possible. Anyways, he mainly trained with machines so that he could focus on the movement and not the stabilisation of it, and its pretty hard to get momentum with machines
@@HalfAryanHunterGathererI train at home, but look at gym boobies...they will use momentum on everything lol
Mentzer counted the amount of seconds on the static, negative and positive as volume rather than the amount of reps in the video where he trains a bodybuilder named Markus.
Make light weight feel heavy
TUT is king
What I find most informative is that 1 set isn’t less effective and it takes 1:5th the time. Most normal gym goers have careers, families, etc so hit training even if equal is far superior in practicality
In my opinion, HIIT training is more suitable for the majority of people even if it gets you just 85-90% of the results of the other approach. That 4:5th the time for only 10-15% is not worth for gym goers with family, career, another hobbies etc. Basically, from a Pareto principle point of view, for those that are not professional bodybuilders HIIT is the best :)
@Whammer79 agreed and it’s why I have clients do extender sets. I think 1 set to true failure is enough but most don’t achieve that so I have them do drop sets, myo reps, negatives, etc
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines I’m jacked, almost stage ready on hit. Lazy is a far cry and laughable. It’s time efficient. Would you count pennies one by one or use a coinstar machine?
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines 👍
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines tiny tiny man 😂 you’re a black or white head in the sand dogmatic type
In my experience, have done high volume, bro splits, HIIT etc, I, at 52 years old, have seen more gains, rapidly, doing a high intensity ( HIT ) style workout than any other workout in my life. For me it’s all about intensity and ample recovery!
Interesting, great to hear. I wish you continued progress!
Same here
In film it is shown it is close to failer nat a failer. This studia are not korekt.
With dropsets?
@@sora5075 Yes, always! Go to failure, drop the weight 20-40lbs, and immediately go back to failure. I consider this to be one true set. I also practice 5 second negatives and on occasion, super sets. Dip’s to failure straight into push-ups for example 💪🏼
HIT training works insanely well for people with a good mind/muscle connection. 90% of people don't have the mind/muscle to actually train to failure.
Yea I agree. It seems like they assume that all people have the neural adaptations to activate 95% of their motor units. Which is far as hell from the case. Most are really more likely to only be able to recruit about 60% . And triggers a response is not the same as triggers optimal response.
Agreed. When you hear Dorian talk about training to failure he's talking forced assisted reps, negatives, etc. Barfing after your set type absolute failure. He was going so far beyond gassing out with 80% 1rm. I don't train at that kind of intensity, nor do I achieve that kind of result but that's not my fitness goal either.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines lol there you are ! Where you’ve been? Been looking for your usual negative comments on all these sites! Slow day?
I think the connection can be learned. They should initially train with much lighter weight than they can handle to absolute positive failure, very slow rep counts, breathe deeply through the mouth as needed. I think this will train the connection. If you are routinely gasping for breath on that last rep, you have probably made that connection.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines For natural lifters what do you consider big? Plenty of people training HIT style can get as big as moderate volume, pre-steroid bodybuilders, like Reg Park or Steve Reeves. My measurements are bigger, but I am also, admittedly, fatter. I'm not interested in competing, am middle-aged, and uninterested in crash dieting to see abs. I care far more about health and feeling big and strong, and more generally youthful than my age, than being shredded.
One thing that needs to be pointed out in part 5: low volume vs high volume is that high intensity typically involves much slower reps than the traditional rep, usually 4 seconds concentric, 2 seconds peak contraction hold, and 4 seconds on the eccentric. So roughly 10 seconds per rep, which means six reps is going to take at least one full minute. The studies provided were comparing a single traditional set not taken to failure vs 3 traditional sets of the same nature. So in that case, yes, 3 sets would certainly be better for muscle growth. But that study did not reflect a single set as outlined by HIT protocol. Volume is just the total amount of work performed within a given training session, so time under tension would be a valid measurement of total volume. Now compare a set of 10 reps using a slower HIT style, 4-2-4 cadence vs a standard 3 set of traditional training, where you would perform maybe 1 second in the positive, 1 second in the negative. So 20 seconds per set approximately, for 3 sets you’re looking at about 60 seconds total where the muscle is under mechanical tension, whereas the single set of HIT training for 10 reps at 10 seconds per rep would last for 1 minute and 40 seconds. So, in terms of time under tension at least, HIT would actually be MORE volume than traditional 3 sets. This of course is only when directly equating time under tension to volume. I’ve never really considered HIT as “low volume” for this reason. It’s less reps and sets than traditional training sure, but in total time for the muscle to be performing work it’s moderate - typical training volume compared to other forms of training
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines I promise that training to failure hits fast twitch motor units. Please explain how it doesn’t
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines The idea of HIT is to target fast twitch type II fibers and to fatigue them in that one set so You dont have to bang out doezns of reps resulting in overtarining. You wrongly associate fast twitch name to only them working in quick motions. They work in slow reps as well. Esspecially when the muscle is fatigued and has to recruit as many motor units as possible to push through the motion.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines mate you got owned
@@jonahanderson2663 i get your point about the HIT sets taking longer time than a normal set, but does it take as long as 3? not sure man. just because u dont train hit doesnt mean you quarter rep 12 dumbell presses and call it a day. u can easily implement good technique and slow controlled reps training high/moderate volume or whatever u wanna call the "opposite" of hit or the other training method shown in the video. BUT lets say even if 1 HIT set does take as long as 3 of the others. if you want to maximise 1 set with time under tension that equates to 3 normal sets, and u wanna perform them slow and controlled to failure at about 10 reps, you are not gonna be able lift as much weight as someone going to rpe 8-10 at around 10 reps as well, at 1/3 of the HIT pace given there are decent rest times in between sets. so lets say the HIT set is able to db press 30kg dumbbells and the other group is able to press 36kg, the other is essentially doing more workload (more weight moved given the range of motion is the same) , and workload/weight moved is also a factor for volume so even if both are doing 100 seconds of time under tension, the HIT set are only doing 100 seconds of 30kg vs 100 seconds of 36kg. so i dont think necessarily HIT is low time under tension either, but it certainly in most cases - or when performed in regards to how its meant - is lower volume than doing eg. 3 sets per exercise - and its also less workload being done throughout the entirerity of the workout. not saying this means hit is worse for muscle growth, but given the studies shown in the video, it certainly suggest that training close to failure isnt worse than training to failure, that training higher volume can be better and that training in higher frequency also can be better. i wont neglect the style of training as being effective, and im sure many people will see great results; its less time consuming and even fun at that - so theres many goods. but i do think that the average trainee will benefit more (given the litterature) from training "high volume" (i dont have a great name for it bcs high volume sounds so dramatic, but the typical 3x10-12 kinda style training is what i mean) and that the style on averages gives the most optimal hypertrophy.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines Lifting weights in slow and controlled fashion is:
1) safer
2) more effective -> more time under tension + training also the eccentric motion and holding of the excercise
3) requires more strength, thus logically is harder and more efficient
The amount of research and work put into this video is truly extraordinary. Unbiased, scientific, evidence based and visually beautiful presentation? You cannot get better than that.
Thank you my friend!
It's not unbiased. He's bised towards high volume/high frequency training, don't be blind
I'm missing the sources for the mentioned studies though.
Once you actually work out as intensely as Mike intendet, youre not ever gonna question the low amount of volume. When i go to complete failure in my one set I cannot imagine doing another.
Mike Mentzer made me develop a love-hate relationship with working out... too bad I cannot workout as hard as I intend to because I moved to a new gym and I can't make too much noise to disturb others (heard old people working out there call security), so I am looking for a new approach.
I've been doing a sort of hybrid of high intensity / high volume. I pick a load that makes me go to failure at around 6-10 reps. For the very next set, I reduce my weight by something like 10-30lb and do it again. Each set is progressively lighter than the previous, going for a total of 4 sets. E.g. if my first set had a 150lb load, my 4th and final set might only have 60lb. But by that point, I'm struggling just as much to complete 6-10 reps as I was with the first set. My whole session lasts maybe like, 25-30min, and I finish things up with 10min of high intensity cardio before heading out the door.
@@bitskit3476 sounds like you are an idiot. you first get what you need to hit the stimulus to grow muscles , then you just waste time and exhaust yourself with lighter sets for no reason. Its like if you want to eat to eliminate hunger, you eat and then when you are full you decide to eat more with the idiotic reasoning "why not? i still have something in the fridge. maybe if im not hungry anymore i will be even more not hungry by eating 2nd time".
you need to HIT training for your brain before you do anything in your life.
@@josephg404they sound like punk Karen's.. and how much noise are you making? Can you properly control the weights your lifting??
Exactly. And that is where this video falls short and seems biased….the combination of high intensity and slow tempo training and lower frequency are not considered as a whole. Mentzer had a very specific recommendation for frequency (his Mr. Olympia program) and it was 72 hours minimum. He continues to mention 10 to 14 days. There’s nuances with Mentzer programming and one has to consider the shock effect that he obviously appeals to and wanted in order to gain a following. Up until this point I had complete faith in the producer of these videos. That has shifted.
This was very well made. I've personally tried many different workout programs and always ended up exhausted (and not having enough time) doing a regular 3/4 times per week routine. The 1-2x a week routine keeps me on track with progress, I have much better energy levels and have more time to do important things outside of the gym. Overall, even if I lose 10-15% in gains, I'm happy to trade that for the time, energy and ease to follow the program.
You are right. We have many things more important tham be in side of the gim. Always ask me, how to do work out with out chance your life or thoths. No chance your cosmovition is important.
I am 62 and have 45+ years of drug-free bodybuilding behind me. This does not mean that I have gone balls to the wall for 45 years, I have tried many routines and started writing routines years ago. I now run 3 days a week on. Day 1 all front muscles (Quads, abs, chest) Day 2 all back muscles (hams, glutes, calves, back) Day 3 shoulders and arms. I run a HIT method where at least the last set in each exercise goes beyond positive failure and only 2-3 exercises are used per body part. After a lay off, I put on 15lbs in 3 months and became leaner, but this was my body just getting back to where it was less than a year prior. It took me many years to put on the muscle that I have.
Sets are Warm-up, Hard warm-up, hard-working (very possibly to positive failure such as dips), set 3or4 goes beyond positive failure with ETUT (various methods). After finishing the first exercise per body part, the next exercise, a warm-up is not needed, and possibly only 2 working sets can be utilized. Your body has great memory that will last up to 2 weeks for strength, so training the same body part in 7-8 days will maintain your positive movement till a stall comes. When a stall comes, cut way back and cruise for 2 weeks. I just hit a point like this and that was after 6 months of moving forward.
An example of this training might be: Ex 1 - dips or weighted dips 3-4 sets, last sets PF and beyond PF. Ex 2 -Incline DB press moving from wide and elbows back to narrow and straight-up (in the same set) till the weight can no longer be moved, possibly only 2 sets. Finishing Ex 3 with say, dual cable squeeze for 2, past positive failure sets. Total of 8 sets for chest. I even run my time like this- Quad Ex 1 -finish - chest exercise 1 -finish - quad ex 2- finish and so forth. I will extend a set for longer than normal, going from bench lying tricep extensions to the DB's then pressed together, push press off the chest, sit up and start to curl both DBs till failure and then go to single arm hammer curls to finish one set without stopping. This is great heart training as well. Generally, I do each WO day in just under an hour and perform around 20 total sets with warm-up sets. Resistance training is the greatest training ever invented, go hard when you are lifting and lift drug-free.
Steroids aren’t a bad thing. Just do a little bit it’s perfectly natural. Men do trt all the time. In sports all athletes use it they just use clinical doss not “pro” amounts.
@@AnnhilateTheNihilist I am sure they are widely used and our training may seem to demand use if you are going to achieve more muscle than what is natural but it is not natural. As with any drug, it becomes part of your life, where a portion of your money goes. Gains are not permanent, stop the drug, and the muscle leaves, this can then give a strange look. It is much better to just put on muscle naturally and be smaller.
Amazing your runs. However, remember that some individuals are born gifted. Others never get the gift of being born with a fantastic body that just needs a little push to get the result, i will say 90% of the people will take between 4-6 years to get where to want to be. Others will do it in 1-3 years because of their body type.
It is funny to me that i started to train in a gym in April of 2022, and i got more gains today than people who got years in the gym; also, i noticed that most people just focus on the copper body and lower body nothin, i start opposite way, lower body priority and upper body after and the result are astonishing.
@@christiandehlinger3731 For good or for bad the latest research shows a permanent gain in muscle nuclei after roids use. Some gains are permanent, presumably up to 10 years and more after stopping use.
@@DmitriyLusin I could bend to see what you mean but there are many health problems related. Yes, what I am saying may be a sprig harsh but we see all the pics of pros that were on and now off; they are great evidence for me. I look at Dorian Yates now, good shape, and I at 62 would stand next to Dorian and fare pretty well, though not as genetically gifted as Dorian, I am lean and have good muscle development. I push myself and experiment but do not desire to squash my own testosterone production with HRT. I would be interested in testing to see what the numbers are. Funding for my family and debt is a far more important corridor for my hard-owned dollar than purchasing muscle drugs from whoever.
I think I have found a super workout formula for the natural lifter. I know each of us varies greatly but this 3 days on with1/2 body splits and alternating that WO day between upper and lower muscles set to set, and pushing past failure on one or two sets is very good. One of the neat aspects of it is the cross-training or partial-training of all body parts in each workout. WO 1&2, the arms and shoulders get much work and they need more work but then receive their own day. I am working on the rep count in the sets and I think I have found some magic but what I have to do is come out other than just comments. At 62, drug-free I am getting better! Take care.
Both systems are equally effective. It really comes down, for me, how long does one want to spend in the gym? Either basically live in the gym or have a life outside of the gym. Personally, I’ve used both methods of training and in my case, have experienced greater results ( by far ) doing a HIT program. Plus, this allows me to go on morning walks with my dog, surf, go fishing, hang out with my daughter, cook nice dinners for my family, work, enjoy time with my wife… how? Im not spending 2-3 hours, 6 days a week in the gym . Up to the you, what are your priorities.
Exactly!
The average gym goer spends an hour probably.
60 to 75 minutes 5 days a week is more then enough for volume training. I say enjoying your training long term is more important than having more time away from gym. I’ve been training over 45 years and I’ve met no one who can train heavy duty all year long. It’s not enjoyable and more prone to injuries. A cycle of HIT a couple times a year for 3 to 6 weeks is a nice break from volume training but as a steady training strategy will cause burnout and injury.
Exactly !!!!!
Agree. I have trained in my past between ages 22-26 from 128lbs to 180lbs. in a period of two years super-setting. Had a gym to myself. Gym bro and I really kicked it. Morning workouts and night workouts. At 30, became dad to six kids plus an adoption. Free time went there. Now, in my 50's started back. Went from 148lbs to 165lbs in 6 months. Working out 6 days per week sometimes 5. So I got my gains with my common sense and previous experience. Muscle memory kicked in. So is it really possible? HIT? It's like a faith step for me...
I stalled in growth using traditional training methods and I have had so many injuries over the years that eat into my gains. I started HIT training one set to failure twice a week and started making gains again. This maybe just because I was over training but making gains while having so much extra free time for hobbies (BJJ and basketball), while reducing my risk of injury has made this the perfect fit for me. I am glad I found it.
Very interesting, great to hear you find it works well for you :)
It's good that it works for you. I had the opposite experience. Training to failure made me too tired and lethargic. I felt wiped all the time. Then switched to volume training without going to failure. Still feel tired after a workout, but don't feel wiped/lethargic.
@@dagaffer2269 interesting. So we are exact opposites. I wonder what variables would dictate what works better for different people.
@@teckniec2 I don’t think there is one size fits all training method. It seems it’s whatever works best for the individual.
@@dagaffer2269 Sounds very much like you're heavily lacking proper GPP. No base means no stable foundation. A lot of lifters never know this. The other guys activities accounts for a good GPP base.
The biggest issue I have, is not the type of training, but not leaving enough time for recovery or working too hard/long and therefore, not recovering in time for the next workout. I think that recovery is the biggest factor for success. I think "that" is where Mike Mentzer's secret was.
I totally agree. When I first started working out, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" was my guide. Arnold advocated multiple sets of each exercise to failure. I took it to heart and tried my best. But, going to complete failure, doing multiple sets , combined with working out each muscle group at least twice a week, I was overtraining my muscles and overwhelming my nervous system. I was never able to train more than a month, or maybe thee weeks, before I needed a layoff. I just couldn't go anymore. But, one interesting thing I did notice; about four to six days after I started my layoff, I noticed my muscles just puffed up. And I felt really strong too. That correlates to what Mike Mentzer said about the muscles 96 to 120 hours of rest after intense training. I only started reading up on MM's HIT training a few days ago. I really wish I'd have ran into it when I was younger.
@@ocalavictory3728It’s curiously the same case to me, my guide through my short path in bodybuilding has always been Arnold, I used to do his split and many set per week, at some point it worked ‘cause I was very new on this, then I started to feel week, tired and my CNS was pure trash. Now I researched a lot about Mentzer’s and Dorian’s methodology to train hard but being to recover, I was burning out myself, I was doing even dropsets with a high volume training 💀
@@ocalavictory3728how do you feel on mike’s program?
If you wanna recovery fast, do 3-5 miles of walk every day.
Mentzer mentioned that recovery is very, very important. 4 to 5 days of rest is necessary sometimes
HIT to and beyond failure not only trains your muscles, but equally importantly your mind, which is priceless.
As well as I got stronger I had to add rest days in order for the adaption to take place we the body builder will be as strong and as big as there genetics allowed in under e a yr
I have been adding volume but pyrimiding my weight up to the last set where I would go just shy of failure amd nit go more than 39 second rest between sets amd still you must add more rest or after your traing every 120 with volume you peridoze training and every heavy day you prioritize one body part add more volume or whatever the point is you'll go up in reps 3 to 6 as long as you have allowed flr complete adaption to occur after the body recovers the problem is none of you have ever evenstatd properly why the body grows muscle its a defensive mechanism period once you know that you will carefully dose the volume as well as the frequency I have mastered the art I cam state I'm the best in the world
I absolutely believe during the time of a study that higher frequency training would have positive effects probably beyond that of low-frequency training but that is not a year, 3, 5, and so on! This is for the rest of your life if a lifter comes to a correct understanding of what the goal is; of course, goals can vary; so something about goals must also be stated. Genetic potential as given by God and desire plays a huge part in all of this. I understand and appreciate trying to use a methodical approach and as I have said, what an information-packed video! I just smashed the subscribe button. Many people can draw but there are few artists as not all have the drive or discipline. High frequency and volume lifting takes its toll in time, particularly with the drug-free lifter, believe me, been there! Keep up the good work!
As a former medical scientist, who is into bodybuilding since 20 years I want to thank you for your effort and congratulate on content!
Thank you my friend, this is really awesome to hear! :)
So which one is more efficient?
What many fail to realize is that the "three sets of ten" NEVER referred to 3 "working sets" but instead actually meant two warm up sets followed by ONE working set, which was written in the old barbell courses.
That sounds like an extraordinary claim. Do you have evidence of that?
Because "how many sets" has always seemed to refer to WORKING sets (with a variety of ways to properly warmup) AFAIK.
@@DarrenJohn10X You can look it up in the old barbell home courses .
Totally right. Back in the day when I began working out, everyone would just ramp up to a hard top set. So when a program called for 3x8 or 4x10 or whatever, you would gradually add weight into the bar set by set and reach failure in the last one. So technically the first sets would be like warm up.
@@xristos722 EXACTLY! Using HIT for many years I can you with certainty you do NOT need a lot of properly performed sets.
Right on. Started training in 1959. At that time most barbell sets actually came with a course recommending full body training, one set of ten,using progressive resistance, three times per week. One exercise per body part. Using this method I grew stronger and bigger. I was Olympic weight lifting and won every meet in my weight class for three years. About ten years later (of off and on training)I needed more weight and decided to buy a whole new set of weights. By then, Weider was the most popular company and Sam’s Club had the best price. His course at that time was recommending two sets and a four day split. I tried it and I experienced gains in strength and size. In fact I have experienced growth using just about every plan out there. Variety seems to be the key as Arnold said, you must shock the muscles.
Both ways work.
As far as study's go, I've read many and most of them are flawed. They either used people who were untrained and it was the adaptation of their CNS which caused the quick growth or used the "RIP" idea which is impossible to determine. An example of study's gone wrong is the one done by Brazilian and Swedish researchers into pre-exhaustion super sets. They found that after one such set, the monitored EMG of the Pecs were lower proving it didn't work. Yet, the idea behind pre-exhaustion super set was to temporarily make the delts and triceps stronger pushing the chest past the point of failure. This test really proved it worked but the researchers didn't understand the exercise principles themselves and were unable to see it. Beware trusting study's. They are not created equal.
At 66 years old I've done both types of training throughout my life. The volume workouts are much easier than the all out full intensity workouts which really push your muscles and mental stamina to the limit. While volume is easier on the body as a system, all the reps add up over time and your joints will start to complain. However, High Intensity work will wear your system down over time so be careful if you go that route. The bottom line here is no matter what you choose, the body doesn't want to change. That muscle is practically useless in every day life and trying to grow bigger muscles is not a normal human activity. There will be drawbacks when you train for size and there is a price to pay no matter how you do it. It's all a trade-off. Don't confuse muscle size for health. They are not the same.
Both styles of training will build muscle and yes ... if you're going to train to failure you can't do many sets and if you're not willing to push yourself to the limit doing less than maximal work, you must pile on the volume. Like I've said both ways work. Choose the way according to your mental stamina and ability to push yourself and all will be good.
You are correct , big muscles don’t always equal ultimate health, although building muscle and or maintaining is important to combat age related sarcopenia ( muscle loss ), for every day tasks such as getting off a chair etc, what I like about HIT is it allows time for days of stretching which is so important when one gets older .
@@wintertime331 Not just that but packing on the muscle increases your metabolism. There are many studies that have come out through out recent years showing why it's great to hit the weights and build muscle.
@@robmen1402 agreed 💯
Hi, hope you see this. You mention "HIT will wear your system down over time". Could you explain further on what you refer to as "system". Is it a mental or physical consequence or both? Also from your experience, has HIT been better for your joint health in the long run. Thanks!
@@g.......g When I say "system" I'm referring to your energy system and how overtime, you find yourself easily tiring and having a harder time recovering. This is why most modern programs have a down time built in where you actually take time off from your specific style of training. You might train another way or even not at all but your energy system does need to recover if you're giving it your all every week. Most of the time it's lighter training to get the blood flowing allowing your body to recover from the stress. The fatigue buildup is real.
As for joint issues, I've got to the point where I just can't do certain movements because my joints are killing me. I understand this happens to many people over time regardless of the type of training. In fact, I've completely changed how I train since I'm approaching 68 because for me, I now train to keep from having to use a walker when I hit 70. Training for longevity and training for muscle size and strength are not the same thing.
First and foremost, thanks for a great video. I'm 60 years old and have just started training (about 4 months ago). A month ago I was recommended to read Mentzer's book and have started trying to train to failure and taking 10 seconds (approx) to complete each move. For me, as a novice, training to failure seems better (simpler) because I'm probably too inexperienced to know when I'm 'n' number of reps from failure. I've also decreased my frequency of training. I find I'm much more tired after training to failure, but I am seeing reasonable gains in strength and muscle size, so for now it's working, but it's early days. The problem is the lack of or conflicting research, plus difference between individuals results that make it all so confusing.
Haven't looked the actual studies through, but I always have a feeling that failure in these studies isnt the same as the complete failure the hit guys speak of. I'm guessing it's in most studies at worst the point when you really don't want to make another rep, and at best the point when you can't make another rep with your ~80% one rep max.. which would leave plenty to do running down the weights until the utter and muscle complete failure of which hit people speak.
Yeah, depends on what exercise I guess. Many isolation exercises are straight forward to take to failure, some compound exercises not so much.
Exactly! Most people don't have the mental fortitude or mind/muscle connection to actually train to failure.
I agree. I have to go to the gym and use machines to feel safe enough to just keep pushing till complete failure. Barbells I have to guess and when i do i attempt one more rep.
Also to consider is some of the techniques used to go beyond positive failure, such as: negatives, forced reps, pause reps, etc. This might lead to a greater stimulatory effect for strength and hypertrophy (and additional recovery required) as many HIT advocates claim, especially in trained athletes. Research addressing these factors would also be very interesting.
That's the problem with these particular studies. There are way to many variables that will always struggle to have a "control".
Every body is different including there psychology so how does a study account for this? It is very difficult to do.
I could write a thesis just about this topic.
Great work dude. You put so much energy and time in this. Respect and thanks!
Thank you so much for your kind words :)
No actually the researchers have put a lot of time and energy into their work. He's just parroting what their results were. You know you can do your own, the internet is full of these kind of studies.
@@olderthanyoucali8512 he condensed hours of research into a 30 minute video that's far more palatable for the average gym goer. No one's discrediting the researchers, they're awesome too and the video points anyone interested in more detail to their studies.
It's a win for everyone.
Seriously, this is high quality content and thank you for this
I almost never comment on youtube but after all the effort you put in to deliver such an info-dense video the least I can do is to compliment you. Thank you for your amazing work
I’ve been doing 1 set to failure every 2 or 3 days and I’ve been seeing amazing growth from short workout sessions. I don’t have to be a gym rat to reach my natural limits and I haven’t ran into any plateaus because I let my muscles recover and adapt.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines You are so insecure. My god.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines You are by far more insecure than any HITer I have ever seen. The fact that you're responding to me and upvoting your own comments is proof of that.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines I'm not a HITer. I do high volume.
See? Your insecurity lead you to believe that I was a HITer merely because I called you out. You're really just proving my point here.
@@oldskoolbodybuildingroutin7178bro, youMre everywhere 😂
If you haven't hit any plateaus yet as a natural, you're probably not experienced enough. Your natural limits get to you eventually, though it might take years.
This video is very interesting, congratulations. The only thing I want to point out in favor of high intensity training is that, even if it produces slightly worse results than high volume training, it produces them with a much smaller investment of time. My opinion is that a mixture of the two methods is ideal for individuals who do not intend to compete but only to maintain a good body by training as little as possible. The real question we should ask ourselves is what is the MINIMUM number of sets to gain mass and not what is the maximum!
Thank, and it all depends on one's goals imo :)
@@HouseofHypertrophy Right if one were say to have asperations of becoming an amateur bodybuilder and then maybe pro, they would go with the most optimal, even if the extra hypertrophy is not that great vs whatever other protocol.. If you're just doing it to be strong, fit and look good naked for the ladies, and want to spend way less time and days in the gym and the protocol is effective than there is no reason to disregard it if it's actually effective and meets your goals.
The amount of work you put into these is amazing.
This one in particular is a doozy.
I've been considering a HIT style workout, not because I think it's better but because with a baby and another baby on the way I'm trying to write a program that can hit all of my muscles in as little time as possible just until life gets a bit less mad
HIT style you can do 1-3 days of training per week, or even once every 7-10 days. Depends on your recovery and preferences
Training to failure signals the body that unless it becomes stronger it will be crushed or injured. I can't think of a better reason for the body to start doing its magic
Exactly
This is a fantastic summary. A lot of High intensity people advocate a slow concentric and eccentric rep cadence between 4-10 seconds each way. They claim this reduces the sheering forces and reduces the chance of injury when going to failure. This is something I’ve employed myself. I am kind to a hybrid. I like the whole one set to failure but with a much higher frequency.
An anecdotal training split that I came upon was 5 day full body, 2 sets per exercise. 1st set is a warmup set, second set is the working set. Warmup set is anywhere from 30-50% of 1rm and generally leaves about 5-6 rir, second set is 80% 1rm done to complete failure. I would do this every day during the workweek. My results were great. The reason I came up with this program was to stimulate muscle protein synthesis as much as possible.
I think this deserves to have some studies done on it. I gave it up because I have major issues with sleep and therefor just about anything I do results in overtraining, however when I was doing it I got the most compliments about my physique I ever have. Next thing I want to try when ready for it is to use 1-3 rir on the working set and see if that keeps me from going into over training (the closer we get to failure the longer it takes to recover) etc. what was also good about this program was the amount of exercises I could get done in a day. There’s no need to rest along time after the warmup set, then after the working set I am off to another exercise immediately. This makes the workout rather challenging since I could easily fit in 10-12 different exercises per session.
5 days is not necessary.
HIT also benefits the general population that doesn't have the time or desire to put in the extra sets. I would rather someone work out 3 days a week for 30 min than not at all.
So for very busy or sedentary people I usually recommend the 1 set to failure program.
Once they see change then the feedback loop might push them to experiment or decicate more time.
Too often newbies are given a 70 min a day program needing 4-6 days at the gym which can be discouraging.
True!
I wonder if HIT gets most of our possible gains versus volume which may pros but more in gains but at the cost of a lot more training time. What % does HiT leave on the table?
This is my strategy for myself. I'm young. I have work, I have hobbies, I have friendships, I want to have relationships. Dedicating upwards of 6 hours in the gym a week is a lot for my life, and that's not including going to the gym, showering in the middle of the day, etc. I also like cardio exercises like running and biking, and those eat up time too. When my life slows down I might find myself having more time to dedicate to resistance training, but for now I'm looking for the most gains per minute spent, and I can get that if I push myself in a set until my muscle literally cannot move the weight or even prevent it from falling.
Love these vids. For me, I think the take away when it comes to the macro of bodybuilding is do better every week. Lift a little heavier. Add an extra rep. Progress as much as you can and you really should be alright. No need to over complicate.
:)
Exactly
I get why we need these ideas for the competitors. But like you said, as long as I’m doing something challenging and added more weight or an extra rep, over time (might not be optimal or the fastest), I will progress.
I think this all comes naturally if you're training to or close to failure.
Coclusion:
Current literature does not suggest high-intensity of training.
Training to failure isn't essential.
Higher volumes tend to be better than lower volumes
Higher training frequency are perfect for muscle gains
Still high intensity training will build a substantial amount of muscle and strength
Complete nonsense . Why do guys go on steroids because they train HV can't get any results that's why .
Highly individual. I’m a professional endurance athlete and for the life of me could never put on any muscle training with high volume. Only when I switched to HIT, I saw a positive marked departure in my lean muscle mass.
Complete nonsense .
See 11 Thess 2 : 10 Niv bible .
@@ImpalerVlad Right on , you will never get results without drugs doing HV can't recover .
I truly appreciate your videos. I'm an advocate of HIT and you have done an excellent job of presenting valuable information of many variables while also alluding to the possibility of different strategies being optimal for different physiological responses. Good work!!
Thank you my friend!
I just want to say I absolutely love your videos' unique aesthetic. The vibrant colors on the black background, the simple but aesthetically pleasing models - I can't quite explain why, but I think it looks fantastic. I really hope to see more like it from your channel.
Thanks for all the great content!
Thank YOU for those really kind words, it means a lot to me!
Another great video. 👌
I personally get the best results working up to a single top set to fatigue for 2-3 exercises per body part twice a week.
Any more than that does not provide additional progress in muscle or strength & often leads to more overuse injuries & feeling run down.
Thank you! and that sounds like a solid regime! :)
I do something similar with resistance bands, 1 drop set, 2-3 exercises per body part on a 3 way split, day 1 legs day 2 push day 3 pull day 4 rest/ stretching
Everyday steward mc Gill Big 3 every day for core.
Single arm dumbell hold on wobble board for ballance, try closing you eyes it's 🙄
Thank you so much for this video i can’t express how discouraged and overwhelmed i was before this video please never stop what you’re doing as long as you’re enjoying it.
I've done and tried various methods of weight lifting over the past 30 years. But the biggest and widest my body ever got was the three weeks i worked at Fed Ex as a package handler, loading and stacking boxes into a truck. The boxes were usually on average about 35 lbs a piece? Some boxes were much bigger and heavier, some smaller and lighter. I worked 4 hours a day, 5 days a week doing that. It was brutal. I made sure to eat alot after my shift. My previous exercise regimen of lifting weights for 45 minutes per day did not prepare me for Fed Ex lol.
people (especially younger people) heavily underestimate how physically demanding blue collar work can get
Unusual to see a hard laborer gain a significant amount of muscular size. I knew lots of young guys who bought into this and would bail hay to increase strength. They always lost size and strength but, gained endurance
@@chrislong1287 Depends how much they eat if they gain size or lose size. Quantity AND quality of calories is key.
@@JesusChrist5000 agree that one needs to adjust calories depending on goals but, proper stimulus is paramount. No matter how many calories a marathon runner consumes he will never put on muscular size because, this type a of training does stimulate hypertrophy in skeletal muscles. No doubt hard labor develops , some strength, some endurance and often a degree of mental toughness but, if your goal is building size and strength, it is not an efficient stimulus.
@@chrislong1287 Working at FedEx and eating alot was enough for me to make the biggest and broadest i had ever been
What an amazing, detailed, backed by studies and well-animated video. I am amazed you put so much effort into one single video. I applaud you!
Bruv! Who are you and where have you been!? How has the TH-cam algorithm failed so miserably and not suggested your channel to me years ago, although I’ve been watching Biolayne’s and rp strength’s content for years?!
Anyhow: thank you so much for this perfect video. Every second was well used, the information presented perfectly both regarding timing, explanation, putting in context, cross referencing, comparing, length, depth, volume and last but not least: your voice and flow of language.
I’ll spend the rest of the day watching every video in your channel.
Cheers !
Haha, thank you so much for your really kind words, they mean a lot to me :)
I've been training for about 6 months now, and am doing low frequency to failure training. I've found for personal experience that my muscles hurt for 3 or even more days after the workout, and in this time my strength Is drastically reduced. I feel like in the studies they didn't push hard enough when they failed.
If you’ve only been training for 6 months I don’t think you can accurately make judgments as you have no baseline, anything will cause hypertrophy in you. That being said I do agree lower volume can do the job.
6 months 😅😅😅😅
If your muscles hurt more than one day you are doing something wrong. Either nutrition is not rights, sleep is not adequate or training at higher volume. The aim is to recover from lifting and build muscle and not keep your body destroyed for a few days.
@@fayizfz I'm staying sore that way but I've been working out for years
@@fayizfz Nonsense. Some soreness for a couple of days fading around the second day is absolutely normal, especially in the middle of a cycle. Sometimes it's just because a particular workout was intense.
It works. I’m bigger than my friends who go the gym everyday. I go once or twice a week and go hard fast.
Same. Hit works way better for me
You must have really skinny friends who don't know sh!t about working out then.
Great stuff. Also to consider is some of the techniques used to go beyond positive failure, such as: negatives, forced reps, pause reps, etc. This might lead to a more significant stimulatory effect and results for strength and hypertrophy (and additional recovery required) as many HIT advocates claim, especially in trained athletes. Research addressing these factors would also be very interesting.
Dr. Stan
I've gotten some really good results with this... I started competitive bodybuilding at 17 back in 2003, but I went back into it in my 30s just three years ago. I had not trained seriously in over a decade due to some serious injuries, and my workouts were really difficult when I started back in especially which can be expected (lower testosterone, difficult doing certain movements and not having the same coordination anymore, not to mention training with an injury that effects balance is really rough).
I had been doing the older style workouts I did when I was young - training each major muscle group once per week and smaller twice, and it was hellish - not going to lie. I didn't put on much size after muscle memory gave up on me about a year in. I had continued on making hardly any progress (going from about 190lbs stage weight to only 194) and I decided to switch it up to a sort of Dorian Yates-ish style. Going to failure was a big issue, and slowing the tempo down was another that I had to get over by simply going by "count" rather than rep as I'd lose count of one always lol... I got back into condition to step on stage, and actually had realized I was starving constantly not realizing I was gaining size. I noted that I couldn't get back down past 208lbs without looking emaciated and I was like... "well, shit... It worked!"
In closing, bravo to whatever works best for you - I have no dog in the fight, I just know what is working best for me at the moment. if I plateau, back to changing it up. Best of luck to you in your endeavors, Dr. Stan - I am just starting rest-pause for my second working set (on exercises that I do 2 sets on, mostly isolation movements that don't cause so much systemic stress), so please let me know how your rest-pause adventures go, my friend.
This channel is bringing the smoke. Great job.
Thank you my friend!
I appreciate your work on this video. It is clear you made this without bias. I really think part VI of the video does prove HIT is worth it- even if only for the time you’ll save in the gym haha. I’ve done high volume most of my life, and I recently switched to HIT. Honestly I just feel better with high intensity, low frequency.
The main problem that can arise when trying to argue that one set to muscle failure may not be enough is the terminology of what people in research mean by the word failure. In studies, the word volitional failure sometimes appears, which means a refusal to work when a person felt that he could not continue to do it, while the followers of HIIT use the word failure to mean momentary muscle failure, that is, physiological muscle failure ( You can read James Steele "Clarity in Reporting Terminology and Definitions of Set End Points in Resistance Training" where the issue of muscle failure terminology is discussed). Perhaps that is why the stimulus in fact from one set of momentary muscle failure (0RIR) may be higher than from, for example, three sets that are performed to volitional failure ,since the first option of failure implies a real failure of the muscle to do the work, while in the second case, the person stops the set when it just becomes difficult for him (even if it is, for example, 5RIR). In this case (if, for example, we are talking about stimulating repetitions) , we can assume that the volume from one set is higher than from three.
I see what you're saying, but I'm skeptical true failure provides any more mechanical tension than stopping 3 to 0 RIR based on the reasoning outlined in the video. But yeah, studies that have subjects to failure will always have the limitation of not knowing how close to true failure they were (particularly the studies that employ volitional failure).
@@HouseofHypertrophy assuming there is an equal amount of stimulus between a set to failure (0RIR) 5RM compared to 2RIR (i.e. 3 stimulating reps), then this could actually mean that there is no difference in stimulus between a 3RM vs 5RM set. In other words, if additional repetitions did not add a stimulus, then the conclusion will be the same as written above.
@@HouseofHypertrophy a study should be done when failure means absolute failure, possibly rest paused reps.
@@manishkulasekara3408 In this case, it was about muscle failure vs volitional failure .Muscle failure (MMF) this is a specific definition. Everything else is not related to muscle failure but can be related to advanced techniques (such as drop-sets)
@@ДимаМ-з3ж I see what you mean, I usually go to volitional failure, sometimes its form failure if im mastering technique. Either way HIT training has benefited me so much
For general fitness the Pareto principle kicks in. 80% + of the gains for 20% of the time. 1 set 10 movements 3x / week. 1 1/2 hours of training time a week. Add weight when you can do 15 reps, no warmups needed.
This seems liKE a pretty simple and effective way to describe things here. A+.
I agree with your opinion that Mike Mentzer used information available to him at the time to formulate his program. There are a lot of assumptions about muscle growth and recovery in his book. I followed his training program for several months before switching to Dorian Yates' program. I trained with a fairly large and lean bodybuilder who was a HIT proponent so I have reached failure the way HIT prescribes it. Those single working sets to failure make you want to die rather than continue the set. I found that I was gaining some muscle on Mentzer's program but there was little definition BC of low frequency and not much increase in size because Mentzer didn't believe that 1 g of protein/lb (or similar) of bodyweight is needed, let alone aggressive caloric surplus. So my progress was slow. The conclusions I got from my experience with HIT is to be hyper focused during my workouts, document progress and of course knowing what true failure is. Also, I find it important to mention that generic elites such as Mentzer and Yates respond differently to training than 99% of people. HIT works for them but so would every other program.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines - Yep. According to what I heard, Mentzer admitted that he did more sets than he said he did.
@@JohnBowl14690 where’s this info at
so what i was taught from this video is no matter what style of training you do, it is gonna be equally beneficial and the key to do it is constistency. thats all i got out from this
We had a rule in gymnastics about #3. If you can't do it 3 times, you didn't do it at all. The first time was an accident, and the second time was a mistake. The third time, you did it. This may seem harsh, but because gymnastics moves can seriously hurt you if you do them wrong(as in a competition), keeping good form was essential.
Genetics is the flaw in weight-training studies because it's a powerful variable that can dramatically skew results, identical twins' training would deliver better analysis.
Best video of all time, honestly, this is how peer reviewed, scientific/statistical studies should be presented on all subjects. Very much appreciation to all the incredibly hard work you put into this tremendously high quality presentation.
Also - for the comment scrollers.
Long story short, based on the literature, the most important things are a) you are training, b) you are not giving less than about 70% - 90% of your all when training, c) you get adequate rest and that additional factors including mental and physical health paired with dieting can directly affect your results and d) that keeping a journal of your own personal experience over dozens of weeks with different modes of exercise will help you determine which regiments/routines and levels of intensity/frequency work best for your body. With a simple reminder that training and training relatively hard is the true key to strength increase and muscle hypertrophy.
My small piece of advice to additionally state is that not only is training above 69% optimal, progressive overload is most definitely an integral and fundamental part to the longevity of your success for both strength increase and muscle hypertrophy.
I think it really comes down to your body, goals, the lifts you do & genetics. For example, if I’m going to do lunges, extensions, side laterals, dumbbell flies & hammer curls in a workout I’m obviously going to need 3-5 sets minimum to do any work, whereas if you do barbell squats, dumbbell overhead press, machine bench press & barbell curls all to complete failure with partials or drop sets, the muscle will be just as damaged as it was from the other workout with 1-3 sets.
If I had too choose it would be hands down Heavy Duty H.I.T.T, high volume for me is starts off good in the beginning but it always it catches up. Train safe💪
@The Batman I think what I’ve been learning is to listen to your body take those in between rest days and like you said plitting the upper and lower body helps. And switch up the exercises when you get bored
This is an amazing video, the quality, the explanation and the diagrams clearly highlight HIT, its principles. The scientific explanations are very well spoken and are clear, as well as the unbiased explaining make the video amazing. Good stuff I’m subscribing 👍🏼👍🏼
Thank you so much!
phenomenal video, containing a wealth of knowledge rivaling a whole semester of university classes
I do believe Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones pioneered a training philosophy that will stand the test of time.
I think the last slide is important to note. Different lifters probably have different experiences. I tend to gain more with 1 set to near failure than doing multipe sets. I will perform lighter warmup sets though.
Yep.
I think we are a minority.
I perform 1 workout per muscle group per week.
1 warmup set with 5 reps in reserve and then 1 set of BLOOD AND TEARS :))
@@achannel7553 I am slimmer. Would lower volume be better? I am trying to figure out my best training but have hit multiple plateaus in the past so am not sure. How about frequency?
Same warm-up weight to failure or do you go up in weight on your failure set
I go up in weight slightly. I do moderate weight warm ups so it is not technically 1 set. I do definitely notice better gains with lower volume. I do need to train some exercises such as bench about 2-3 times per 10 days to progress however. @@tonyvee5799
Personal experience, but I’ve done both HIT and Moderately High Volume. They honestly both work.
I think everyone should try both. I’ve read studies where it showed an even split of high responders for both systems.
Everyone should probably start with HIT first because it teaches valuable lessons such as learning what true failure feels like, how to eat and recover. HIT is more forgiving than high volume because of the magnitude of the stimulus. High volume causes more muscle damage (which isn’t a really a driver of hypertrophy but rather an increase to recovery).
You can always add volume in when you’re not seeing results with HIT such as doing a down set or rest pause after your main set, but going high volume you can’t exactly continue to keep adding more and more sets.
I would recommend everyone try HIT for 3 months head on then switch to Volume for 3 months and see what works better for you, because we’re not the average of study results but rather unique individuals that will respond to one or the other better.
Edit: I want to say one last thing. If we look at Dorian Yates’ training, for example, he was doing 4-8 sets to failure most of the time (he released a book on his training and it showed how he also did rest pause).
Studies are flawed because they try to keep confounds at a minimum, so it doesn’t reflect the variety of things people do. Isolating 1 exercise and doing 1 set for it and comparing that to doing 3 sets for the same exercise is different than completing 3-4 exercises and building up to a maximum set or two.
Maybe they should do a study where you take the same number of exercises (say 4) and one group works up to a single set to failure on each. Then take another group that trains 3 sets per exercise leaving 2-3 reps in the tank.
This would be a much more viable way to study the differences.
This is the best researched summary I've seen on this topic. No bias, just facts based on today's science.
This was quite in depth and I much appreciate your dedication. Thank you.
I was on a plateau for about a year and researched into Mike Mentzer. I started hit training and seen amazing progress. I’m doing more strength work right now but HIT training definitely works with enough rest and the right diet. You really just have to hit maximal effort
So do you not train any muscle group 2 times a week?
@@charlie7531 Nope, lift three days a week. Eat lots of protein and get in some glucose even on off days, and take a good multivitamin. If you train extremely hard on those three days and fuel the growth process you will be forced to grow basically. “You might gain a little fat from the sugar but you can always cut later”
@@supa_sets8636 but metzer don´t like much protein :D less as 1g for kg
@@hippokrates4494 25% protein. 750 calories for a 3000 calorie diet. That's 187g of protein. That's more than enough
@@oldskoolbodybuildingroutin7178 lolololol arnold fan
While HIT earns you insignificantly less muscle than multi set, the amount of muscle gained relative to the amount of time spent in the gym is a massive difference. To top it off, while you may increase a slight bit more muscle with multi set, it surely is not worth the mileage done on joints and ligaments which is another form of recovery that the video has not addressed. In the long run practicality to the average joe wanting to look like Brad Pitt from Troy, you will benefit significantly more from HIT training than you would multi set. If you are competing and want to turn your gym routine professionally, multi set will obviously be more important as slight bit of gains could mean the difference between winning or losing. For those thin wristed individuals who are prone to injury, HIT training is their best bet. Injury could cost you months to recover. That alone could set you back farther than the speed of multi set muscle gain vs HIT.
I think you make some good points dude!
However, I'm personally a little more skeptical whether multi sets would truly be worse on joint and ligament health long-term. I think the body can be quite adaptable and handle many things, ligament and joint strength could potentially increase and stuff. But this also probably varies between individuals :)
@@HouseofHypertrophy this is is why I use HIT. Yes, studies make it abundantly clear that for muscle building high volume is superior. However, HIT still works and you will see gains, but spend less time in the gym. That extra time is worth it to me. I want a great physique, but I’m not a pro body builder, I just want to look like I lift to the average person.
HIT I’m 3 weeks in. 3x a week strength training. Same results as high volume and less trips to the gym. Mentzer was all about minimal optimal dose! Who wants to do more sets for net zero gains?! Also strength increasing. My plan is to add in fst-7 principles 6weks in for muscle burn and ROM.
Are you doing HIT for strenght gains? How is your training plan?
Wow.....what a fantastic presentation. I got more from this then 100s of other videos from gurus. 100/100
Thank YOU, this is awesome to hear :)
Wow, best video I’ve watched in a long time on youtube! Keep up the good work!
The studies showed that you get slightly better results by doing at least 3X the work. What that means is that while volume training is slightly more effective, HIT is more efficient.
🤣🤣studies say 3 times ? instead of reading science books why don't you enter the real world and speak to lifters who have been doing it for decades you never know you might learn something ?🤔
@@barrybarnett731 you're literally on a video about studies
@@barrybarnett731the ones using steroids that gain muscle by watching TV? 😂
@@barrybarnett731 Being offended by missreading what the person who offended you said, lol
Great information, i am pretty sure in the hit audiobook by mike mentzer he DOES state that HIT is more for trained individuals who have plateaued.
HIT would definitely work with untrained people as that is when you make your most gains, perhaps that foundation is different to training a newbie with high rep in terms of either strength or size, it would seem logical that high rep would train a newbie for strength, just an observation of what ive seen.
Awesome! thanks for your deep highly detailed video! can you please go further and put a research about recovery times based on nutrition?
Thank you, I have not explored the relationship between nutrition and recovery times, but presumably surplus of calories enhance recovery, as for how much I'm not sure. I'll check it out though
Thank you for the tremendous time and effort in putting this great video together. As someone with limited time and no aspirations of competing- it seems if the low volume/high intensity route produces no more gains - or frankly even only 75-80% of the gains of a higher frequency routine - the time savings alone both in terms of trips to the gym and time spent while there would make the high intensity route very appealing… As the adage goes - the most effective form of a medicine is the one the patient will actually take!
Marvelous work! This deserves more views!
Thank you my friend, that's very kind of you!
I lifted for years with some gains, but not particularly impressive... but when I switched to low volume, I very quickly increased in both size and strength. I now sometimes add more volume, but still keep it on the low side - - 1 or 2 sets of usually 2 exercises per muscle group. I had thought I was training to, or close to failure before, but training with just one set taught me what going to failure really means and the value of going beyond failure, with static holds, forced reps, partial reps, ending a set with a few negatives... It's very hard to accurately judge how close 3 reps short of failure is, so even if that's good enough, if going to actual failure doesn't hurt hypertrophy and strength, it seems logical to aim for failure.
I've done both the Arthur Jones/Casey Viator style full body workouts (though with free weights and basic pulleys, not Nautilus), and the Mike Mentzer split. The full body produces the best result in short time, but after a month or two becomes too draining and is less sustainable than Mentzer's spilt system. I like to do a month or 2 of full-body at least once per year, doing a split for the rest of the year.
I think my body favors low volume, but I think adding an extra set now and then can also help, as can an occasional period of doing high volume. You might consider doing a video on periodization - - how changing the system and levels of volume used, now and then, can help get past plateaus. Still I think my baseline workout works best at low volume - - anything else is just to shock past a plateau. People who feel they respond better to high volume may find HIT good for breaking through their plateaus and teach them true muscle failure. Going to failure isn't sustainable with high volume, but the lesson may help reach higher levels of intensity.
I like more frequency than Mentzer used - - closer to Jones' but doing a split, instead of full body.
I'd also add, that if you are not aiming to be a competitive bodybuilder, if you have a time consuming job, family, school, etc. the short duration, less frequent HIT workouts are more efficient and accomplish, if not the same results as high volume workouts, very, very close... close enough for any hobbyist or health-conscious trainer, and in a fraction of the time.
One thing none of these studies will ever be able to prove to me is that the participants understand what "to failure" actually means. If you are doing it correctly, you literally can't do anymore sets.
thx for the notes..
appreciate your taking the time to write them.
cheers
@@xenophon598 🥶
There is a not widely known thought from Mentzer: We do not know if absolute failure is really needed, maybe 90% is enough. The problem is that we cannot measure it. There are only two clear points in a set, 0% and 100% (in other words zero rep, or repping until you cannot do it anymore). That is why we need to do it till failure to be sure that we certanly passed that unkown stimulus line short of failure.
Mentzer didn't understand basic exercise science.
My strength has exploded by doing HIT with 1 set to absolute failure i.e. your training partner helps you do 1-3 reps past technical failure plus an additional negative hold. This is the approach Yates does when people train with him; , rest pause can also be used for exercises where you can't get assistance to go past failure.
I don't know the science behind it, but I'm training 4 times per week, once per body part, only 1 hour per session and the progress is really good.
Could you tell me how to set this up? let's say I do a leg day, do I have to take every leg exercise I currently do and with one set go to failure? or do you do it differently?
@@ilbuonpacio2252 1 set to failure is possible, that if u have a partner helping u out on that last few reps. If not just add in 2 or 3 more set. Decrease the weight and all out again. The key is intensity and all out on ur reps. Not save them for next session.
Sorry sir, can you Tell me your split -4 days? And how ex Per body part , thx🥰
People in the comments really didn't pay attention to the video. Working close to failure is necessary for hyperthrophy, but unless you are a beginner low volume isnt optimal or necessary for most people.
Its simple: the closer to failure, the less volume is needed. The further from failure, the more volume is needed. There is a sweetspot where type II fibers activate, you want to reach it and stay there as often as possible without impairing recovery or longevity. By henemmans size principlez you reach it faster with more loads. If you reach it via occlusion mid set (lighter loads inducing fatigue and an anoxic environment that bring the type II fibers online) youll need more reps to first activate it, but since the neuromuscular system will be less taxed you will be able to produce more sets. Recovery will be impaired due to the sheer tax in the cardiovascular system tho. Anything, any theory any program is a variation in application of these principles. Proceed according to your personal preferences but keep in mind the inverse relationship between volume and intensity and how all that matters is activation of type II fibers no matter the method chosen.
It’s all highly individual. I’m a professional endurance athlete, with strength element present. And for the life of me could never put on any muscle training with high volume. Only when I switched to HIT, I saw a positive marked departure in my lean muscle mass.
Very interesting!
What professional endurance sport do you compete in? You certainly don't look like a runner, cyclist or swimmer in your profile pic.
Great video.
1 set only needs to be greater intensity than higher volume training.
This is why they train to beyond failure.
It is a balance of volume, intensity and recovery and one is not better than the other!
Just do what fits in with everything else in your life.
Also it is not a race to get bigger or stronger. It should be a lifestyle choice over decades unless you want to compete so you don't need to rush it.
Fast initial gains means plateaus later. Consistency and injury prevention are more important than any other factors.
1 is better than the other when it comes to time efficacy. If you can get the same results from one set to failure, true failure, you can be out of the gym much quicker, especially if you don't have time to go to the gym as much due to other hobbies and responsibilities. There are tons of bodybuilders that have used the 1 set to failure going back for decades all the way to almost 100 years and these people were natural.
@@robmen1402 I would agree with that if you can go to or beyond failure on an exercise. However beyond failure can include rest pause or be a cluster set or negatives or static holds. So 1 set becomes more of an extended set. I like to have 45s rest between Heavy compound sets (rest pause) and 1 min between isolation sets going to failure each set. For pure strength I don't think you can beat low rep sets across with plenty of rest between or supersetting the exercises to get the rest.
@@Cloppa2000 I do both static and 5 second eccentrics in every single rep with proper form. But, yeah if you're talking pure strength training, nothing is going to beat low rep sets, I fully agree with you. But, if your'e looking for hypertrophy and strength 1 set to failure is def real and works. You get strong and build muscle.
@@robmen1402 Would you treat compound and isolations the same?
Would you mind giving an examples of say Squats and Curls?
When you say static holds and slow negs every rep.. do you mean every rep??? So in one set of say 10 squats would you static hold part of the way down or just slow neg on this? Every rep? I was thinking of doing a slow neg on the last rep..
Is your style of training like Jay Vincents?
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines 😆
As always, the recommended training volune/intensity is whatever you can do consistently. I like more frequently and less intense. Once i lose momentum it's hard to build it again, so i dont like taking rest days.
Interesting!
It's imperative to take days of if your truly drug free .
@@biblebill6206 dont get me wrong, i do, i just dont like them lol
@@NBDYSPCL I understand when it's what you love to do . Try doing volunteer work on days of to replace lifting .
You'll build more muscle if you rest, if not, you'll just burn out your body. It's all mental. You need to push yourself back to working when you take the right amount of days to rest
I just found this channel and boy oh boy it is AMAZING. I have never seen better production quality. Subbed, liked, also I smashed the bell enough time with 3 reps in reserve !
Haha, thank you so much! :)
Brilliant video! Perfect job conveying all the important info with great quotes to match.
Thank you my friend!
In my experience as a non-competitor and as a natural, HIT is the best program for gaining the most muscle with the least amount of time in the gym.
Only, it requires a lot of effort in a short time, and it is not within everyone's reach. You have to accept to suffer, to suffer a lot.
When I see videos of bodybuilders, even very famous ones, as if they were at their maximum for hours, I think to myself, either they are not going to the maximum, or they are doing this because they are filmed
@Mantastic-ho3vm Precisely, to do HIT correctly, you need to have a lot of courage and willpower.
Most of the time, those who start the HIT and say that it does not work, it is because it is too intense for them, and they prefer 4 sets of 10 REPS with a clear conscience, without having forced too much. Afterwards, I'm not saying that this training mode doesn't work, but the HIT works very well if you execute it correctly.
In fact, what you're saying is that Mentzer trained thousands of people with HIT and he had no results, but people still came to see him?
In fact, I know very well why many coaches hate HIT, it is much more profitable to tell a person to come and train 6 times a week, without forcing too much, that way you earn more and people are satisfied don't ask too much of them.
Whereas in HIT, we will ask people for very big efforts, and 2 or 3 times a week, so it pays less, and many people are dissatisfied with the "too intense" efforts that are asked of them.
Afterwards, I don't care, everyone thinks and does what they want.
Me, I'm talking about my positive experience, for your information, know that I've been doing bodybuilding for 12 years, at one time, I was doing 5 training sessions of 1h30 with cardio in HIIT 3 times a week.
I did this program for 4 years, so before saying that I'm lazy, you should first know my background.
Then, I tried other things, and finally, the HIT, which for me is very functional and works very well, but for that, you have to get your fingers out of your ass and not be afraid of a hyper effort intense.
@Mantastic-ho3vm You really say anything. The HIT is 45 minutes to 1 hour. Then it's 45 minutes really intensive, not just dragging yourself around the room lifting 50 different weights while making faces and showing off in front of beginners. The HIT works very well, probably why those who pass hours every day in a gym are aggressive with this method.
Mike Mentzer, Dorian Yates, Arthur Jones, Casey Viator, are all dumb assholes and I guess you're a lot more muscular than those guys.
@Mantastic-ho3vm What you say is completely false and confirms what I say: those who say that the HIT method does not work, do not apply it correctly. Apparently we are not talking about the same thing. Read the book "High intensity training, the Mike Mentzer way",1 if you have the opportunity, to understand what HIT is. In HIT, a typical session includes between 5 and 6 exercises and lasts 3/4 hour, 1 hour maximum. Depending on the weights and the intensity, you can do 1 to 3 sessions per week.
You must also count the warm-up series, 1 SET of 10 REP at 50% of 1 RM, 1 SET of 4 REP at 75% of 1 RM, then the work SET with a weight that allows you to do between 7 and 9 REPS, until failure, all in the most perfect form of exercise possible.
So, if mechanical tension is the primary driver of hypertrophy, why aren't power lifters more muscular than bodybuilders? Wouldn't increasing mechanical tension or at least the quest to increase be the ultimate driver? Plus, 0 RIR is failure. BTW, how does anyone gauge 3 RIR let alone 5 RIR? Do they perform sets to failure and then back off 3 reps for future workouts? A person does 12 reps to failure and then decides to back off to 9 reps for the future sets? If so, where are the progression gains made if not pushed to true complete failure? If always stopping 3 reps short of failure, how is data complied to account for progress? Adding weight to progress then resets the number of reps which would be 3 reps short of failure. The discussion switch to training frequencies is somehow leaving the intensity factor out. I would agree if training intensities are the same which I assume is NOT training to true failure, the capacity is there to train more frequently and allow more gains. Take the lower frequency group and mandate they take advantage of more recovery time by making them work at a higher level of intensity and then compare the results. True HIT does require more recovery time and if it doesn't, the intensity level is not high enough. .My post is NOT to contradict your fantastic videos, it is just to offer substance for additional discussion. Thank you.
Interesting studies. Some of this when translated to the real world might also depend on people's ability to train. As in making the time to train. HIT might be better for busier people as it may mean less time in the gym therefore, increasing success in consistency. HV might be optimal for athletes since part of their daily routine whether school sports or professional sports/bodybuilding is already calculated in their workday.
This is a really complete research. Thanks for your work here man!
No problem, thank you for checking it out!
Very well put together, rational, reasonable and balanced vid on a tricky subject given all the varying data. Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce it. Very helpful.
Thank you so much for checking out the video!
At first I laughed at Mentzer’s suggestions of 5-6 days off …. until I tried it. Then I started getting stronger each and every workout. I do a Push/Pull-legs split, where normally a given workout has at least 6 days for recovery, and, occasionally 7. Interspersed around workouts are 25 min treadmill sprint intervals as well.
When something comes up, such as a bad chest cold, holiday conflict, I just take a few extra days, and, oddly enough, even with 10-12 days between like workouts, still end up stronger. ( I don’t do just 1 set , however, I do 4-7 sets, depending on body part)
Higher frequency also has higher chances of putting yourself in a catabolic state rather than anabolic. Not everyone responds the same but over using the muscle can absolutely cause catabolic reactions. As far as hitting you one rep max , most people call their one rep max at the point the pain is too much rather then complete failure.
I will do whatever training method works for me! Whatever that might may be, but I can guarantee you it WILL never be just on set of anything. I will continue to do warm up sets for my joints and then work to failure.
When you are on a very busy routine, HIT is gold. But, I'd say it requires a lot more discipline to work it "right" than regular 3 sets/exercise. Thanks for the video!
Wow, you did an incredible job on this video! Subbed
This is a pit of an strawman to Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer, since they didn't advocate for training to failure, but beyond failure with a set starting with dynamic movement, then transferring to static hold and then to resisting negatives. One would think that since there is science showing that negatives also build strength and contribute to hypertrophy, the HIT training described by Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer, might provide the body with more diverse stimulus and hence results. I'm not saying it would be superior, just that this comparison didn't really test the actual HIT training as describer by Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer.
By the way - love your content and videos. Very well made videos and super informative.
I actually lost muscle size on volume workouts. But I gained size faster than ever by doing one set per body part once per week. It makes sense when you think about it. A single set to absolute failure is hard on a muscle. It takes at least 3 days to compensate (recover) and then another 3 days (or longer) to super-compensate (grow larger than before). If you're somebody that recovers slowly, it might work better to go even longer between workouts. Everyone is different so you need to discover the sweet spot for your own body.
Yeah it works for you. Do you still
Do HIT. I’ve seen results with higher frequency myself
I appreciate the hardwork into the analysis and I know it was a lot of work. Genetics probably play a role and i would toss all non trained studies.
I tried with volume and not to failure for years but like you said leaving 3 in the tank when you actually have 7 is hard to judge and i never got a good pump and just became a gym rat..
HiT worked best for me when I was young and had amazing results but now the cardiac requirements on squat etc will make me pass out and worried I'll have an episode. So I modify HIT on squats and only do it on one legged press etc. But getting the pump and better strength gains back.
The one thing that wasn't covered was time in gym, with my busy life being in the gym 4-5 days a week for an hour or more is too much commitment when I can get the same or better results 2-3x a week and be out of the gym in 30. You can look around and you see almost no intensity at all these days.
Great content! A big issue I’ve seen pop up is most people don’t know how far they are from failure. They’ll tell you they can’t do anymore and grind our 5 or 6 more reps. I strongly believe many people train like this.
That's a fair point! :)
if your last rep is the same speed as the first it isnt failure, when the weight gets half way up and you contemplate life thats usually close to failure lol.
@@BradleyCTurner your rep speed decreases linearly and then exponentially towards failure. So your 12th rep will never be as fast as your first, even if you aren’t near failure. Measuring RIR is something you get from experience.
I think if you train to failure on a regular basis you don't need to every time because you get a sense of when you're one rep to failure, which is almost as effective for stimulating growth but 100% safer. So by going to one rep away from failure most of the time one may drastically reduce the risk of hit training with only a negligible reduction in overall effectiveness.
@@gavinfarris7624 I agree. the issue with training to failure is that you just can’t recover. Why inhibit your recovery if you can get 90% of the gains by keeping two reps in the tank
This was very informative. Having started HIT, I'm seeing that after 2 months strength gains and obviously less time in the gym suits my busy lifestyle.
Do you see muscle size increase?
@LancastersRealtor first 2 months I noticed strength only but big difference from volume training where by I was tired constantly and got weaker. 4 months in now, noticing by measurements getting bigger finally.
@Mantastic-ho3vm I will, giving it time as I'm still not quite where I wanna be. But I'd say if volume has not been working or hit a plateau, then what you got to lose.
When I first started working out I followed the Colorado experiment. I was severely underweight (122 lbs at 5'11.5) and 22 years old. The amount of weight I put on was insane. I won't even say it here because people never believe it. I made myself sick with eating and I only worked out twice a week for about a half hour. So I had some newbie gains, I had some normal weight gain, but I measured body fat before and after and I never put on any fat outside of keeping the same ratio. If anything the biggest problem with the program is that it was boring. If you like working out you're never in the gym :s
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines there it is 😂
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines no sales pitch here. Literally just a guy talking about my experience. Pretty sure tim ferris isn't gonna give me a cut of his book sales 🤣
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines hit?
@@coachandrewb ignore this guy , as you can see he antagonizes rather than rationalizes , and many on here have challenged him to supply pics and measurements to no avail, he has a hate on for the Mentzers and HIT , and his comments borderline childish lunacy lol .
I’ve been training years there was once a point I was doing less because I was so busy but was thinking damn I’m looking better . As for one big muscle group per week , i still don’t be fully recovered from the previous muscle group cns burnout , I take a few days off and my motivation feels through the roof . I agree with Mike on the most* part . I try take about 2/3 days off it’s hard because most people are addicted and can’t stay away less is defo more sometimes . Maybe I been off a while so my recovery is taking longer because I’m tryna build back after a long lay off .
Seems to me it's just 2 different ways to expose muscles to stress/tension but they both lead to the same result.
As an older guy my joints are a real issue, I ask myself how many times a week do my joints bend in high frequency training vs HIT and it's hundreds of times more but of course loading the weights up in HIT puts extra load on the joints too.
I consider that during HF training I actually expose my joints to far more load compared to HIT but spread across a longer period of time.
So in total from a joint point of view HIT is a godsend for us older guys but having said that , my personal experience has been that HIT is much harder mentally and physically - much harder.
My take on this whole debate is that you should do a mixture of both and in this way your body doesn't get too used to a specific routine.
I consider that once your body gets used to your routine it has already adapted to those stresses and has no reason to adapt further hence the progressive overload reasoning to keep further stress happening but this has it's limits too, how heavy do you get to before you hit your limit?.
I was doing 220kgs presses at one point but got used to it - my joints let me know that wasn't gunna work for me and the idea of adding even more weight was ludicrous and asking for trouble at my age and this is where a few months of HIT comes in handy.
The idea of taking up to 14 days off training is frightening but when you think about it you're kinda going back in strength and restarting again forcing you to again build up from lower weight.
Everyone is the same but also very different physiologically speaking but one thing we all have in common is the need to keep changing it up to progress.
Who says you're going back down in strength?
@@jumbothompson Well it certainly feels like it, I have to really dig deep after a break, pushing weights that felt "easy" before the break now seem a lot tougher to lift - is that a loss of strength? Beats me but it certainly feels like it.....
Very well done video. Great well rounded perspective.