I started HIT training about a month ago and I have to say being a Sanitation worker this style of training fits right into my lifestyle. Being 59 years old I definitely need more recovery time and I have to say I have been seeing more definition by doing this style of training. Not looking to be a bodybuilder anymore just trying to look in shape and stay strong and injury free. I’ve done volume training for the past 40 years so this new style of training keeps me motivated. 💪
I been doing Mike Mentzer hit training for 2 years now and I love it so much more then my old routine and learning from Mike Mentzer book hits training knowledge better then I could ever understand and grew like he says and how to step by step “ hit works “ Mike Mentzer is correct wish I knew this training back then
2 years? That's strange because you commented on another Mentzer vid that you recently got his book and gained 30lbs in 3 months lol You HITers are full of shit.
I've been enjoying HIT training lately 1 to 2 full body sessions a week 1 set to absolute failure. I feel like I've made some solid gains and it fits my life and schedule
@@___whateverr ,I would agree with you if you were talking about the Dorian Yates HIT program because he incorporates more volume which is why he breaks up the body parts. I’ve been doing the Jay Vincent full body 1 set to absolute failure and I’ve been doing well on it . It’s intense and very hard if done correctly. If it gets too intense then you break it up into upper and lower . I have been doing full body for years so this fits right into my lifestyle . You just need more recovery time.
@@shamrock8561 how old are u bro? I just bought both his programs so can’t wait to try them out either home or gym version or come up with a hybrid, only thing that sucks no nutrition info etc
@@giambi7777 I’m actually 59 years old. I’ve been working out for the past 40 years , I love to keep up with the latest research and try those workouts. I come from a boxing and full contact karate background and have strength trained for about 40 years so I love intense training still at my age. Believe it or not I still work for the Sanitation Department in NY and the 20 year olds have trouble working at my pace. I know I have my limitations but I try to keep my body as strong as possible and still hit the heavy bag to maintain speed and power. I truly feel like my whole body has grown especially my upper body since doing the Jay Vincent 1 set HIT routine.
Had a second baby and the amount of time I get for the gym dramatically decreased, so I’ve been utilizing a variation of HIT and really liking it. Firstly focus on “Positive failure” and if you go past it just utilize a single set of negatives. Proper rest is the #1 concern I’ve seen, constantly wanting to do more isn’t what you need.
@@steelmongoose4956 agreed, it’s definitely what I’d call a more advanced process. You have to know your body and have the movements down. Also actually hitting failure seems more difficult if you don’t feel safe, so even asking your fellow gym goers to spot if you’re alone really can help you achieve your goal.
@@jhunscrown can you tell us ONE ethical and or moral and or logical and or selfless reason to force innocent beings against their will into this dimension of suffering and DEATH?
Im one month in HIT coming from a 5x5 (bill star) routine, which has been my main routine for 20 years, and im getting good results. I can see however, dialing back training beyond failure (which should be used sparingly Per Mentzer) because if you use those methods all the time your CNS will not be able to keep up, and youll need to decrease the frequency. The trick is to find the balance of intensity/frequency so YOU personally can make the best gains possible.
@@billyshavers7806 sure but how great will the results be? And are they sustainable? 20 working sets per muscle would do nothing for me at the point. When i was 20 i did that, it wasnt even good back then.
I got huge when I bulked last year using hit. You have to use machines a lot but it works. I think the main reason it won't work for the every day joe is because it is extremely difficult and really painful to be completely honest.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Bulking routines always require a diet that is more conducive to building muscle over fat loss. When I cut down, I was at 8% body fat. It's the unfortunate balance that takes place.
It works no roider can understand. They can do any nonsense and grow. For a natural nature can't be rushed. And thats what genius Mentzer uncovered. And delivered to lifetime natties like me. So I could meet my genetic limit what ever it was.
I did HIT with a friend for 7-8 months or so in my mid 20's. I gained little muscle. It took me a couple weeks to recover from workouts. And my strength went through the roof and into the sky. I ended up deadlifting 550 at 6'1", 185 lbs. We are all different.
@@Hellofromaustraolo you're mussels will not grow much larger once you have hit your genetic potential, the only thing that will increase is strength.
If you are having a busy lifestyle, got kids, demanding career, you won't be able to go to gym more than 3 to 4 times a week. With traveling to gym, warm up, workout, and travel back it is easily a 2 to 2.5 hours effort. This is where Dorian's method come in play. It is definitely not low volume. The feeder / ramp up sets are still racking up volume. Also doing a rest pause or drop sets are great way to rack up volume. Another point is that attempting to go to failure (form failure) is itself probably 1 rep shy of true failure. Most won't be able to generate intensity like Dorian. So I wouldn't worry about under recovery.
can you tell us ONE ethical and or moral and or logical and or selfless reason to force innocent beings(i.e. children) against their will into this dimension of suffering and DEATH?
@@incorectulpolitic Forcing? Lol. No one is forcing anyone to do anything. In fact you don't even have to workout if you don't want to: training to failure or not.
@@morecharacterswithamix9067 can you tell us ONE ethical and or moral and or logical and or selfless reason to force innocent beings(i.e. children) against their will into this dimension of suffering and DEATH?
To be fair, Mentzer mainly advocated 5-7 day rest cycles for very Advanced bodybuilders I don't think someone who's beginning or intermediate would have that problem. Furthermore there's a misunderstanding about working sets and and warm-ups. The warm-ups themselves as a increase in weight, act as conventional style working sets, before the final set which is considered the "HIT working set" that's done to failure.
No he advocated it for anyone not making any progress doing useless volume. And thats over 80% of people who walk in a gym. The problem is they want to stay the same for life. And then wonder why I'm bigger than them from one workout ever 8 days. They will never learn the golden rule YOU DONT GROW IN THE GYM..
@@fender1000100 I don't think that's true as far as Mentzer advocating this for anyone, because the original HIT had a 3-4 day split, and this was a basic beginner-intermediate program. You can find the video for it on TH-cam..
@@Mahmood42978 Not all recover at the same rate. Thats the most important fact that's not been received by the masses. And the reason millions are basically wasting their time.
I agree 100% Very well said. I have trained with HIT for 43 years. It goes along with my personality and I do enjoy training that way, but I do over do it. I have come to the same conclusion you describe in this video. You can definitely train to hard. You have to be very careful when you go past failure. If you really follow what Mike Mentzer says. He does talk about this often and does say not to take your sets past failure. Pick one or two body parts and train them with extra intensity and go past failure. He has guidelines for everything. Like rest pause never do more than three, only do negatives once a week etc...
What I’ve found works is using a hybrid between HIT and standard pyramid training. Wife, kids, work, and school limit my gym time so I’m getting in 3 days a week, hitting two muscle groups each workout. I’ll start each muscle group with a compound lift, 3-4 sets, increasing weight with each set. Then for all of my accessory lifts, I do 2 sets. A lighter warm up set for 7-10 reps, not to failure followed by a heavy set to absolute failure in the 6-10 rep range. If I get more than 10 reps then I know to increase the weight for next week.
Even i m experiencing the same. I gained 1 pound merely in ten days, feeling good. Initially i thought of giving it a shot for 3 months atleast. Hope it turn out to what i dreamt of
@@EnigmaticAnamolytry it, I do one - two sets to warm up and a full balls to the wall set. I don’t need to lie to anyone I’m just sharing my experience
No Dorian was doing too much for a natural. Listen to Mentzer the consolidation routine with 3 exercises instead of 2. Done every 8 days put 19lbs of muscle on me..And I'm 60. When most men my age are having trouble walking from all the injuries useless volume has given them. I'm training and gaining.
From my experience, I saw decent gains from HIT for 3 weeks then it stagnated. Then I started back high volume pump training and the gains are better than ever. I think switching things to heavier, low volume high intensity stuff is good to let the muscles almost “forget” about high volume while preserving them with heavy weights. That way you can keep progressing.
@@MostIySilent Being a newbie and three weeks is not even a serious try. You need at least 10 weeks to start to evaluate the routine. And "the gains slow after 3 weeks" lol. How many pounds did you gained in those 3 weeks?
oh and i only train a muscle group once a week , i come back stronger, but ive noticed if i train that muscle twice a week i get overtrained and no results fast. Every workout now is 30-40 minutes and is so fun i love it (old days back in the 90's i would train hour and a half and felt horrible, my hormones were tanked)
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Mike Mentzer, Heavy-Duty 43ver! It works very well for me! And that’s why Mike says at least iis needed 72-96hrs rest between the sessions. I do it because I love to test and bend my body to the real limit. That’s why H.I.T. Is not for everyone! Not everyone has that mentality and mindset to train to the maximum limit. Some bodybuilders are scared to reach that point of intensity. Only the strongest mentally could perform this style.
I find that high frequency training with one very heavy set (1-3 reps) near your max at the end produces the best results. Normally for bench for mass I’d do reps of 15, 12x2, 9x2, 1x3 (85%-90% 1RM) for my working sets. I find that when I don’t throw in the last heavy set of 1-3 reps in I don’t end up optimising my results. That being said, it’s important to precede that with high volume, organise recovery between workouts and expose the muscle groups to frequent stress during the week.
Also on the flip side if i wait more than 10-12 days to train a muscle again, i notice i lost some strength and size in that muscle, so once a week (every 6-8 days basically) is Perfect for me. Not saying my way is the best, its the best for me ! BTW Love your content , awesome video and channel !!
What it comes down to is are you training hard with good form using progressive resistance on basic exercises and avoiding extremes in any direction. Whether you call it hit slam pow boom don't matter. Beat the logbook, be consistent, avoid performing explosive exercises at all costs and use reasonable form, train doggedly progressively in an 8 to 12 rep range. Rest, eat a well balanced diet. That will work.
This may sound crazy but I am making my best gains ever training once or twice a week, HIT is for natties , enhanced bodybuilder can handle high volume just fine
Videos like this are needed because people hear what they want to hear not what's actually being said. Mentzer actually said to go to "technical failure" as this guy calls it. People heard "death and destruction". Mentzer only suggested the advanced beyond failure methods for maybe one set a month. Literally just one. But most of the time he said not to, even within his consolidated routine. The focus on failure isn't meant for people that "actually work for a living". They do it anyway. It was meant for the book worm, DnD, video gamer types. These people think that doing groceries is hard work. When it's clearly not. Context needs to be paid attention to.
Injury isn't caused by muscular exhaustion, but by exceeding the musculo-skeletal system's stress tolerance by excessive force caused by moving too rapidly which causes strain on the connective tissue.
Correct. And ego lifters obsessed with impressing their gym bros get plenty of injuries this way. Trying to move weights their body isn't ready for. Often without a warm up. I cant tell you how many injuries I've seen since I first stepped in a gym in 1978 as a 14 year old kid. From torn pecs. To blown knees. There's nothing more stupid than an ego lifter..
Once you eliminate enhanced, gifted and teenagers, and add university, family, long hours stressful jobs, lack of sleep, stress and average genetics it makes sense why Mentzer pushed for more rest. It wasnt about strict numbers, it was about recovery and progress. He was just being realistic regarding recovery ability.
35y, 180lbs, 6'2", 17% bodyfat. Trained my entire life on and off. Got pretty far with Starting Strength in my late 20s. Started working out seriously and consistently since January 2023 again using 'traditional' weight lifting. Switched to HIT 3 months ago, 1 workout/week, 3 exercises/workout, 1 set each: dips, pull downs, squats. Here are some lifts before and after: bench: 77lbs->100lbs (my chest always sucked, I suck at pushing) cable pull down: 110lbs->176lbs cable row: 65lbs->130lbs squat: 150lbs->220lbs Peter's advice is gold. I would advice to push beyond failure the first few weeks to get accustomed to the intensity and learning to push yourself. Very quickly though you should stop that and just go to positive failure.
Im 37 years old 6'3 108kg with a naturally bigger frame. HIT definitely works but i found that it made me bulk up heaps and gave me a body builder type physique. Ill definitely use it here and there when i feel like i need to build strength and size. But overall higher volume and more frequent training helps me get a leaner look and thats what im after. Its all about preference and i believe theres no better or worse training style as every method has it's own benefits/flaws. Its all about taking what works for you and customising for your body type and desired results.
what dorian did was pyramid style training, and he did several exercises for a bodypart to hit all angles, not 1 set on 1 exercise and go home, he did get pretty nice volume in the ramping sets for several exercises
“Picking your battles” Referring to HIT - this is absolutely the one best item to apply to your mindset regarding the decision to move to a HIT-style routine. 👏 Bravo
I really appreciate this one Peter. Took me a while to get my head/body around failure etc. I used to think that you had to end a rep literally shaking like a sh1tting dog! I now only go to the point where I can't 'actively' perform another rep. Last time I went all out full on failure was on calf raises and I was in so much pain for days afterwards it ruined my future leg workouts for a good 2 weeks! Saying this though...I think a lot of people need to be honest with themselves when it comes to failure: That's it, can't do another rep'..and you look at them and think 'Really...are you sure?'.
after 30+ years of training (i had a couple long layoffs , 4-5 yrs) but what works for me at 50 is moderate , hard honest sets (is what i call them) stopping 2-3 reps shy of failure , still a good set and prtty hard for about 6-8 sets for small muscle groups and 9-12 sets for large muscle groups, ive finally hit the sweet spot, and btw ive tried super high volume, 2 times a week and Heavy duty several times ( i hated both approaches and both made me hate the gym) i think the answer is somewhere in between. Moderate fairly hard sets but not extreme and get in 6-12 sets or so (depending on how advanced u are) and yes i can only speak for 100% naturals, ive never taken anabolics so it might be different for them
If you were taking the same steroid Dorian Yates took you could do any bodybuilding routine and see muscle gain. Even not working out but on testosterone alone will increase lean muscle mass.
I have always gone back to a year or more of HIT training to add some size and strength and it works very well for me. A lifter or bodybuilder is best served when they find the program that works for them and stays with it. Everyone is different in their response to training. The best part is that we are all in the gym doing good things for our health and our strength.
I just started and workout with mikes style and my own touch .. about 3 days a week either doing a split Monday - Wednesday or Monday Wednesday and Friday .. resting four days a week I’ve been gaining around 4 pounds a week make sure you hit your protein and get your true sleep in .. do one or two sets per lift to failure or a rep before failure .. Im happy with my progress compared to my time spent in the gym
I’ve been doing HIT for three months and gained 14 lbs by doing one warm up set and one super negative set to absolute failure with forced reps. I go to the gym 3 days a week for 1.5 hours and hit every major muscle every day and different small muscle groups as well. I have definitely modified Menser’s original ideas in his New HIT book.
Yeah, I used to do more forced reps and missing a heavy single after hitting a good one was not a huge deal, but at 62 I can't recover as well these days. Increasing intensity by decreasing rest time and training stricter has been the ticket more recently.
The best workout I've ever done, and I've done it for over ten years, is a full body workout 5 days a week, Monday through Friday. I only did 4-5 exercises, bench, curls, hammer curls, squats, for 4 sets of 6 reps. If I got all reps in all 5 days, I added weight the next week. I went from weighing 130 to 156, and benching 185 to 305 in 4 months. I have to start from scratch once or twice a year due to cystic fibrosis. I'll get my biggest and strongest, then get a severe lung infection, go into the hospital, lose all my strength, and then have to start over. But this full body workout is the best. I've also done a three day a week version, doing declining sets 25, 20, 15, 10, and 5, for each exercise, and that works just as well as the 5 day a week version.... If you're a hard gainer like me ( I can't store body fat or put on weight without lifting hard and eating like a horse because of my lung disease) I highly recommend this workout. I'm currently in my post pneumonia, start from scratch phase, down to about 128 pounds, and my bench is at 215....
Wishing you well on your recovery. I was curious- when you do the daily Full Body sets, do you take them to failure on one or two sets or just prior? I recently saw a video On the benefits of full body 5x per week backed with research so this definitely works
Same. Everyone is different. Need to find that sweet spot in the set where you dont get a sunburn (MM reference). Ive stopped doing a drop set and now just one assisted rep at the end which is perfect for me. Then 5 days rest. Getting best gains of my life.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines well im done trying to convince you. I just hope noboby follows your advice as it is obviously based in a misunderstanding of physiology.
Dorian Yates only performed one working set per exercise but he did numerous exercises on each body part. Example on back he did 6 exercises. Pullovers for pre-exhaustion Close grip pulldowns Bent over reverse grip barbell rows One arm machine rows Three quarter deadlifts Hyper extensions Approximately 9 warm up sets in total and 6 all out working sets. The thing is Dorian's 9 warm up sets will have caused hypertrophy as well as his 6 working sets so he's actually done a decent amount of volume on his back. On quads he did 3 warm up sets on leg extensions and one working set, 2 warm up sets and one working set on leg press, and just one warm up set on hack squats and one working set which is only 9 sets including warm ups which is quite low volume for such a large muscle group. He also performed 3 exercises on hamstrings with lying and standing hamstring curls followed be stiff legged deadlifts. It's interesting that he did twice as many exercises/volume on his back than any other body part, and his back just happened to be one of, if not the best in bodybuilding history.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines He only did two warm ups on the incline dumbbell curls and one working set, then one warm up on the EZ bar curls and one working set, then straight into just the one working set of machine preacher curls. So only 6 sets including warm up sets. He had great triceps but obviously they got a lot of indirect work on chest day.
Mikes sets were rest pause sets , so that one set would end up being his top set after 3 working sets prior. Also if he was asking for 8 reps you’d fail on 3, pause, do 2, 2 more and maybe 1 more. All those reps equals like 2 minutes time under tension with his tempo. That equal to 3 sets of 10 with the last 3 reps being most beneficial so your time under tension is not comparable.
Please stop saying HIT Training. The Training is already in there and Mike Mentzer was probably the most intelligent Bodybuilder ever and truly inspirational. Every training system works if done right but Mike's is just smarter than the others.
Agreed.. Mike was before his time. I heard Mike use the perfect analogy. "Compare sprinters legs to long distance runners legs." There's the answer, short duration builds muscle.
I wanna make it clear that although HIT is a good way to train, that's not exactly how I train, I have my own method, but I took some ideas from Mike Mentzer like extra recovery days for faster gains, basically you come back to the gym stronger than ever from all that extra rest, the faster you gain strength, the faster you gain muscle mass
Overall I agree with your assessment. I do think that implementing certain elements of Heavy Duty from time to time while periodization could be a good thing. Especially when dealing with techniques that bring you beyond failure, however I don't think these methods should be used routinely, or for long bouts of time. Go ahead and give it a try when you don't have time for volume work regardless if it's for one workout, or for a week, or month. However for months on end, or a year, a higher frequency and higher volume training method is best.
I think that is a pretty blank statement. I find all styles of training work you just have to find what routine works best for you. Their are al lot of factors that come into play such as what type of work you do, your age, how much recovery time you need and how much time you have to train . I’ve tried all styles for 40 years but I have to say the Jay Vincent 1 set to failure has fit into my lifestyle perfectly and it’s a tough workout that not everyone can handle. I try to follow the latest research and give it a try and then make my decision if I think it will work for me or not.
@@shamrock8561 I think your right , when your in your 20’s you can blast your body for hours it seems , fast forward 15 20 years things just ain’t the same , and it’s all about keeping cortisol in check , cutting back on the sets but keeping the intensity and longer rest days has worked beautifully !
@@wintertime331 if you can hit both slow and fast twitch fibers on each set to failure rather than do multiple sets to get the same results I choose the safer and less time in the gym alternative. Everybody responds differently so there is no one size fits all. I’ve been doing ok with the HIT training
@@shamrock8561 what's blanket about it? Maybe they could have delved into the nuances a little more but otherwise, they're spot on. Pure ignorance if you think there's such thing as "the best routine/program possible."
HIT can work . Wat i do is a primare movement first lets say chest. Flat bench 5x5 Superset (inclined dumbell press chest flyes and closed grip inclined dumbell press) 3x Then i do a bised side raises and french press 3x
I love how fitness influencers make BS blanket statements about fitness. HIT training works great for many people. I have used that style of training for 5 years now, and it's the only training method that really got me to grow. I'm a 53 year old bodybuilder and have used every training method you can think of. You just have to find what works best for you with what genetics you have. Everybody and every body is different. Genetics play the biggest role in how much/big you will grow. The best advice you can give someone is: Don't ego lift. Use good form; controlled movements with a full range of motion, bring the weight back slow, then explode the press or pull, flexing your muscle at the full extension and hold it for a second. 15-20 reps is ideal. At least 15 sets per muscle. Train to failure or near failure. Then rest a minimum of 72 hours before training that same muscle again. Do that, and you will grow. Don't forget your diet. That is as important for growth as your workout.
Hit works for me. I stopped making progress with lotsa volume and frequent sessions so I went the other way. It's like I started over. It does take a long time to recover . Right now I'm at about a week to recover .I honestly think hit is more powerbuilding than body building and that it definitely has its place , probably in sports . If somebody thinks they're going to do an hit routine at the same frequency and volume as they would for volume training they're gonna fail. 100% of the time. You can not be giving your all every set if you can do 15 sets per exercise. To genuinely push as hard as you can is a learned skill .
So then go to failure with a 6-7 rep range, have a short rest, then do a second set to failure around the 12 rep range . 😎 Yes CNS will be shot but your solution is simple. More rest days. Trust me Mike Mentzer wasn’t talking shit lol.
@@Housemusic90 need some time to adapt I can train everyday going all out to failure on each set , once did 17 days in a row then took 1 day off and then started all over again
HIT style training is the best imo. My body responds very well to it. I’ve had a pass for 16 years and have tried everything you could imagine being younger. All the Supps equipment etc. will gladly post if anyone wants to try my own version of it
You gotta experiment! Everyone wants a quick fix and for someone to give them the “secret!” You have to test different sets/re schemes for each body part because of the difference between red and white muscle fibers! You have to test exercises to see what works best for you! For example, squats are great but maybe leg presses work way better depending on your body! You need to test frequency! Maybe you have decent genetics and a 4 day a week program works! Maybe 3! Others need 5 or 6! That’s just the training! Your body is going to respond to certain foods better than others! Maybe you need more carbs than the average person! EveryBODY is different! Overall most kinds of training will get you some kind of results! Gotta find what works best for your body/goals! The key all the old heads say is to learn to listen to what your body is telling you!
4:00 False. Training to failure is only dangerous IF you're using free weights AND are in positions where you are compromised. If you train using machines nothing can fall in your foot or head. So, when training in machines, the risk of injury actually DECREASES because you're muscles are so fatigued they can barely produce force (which is what causes injury) and if you add that to moving slowly (which is what HIT advocates for) you dramatically reduce your chances of injury. The only ways you can get injured are by either dropping a weight on some body part or creating too much force somewhere in the body to the point where the tissue (in this case muscle, tendons, ligaments) can't deal with that much force, hence creating an injury. If you move slowly the acceleration of the weight is gonna be very low (a = m/f); very low acceleration, very low force. This means that if your muscle is almost fully fatigued it won't be able to create a lot of force, thus it can't produce acceleration to lift the weight to a position where it's really susceptible to injury because it CAN'T GET THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. High Intensity Training is SAFER that all the stupid shit people do at the gyms, talk to people who train and instruct using this principles. PD: There's no good reason to perform free weight exercises unless you have to be good at it for whatever particular/individual reason.
I do a Upper (monday) / Lower (friday)split with 2 sets and 2 exercises on every upper muscle to positive failure.Legs I do more volume with 3 sets and 2 exercises on each muscle.Works great after covid killed my gains and I have managed to get back in to 90-95% of my lifts before covid with less workouts and sets.Still training the same muscles twice per week is most optimal,but Im enjoying my journey on intensity and lower volume for now.😎💪
Me too. Just started about a month ago. I think your plan makes a lot of sense. I believe that is enough time for your upper body to rest and doing legs on Friday is a good idea. I hate when my legs kill me all week while I’m working Sanitation. I’m 59 and in good shape but my legs stay soar all week because I’m on my feet a lot. I’m assuming you do your first set as a warmup and second set to failure or do you do both sets per body part to failure ?
Yes.2 sets is to positive fail.So a light weight first and then the heaviest last.This workout has helped my recovery from covid-19 and also bringing back my old muscles after a heavy loss.More recovery and shorter/less minimalist workouts is a smart move if you have a very physical job and age catches a little up on the body😊💪
@@espendahl9719 ,I just do a warmup for my first exercise of the routine then 1 set to failure for every other exercise but I will try that because I will now try doing legs on a separate day so that cuts down my volume a little by not doing lower body in the same workout. I want to eventually try the Dorian Yates 2 set warmup and the 3rd set to failure. You have to split the body parts up into 3 workouts though. I’ll give it a shot one day but I’m really liking the 2 day a week workouts for now with more recovery time.
I have done dorians Blood and guts style on a 3 day Split.that was very good routine for a while,but the recovery was begining to be Harder and Harder for each week,so I stopped.I have mostly trained full body 2-3 times per week or Upper/Lower 2-4 times per week for many Years now With Great success😎💪
I have tried both and have had so much better gains training with a little higher reps, working up to around 10 reps to failure, then doing a few sets of around 25 up to even 50 reps with really light weight. Focusing on connection #1. Been a hard gainer all of my life. When I do HIT training it feels good to push weight but my joints hurt and I am so much more fatigued. You deserve more subscribers.
Yes You are right. high intensity didn't work for me I was getting fatigued too much feeling I'd die when I finished it, felt too sleepy at home. Hearing you today I did a high volume (27 set) workout no not all sets are failure and like old schoolers I targetted a pump (I did reach failure on many sets but didn't push for more reps?) . Today I am feeling a lot better!!
HIT TRAINING has worked wonders for my health and strength , been doing it now for a year full body 1 set to absolute failure - I workout 2x some times 3 x every 7 days - I will be training this way for the rest of my life
@@marko-182 I do 2 excersizes per body part although I some times just do leg press only and go as heavy as I can sometimes I only make 6 reps , I also don't rest at all between excersizes
@@dtm4071 I'm absolutely not trying to look like a bodybuilder those big ripped guys are on some type of PEDS /gear to look like that- I look good I feel good I feel strong and healthy and I have great energy - and my arms grew about an inch .. with the hint of a vein pretty respectable for a 63 yr old - I'm sticking with HIT ~
Dude you say HIT will leave you weaker and more burned out due to lack of recovery (5 days) while at the same time saying that 1 set per body part is a minimalistic approach where you wont train the same body part for almost a month. Which is it?
Hey Pete I love what you do for us- I noticed I haven’t seen much from you in regards to lower body- please give us some good lower body material in the near future. I appreciate you bro!💪
As Lee Haney once said , ‘stimulate, don’t annihilate’. Perfectly sums up on how you should train. 1-3 RIR, 10-20 sets weekly depending on muscle group. Recovery is what matters and a lot of people miss out on it by training insane and going to failure on each and every exercise. I see so many people do this and asking for a spot on every chest pressing exercise they do. Ridiculous
Absolutely agree. People who don’t make progress need to push hard and train to failure to actually understand how hard they should be working. But training too hard for too long can be just as bad. More chances of injury, mental stress, regression. Experienced all three. But there is still a time and place to really push yourself and train to failure (safely)
I agree I've tried both but my best results are when I leave some in the tank and can stimulate it again in the week. Failure training can work but only briefly. Then it zaps your cns. Then you're weaker and not stimulating anything. You can still go lower volume for a small training block with heavier weight but then periodize it and back off to a lighter more moderate weight for more reps. Even doing lower volume dont go to failure.
When starting out, you should do multiple sets and train more frequently in order to learn the technique of the exercise, especially if it is a technical movement pattern. This will help to learn the skill of the exercise itself. From there, you can begin to learn how to produce more intensity in each set and go to positive failure (where you can't perform another rep in good form). As intensity increases and you can better target the muscle through improved skill, you will create a deeper inroad requiring LESS sets & frequency with more recovery required. Eventually, you may be able to go to positive failure, and that may be enough of a stimulus to tell the body to build more muscle in a single set. Note, I personally do 1 main set, then 1-2 rest pause after to make sure I fatigue the target muscle. Now, how many times a week you do this will be based on your personal ability to recover and how great of an inroad you create on the muscles. If you create a massive inroad (a seasoned HIT lifter), you may only train once every 3-5 days, maybe even as far as once every 7 days. The reason you need more rest is your body has to first recover from the damage of the workout, THEN build muscle once that is repaired which takes time. Most people will train too often not allowing the body to recover. Note that bodybuilders are on enhancers that allow for faster recovery on top of already having excellent body-building genetics. Also, remember that the final few reps before and up to positive failure are the only ones that really matter for the muscle-building stimulus. If you stop short of it, your body won't try and create more muscle mass as it can already move that resistance with the current muscle you have. This is true no matter how many sets you perform. This is why I recommend positive failure for the sets you perform to make sure you get the stimulus created to build more muscle vs 2 reps in reserve. Now, HIT is tough for one main reason, most people will mentally stop way before positive failure. Without a coach, it takes a lot of time to develop that mental skill to push far enough for growth. Genetics also plays a role, but the average person isn't close enough to failure for the stimulus to build more muscle. I don't think you need to do set extenders like drop-sets and such (no additional benefit) you just need to get to a point where you can't complete a concentric contraction with the resistance in good form. This is getting long, but some great resources on this are Mr. America Heart and Jay Vincent who have their own TH-cam channels and train with HIT with excellent results. Other sources are Dr. Doug McGuff and Drew Baye.
I've been reading up on exercise science lately and it's just astounding how many variations work. Everything from 52 sets per muscle group to literally one heavy single per week is "optimal" according to one criteria or another. My takeaway is that you shouldn't be afraid to try different things. Pay attention to how you feel and track your numbers. Maybe you need a little HIT now, a little volume later on, maybe your cardio is giving out before your muscles and you need a little more conditioning now, maybe you hit a plateau and really need to focus on strength for a while. Be adaptable, don't be dogmatic.
@@aunertia it’s my own routine I created using HIT principles from Arthur Jones, Mike Mentzer, and Dorian Yates. It’s as follows: Monday: back, rear delts, and bis 1. (Pre-exhaust) straight-arm pull down 1 set of 8-10 reps then Gironda Cable Rows 1 set of 6-8 reps. 2. Lat pull down 1 set of 8-12 reps. 3. Seated Machine or cable row 1 set of 6-8 reps. 4. Cable shrugs 1 set of 8-12 reps 5. Bent over cable laterals 1 set of 8-10 reps 6. Preacher curls 1 set of 8-12 reps 7. Seated machine curls 1 set of 8-10 reps 8. 1 set of ab work Wednesday: legs 1. (Pre exhaust) leg extensions 1 set of 8-12 reps then machine squats 1 set of 6-8 reps. 2. (Pre exhaust) leg curls 1 set of 8-12 reps then one leg press (each leg) 1 set of 12 reps 3. (Super set) machine hip abduction 1 set of 12 reps then machine hip adduction 1 set of 12 reps 4. Machine Toe press 1 set of 12-15 reps 5.. 1 set of ab work Friday: chest, front and side delts, tris 1. (Pre exhaust) Machine flys 1 set of 12 reps then machine chest press 1 set of 6-8 reps. 2. (Pre exhaust) cable crossover 1 set of 10-12 reps then machine incline press 1 set of 6-8 reps 3. Dips or machine press downs 1 set of 8-10 reps 4. (Super set) side lateral 1 set 8 reps then front lateral 1 set of 8 reps then (pre exhaust) machine overhead press 1 set 6-8 reps 5. Tricep push downs 1 set of 8 reps 6. 1 set of an work -Start every workout with 5-10inutes of Elliptical to warm up. -EVERY rep should be performed as follows: a. Using ZERO momentum or swing, pull or push the weight with the focus muscle slowly from the bottom position. The lifting phase of the two should be about 3-4 seconds. b. Stop at the “top”. Lower in the sane manner. The key is using ZERO momentum. Push or pull through the motion slow and steady. You’ll have to swallow ego a bit and drastically cut back on the weight you use but you’ll be surprised at the gains. Before you know it you’ll be lifting more weight than ever. You’ll size will blow up too. If it worked for me as a hard gainer all my life, it should work for anyone
@@llg3pe sorry, can you explain Pre exhaust? You do 1 set of 12 reps fly rest 1-2 min and then compound bench press 6-8 reps for ex or after fly immediately go bench press?
Peace, I was a big proponent of volume and frequency.. now I'm mixing it up using HIT and volume and frequency... the biggest thing is rest...the CNS can get burned out either way. The one set that mentzer proposed makes sense to me due to the fact that we work for the stimulus and gtfo of the gym. Maybe first set warmup then an intermediate set then a set thats amrap for the last one. Ill keep yall posted on my progress and good vid as always.
@@giambi7777 peace. It's going well. Less volume and I've been told "you look fuller" so I feel pretty good about it. I stopped with protein shakes and actually ate more protein and look very similar. I weigh a lil more too
You don’t know if you have any reps left in the tank unless you go to do a rep and can’t complete a full one. Dr. McGuff said it well in that what we need to do is stop trying to mimic what bodybuilders do in order to look like them. He said it’s the body type that builds the sport and not the sport that builds the body type. So big ripped dudes can do any training method and it will work for them because their body is built for lifting.
You should study Mike Mentzer a little closer befor making a video about his techniques. You said, don't quote me on it. Mike and those who follow his techniques don't add past failure until needed or once a plateau is hit. I feel more burnt out being at the gym everyday. Less chance for injury with less time under the bar. No reason to keep training under failure. The body won't adapt without failure.
I do a variation of HIT, with great gains. 3 sets per exercise, with 15-25 seconds pause between sets. Which minimalizes the junk volume of the first reps in an ordinary set. I also extend the third set, and make it a drop set. I do this for full upper body, every 3-4 days. I do legs in the off days. But I don’t train legs very hard. I don’t want huge bulky legs.
Very great explanation! And very important clarifying points to help people understand the nuance. I’m glad this wasn’t just another “this method sucks” video!
Several studies have shown every set and rep scheme works as long as youre hitting momentary muscular failure… if you have strict form and proper time under load as long as again youre reaching momentary muscular failure the hypertrophic results for the individual are same. And any work after that had no tangible benefit. Same goes for rep tempo and heavy vs light weight. The only difference was on 1RM and that isnt really a good indicator or difference given the higher volume group are literally practicing the movement more… so basically ANYTHING works as long as youre reaching true failure. This is all for hypertrophy goals of course not if you goal is to get better at a particular lift
I think the way HIT works is on a body part split. You have enough time for the peripheral nervous system to recover and you give your joints and tendons time to recover. The central nervous system recovers in 2 hours
Question….. if you are training, keeping a log and your reps and weights are going up each week does that mean what you are doing is working and you will build muscle?
for me hit training works hitting multiple parts to failure then taking 4-5 days off and doing lower body and some upper isolation to failure then taking off another 3 days and repeat inbetween i do two cardio session. i have been stacking muscle this way as there is far more time to recover. I have noticed one thing though the rest days need to be fully utilised and the eating must be on point on those days.
So true. Don't train to failure, train to success. The last rep is a grinder that you succeed in getting. You can also rest pause down to nothing every now and then. But succeed.
Im a total beginner but i believ youre missing a key point when talking about the legends like Mike and Yates etc., i.,e, the PEDs they were talking. That definitely helped a LOT with recovery.
I love your channel but I’m also learning that Mentzer (and Arthur Jones) make a lot of sense. He continually discusses the rational of training just as hard as necessary to stimulate muscle growth and no more which leads to overtraining. Mentzer says that if you annihilate your targeted muscle in a single set by placing intense stress on it, it is not necessary to do any more. Now, if you consistently leave RIR it will take you longer to fatigue that muscle to the point you would have with one incredibly intense set. He was sensitive to the negative affects of overtraining. If 2 sets is better than 1 than 4 sets is better than 2 and so on infinitum. I’d like to see the research on multiple sets vs single sets because according to Mentzer, it doesn’t show a significant difference. He also advocated for not living in the gym because you felt you had to. If that’s your choice and you enjoy the social aspect fine but it shouldn’t take 2 hours to create damage to the body that forces a response. HDT makes a lot of sense and I’ve been seeing gains. Knowing that the one set I have is ALL I have to hurt my muscles, I push past and don’t leave much in the tank if anything. There is no reason it won’t work for you unless you don’t or can’t take the pain necessary to elicit the response. Now, maybe you are PLENTY capable of taking the pain and do so for brutal 2 hour workouts. While laudable, it’s not smart because you’re not allowing your body to recover. All that being said, PD’s change the game and allow you to train harder and longer but that all still might not be necessary. Imagine finding out on your deathbed that you could have achieved the same results in 20% of the time. That’s a lot of years spent in a gym instead of living life. Peter looks amazing so it’s hard to argue but so did Mentzer. And, if I can look like either by working out once every 5 days, I’ll take it. I don’t agree that Mentzer’s plans were crazy as stated but great video to get an important conversation going. 34 years of lifting and I’m trying to release myself of the dogma of the fitness magazines whose sole purpose is to sell product as Mentzer pointed out. I’d have loved to see a debate between him and Peter on this subject. RIP Mike. Gone too soon.
Recently started an UL split after doing a bro split for awhile and I really like how I’m forced to choose quality above quantity unless I wanna be in the gym for multiple hours. Since I’m doing 4-6 body parts per day, I gotta focus on the most effective exercises for me, rather than throwing a bunch of exercises at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Just did ur 5 day mass gainer program man. Thanks for the program. I mean, I went to the gym for the first time. I went before but that was for sport related stuff. Now, it's different, while I still do sport related workouts. But, i really felt great man. Thank you.
Been doing HIT with a modified version ideal routine, I have gotten great gains from it and it’s been eye opening to me. Idk if it just works for me but it’s pretty valid imo
Ive been training for 20 years yoga martial arts calithetics power lifting and armwrestling training. With a goal of staying cut and strong. I definitely achieved those goals. Recently ive been experimenting with Mike Mentzers Hit advice. The contractions i feel from long holds and negative training are incredible. Maybe its not for everyone still its worth trying.
QUESTION: TWO DIFFERENT MENTZERS IN REGARDS TO FREQUENCY? I think it's worth noting there seems to be a difference between the HIT training Mentzer proposed in the 1970s and early 1980s-when he was still competing and before his mental breakdown-and the training he advocated in the 1990s and early 2000s. A difference between the young and the old Mentzer, if you like. While the common theme of low volume and gruesome intensity techniques (like pre-exhaust supersets, forced reps, and rest-pause) remains core in both, there is a stark contrast on how he treated frequency in each period. The "young Mike", perhaps still informed by his own training, advocated training each muscle group TWICE per week (you can find his old videos on TH-cam prescribing just that). While the "old Mike", vocally resentful about the injustices in his past and completely out of shape, began to promote more controversial ideas about training each muscle group only once every two weeks (!) and the like. And most people seem to resort to the programs of this second version of Mentzer and treat them as if stemming from his glorious days, which is just not the case. I think Mentzer became his own enemy in the end, which is a shame. He started espousing more extreme, stereotyped thoughts based on his former tenets, but in an exaggerated way-fueled perhaps by his desire for being recognized as an authority and vindicating his past. This view makes sense if you correlate the changes in his ideas with his trajectory in life. But it's just my opinion, of course. I'm sure many would disagree.
Agree 100% ppl do not know what failure is, I disagree with your brief take on Mike Mentzers consolidated workout. This particular workout was designed for a bodybuilder who is season and a veteran in HIT workouts. To the point where the intensity of the workout are heavy and so taxing that 4-9 days rest is needed for progress . If a person continues progressing using HIT training there’s going to be a point where their loads are heavy the stress is so great the central nervous system where you need about 4-9 days to recover
The second best advice I got and see in the gym is that most people don't come close to failure, and that is why they don't grow. You need to force the muscle to grow, and failure is how you do that. Listen to your body it will tell you how long you need to rest after a workout. No one will know your body better than you so when other say do this routine for best results you can surly try it but just because someone else found results from that training split and rest days does not mean I will.
I've been doing HIT training going to technical failure on each set with 4-5 days recovery. I've been experiencing the most solid gains ever.
Can u specify each session what muscles and sets and reps on each pls
Same. Massive strength gains on Mentzers Heavy Duty program.
@@HadolfItler1889 too bad they didnt accept u in the art academy bro
@@DarkoFitCoach😂😂
@@JulioSanchez-qm4fl haha u have same humor as me bruv
I started HIT training about a month ago and I have to say being a Sanitation worker this style of training fits right into my lifestyle. Being 59 years old I definitely need more recovery time and I have to say I have been seeing more definition by doing this style of training. Not looking to be a bodybuilder anymore just trying to look in shape and stay strong and injury free. I’ve done volume training for the past 40 years so this new style of training keeps me motivated. 💪
Same with me. Getting best results past 4 months doing HIT and thats after training 15 years doing everything else.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines MAN What ia wrong with you, Arnold pay you :)))?
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines HIT is the best, loser
Congratulations for you
@@ramtrucks721If it was the best, everybody would he doing that. But i could be wrong too.
HIT works for me, put down the phone, stop the bs and train. Most can't get into this zone.
FAX
100%
Hawshit. 🐎 💩
Truth
Ya you do your 2 sets and go home for the week 😂 lets see your physique
I been doing Mike Mentzer hit training for 2 years now and I love it so much more then my old routine and learning from Mike Mentzer book hits training knowledge better then I could ever understand and grew like he says and how to step by step “ hit works “ Mike Mentzer is correct wish I knew this training back then
2 years? That's strange because you commented on another Mentzer vid that you recently got his book and gained 30lbs in 3 months lol You HITers are full of shit.
How much muscle did you gain in 2 years? How much do you restbetween each workout? 💪
@@godzoo18because they all got injured 🤣
I've been enjoying HIT training lately 1 to 2 full body sessions a week 1 set to absolute failure. I feel like I've made some solid gains and it fits my life and schedule
Me too. I love it
you shouldn't do fullbody on hit
@@___whateverr ,I would agree with you if you were talking about the Dorian Yates HIT program because he incorporates more volume which is why he breaks up the body parts. I’ve been doing the Jay Vincent full body 1 set to absolute failure and I’ve been doing well on it . It’s intense and very hard if done correctly. If it gets too intense then you break it up into upper and lower . I have been doing full body for years so this fits right into my lifestyle . You just need more recovery time.
@@shamrock8561 how old are u bro? I just bought both his programs so can’t wait to try them out either home or gym version or come up with a hybrid, only thing that sucks no nutrition info etc
@@giambi7777 I’m actually 59 years old. I’ve been working out for the past 40 years , I love to keep up with the latest research and try those workouts. I come from a boxing and full contact karate background and have strength trained for about 40 years so I love intense training still at my age. Believe it or not I still work for the Sanitation Department in NY and the 20 year olds have trouble working at my pace. I know I have my limitations but I try to keep my body as strong as possible and still hit the heavy bag to maintain speed and power. I truly feel like my whole body has grown especially my upper body since doing the Jay Vincent 1 set HIT routine.
61, HIT training, see constant gains…love it ! Great for avoiding injuries too !
Same here at 62.
Same here at 61. Its the best thing that Ive ever done.
Had a second baby and the amount of time I get for the gym dramatically decreased, so I’ve been utilizing a variation of HIT and really liking it. Firstly focus on “Positive failure” and if you go past it just utilize a single set of negatives. Proper rest is the #1 concern I’ve seen, constantly wanting to do more isn’t what you need.
Sometimes to be consistent that's what you got to so. Great work
I’m with you. I’ve had success with HIT principles, but Pete makes great points about the different versions of “failure”.
@@steelmongoose4956 agreed, it’s definitely what I’d call a more advanced process. You have to know your body and have the movements down. Also actually hitting failure seems more difficult if you don’t feel safe, so even asking your fellow gym goers to spot if you’re alone really can help you achieve your goal.
@@jhunscrown can you tell us ONE ethical and or moral and or logical and or selfless reason to force innocent beings against their will into this dimension of suffering and DEATH?
@@incorectulpolitic I don’t think you or weak people should. Enjoy your Nintendo switch lol.
Hit training build me more muscle in 3 months than volume training in 5 years
Im one month in HIT coming from a 5x5 (bill star) routine, which has been my main routine for 20 years, and im getting good results. I can see however, dialing back training beyond failure (which should be used sparingly Per Mentzer) because if you use those methods all the time your CNS will not be able to keep up, and youll need to decrease the frequency. The trick is to find the balance of intensity/frequency so YOU personally can make the best gains possible.
Anytime you've been training a certain way for a long time (exercises, sets,reps etc...) And change to something new you'll have results
@@billyshavers7806 sure but how great will the results be? And are they sustainable? 20 working sets per muscle would do nothing for me at the point. When i was 20 i did that, it wasnt even good back then.
Jay Cutler said he never trains to failure. As soon as he can no longer perform the next clean rep he stops.
Jay Cutler is a genetic freak who spent more on drugs than 70% of Americans earn a year. Do you understandand? He is the last person to ask..
Thats the way to train. Going to failure only fatigues the cns system while under working the muscles. Hit sucks.
this makes me 100% want to go all out on heavy duty
I got huge when I bulked last year using hit. You have to use machines a lot but it works. I think the main reason it won't work for the every day joe is because it is extremely difficult and really painful to be completely honest.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Bulking routines always require a diet that is more conducive to building muscle over fat loss. When I cut down, I was at 8% body fat. It's the unfortunate balance that takes place.
I love hit it's challenging but very brief.
It works no roider can understand. They can do any nonsense and grow. For a natural nature can't be rushed. And thats what genius Mentzer uncovered. And delivered to lifetime natties like me. So I could meet my genetic limit what ever it was.
I’ve been doing HIT for 2 months and I’m blowing up 😂
Reps, weight, cardio a couple times a week. I look and feel better than I ever have
I did HIT with a friend for 7-8 months or so in my mid 20's. I gained little muscle. It took me a couple weeks to recover from workouts. And my strength went through the roof and into the sky. I ended up deadlifting 550 at 6'1", 185 lbs. We are all different.
I’ve noticed his routine is much more strength gaining than muscle gaining
@@Hellofromaustraolohe often says strength comes before muscle gain.
@@Hellofromaustraolo you're mussels will not grow much larger once you have hit your genetic potential, the only thing that will increase is strength.
Another important point about DC TRAINING is that frequency is relatively higher, as you train each muscle group every 4 or 5 days
If you are having a busy lifestyle, got kids, demanding career, you won't be able to go to gym more than 3 to 4 times a week. With traveling to gym, warm up, workout, and travel back it is easily a 2 to 2.5 hours effort. This is where Dorian's method come in play. It is definitely not low volume. The feeder / ramp up sets are still racking up volume. Also doing a rest pause or drop sets are great way to rack up volume. Another point is that attempting to go to failure (form failure) is itself probably 1 rep shy of true failure. Most won't be able to generate intensity like Dorian. So I wouldn't worry about under recovery.
can you tell us ONE ethical and or moral and or logical and or selfless reason to force innocent beings(i.e. children) against their will into this dimension of suffering and DEATH?
@@incorectulpolitic Forcing? Lol. No one is forcing anyone to do anything. In fact you don't even have to workout if you don't want to: training to failure or not.
@@morecharacterswithamix9067 can you tell us ONE ethical and or moral and or logical and or selfless reason to force innocent beings(i.e. children) against their will into this dimension of suffering and DEATH?
@@incorectulpolitic You're a child or someone else? Why don't you off yourself to be consistent, you misanthrope?
I love high volume medium intensity that works for me I am not forced I to itt! @@incorectulpolitic
To be fair, Mentzer mainly advocated 5-7 day rest cycles for very Advanced bodybuilders I don't think someone who's beginning or intermediate would have that problem. Furthermore there's a misunderstanding about working sets and and warm-ups. The warm-ups themselves as a increase in weight, act as conventional style working sets, before the final set which is considered the "HIT working set" that's done to failure.
Correct. For us mortal folks, 3 days off. Then as we advance, add another day off once we cease making gains.
No he advocated it for anyone not making any progress doing useless volume. And thats over 80% of people who walk in a gym. The problem is they want to stay the same for life. And then wonder why I'm bigger than them from one workout ever 8 days. They will never learn the golden rule YOU DONT GROW IN THE GYM..
@@fender1000100 I don't think that's true as far as Mentzer advocating this for anyone, because the original HIT had a 3-4 day split, and this was a basic beginner-intermediate program. You can find the video for it on TH-cam..
@@Mahmood42978
Not all recover at the same rate. Thats the most important fact that's not been received by the masses. And the reason millions are basically wasting their time.
I agree 100% Very well said.
I have trained with HIT for 43 years.
It goes along with my personality and I do enjoy training that way, but I do over do it. I have come to the same conclusion you describe in this video. You can definitely train to hard. You have to be very careful when you go past failure. If you really follow what Mike Mentzer says. He does talk about this often and does say not to take your sets past failure. Pick one or two body parts and train them with extra intensity and go past failure. He has guidelines for everything. Like rest pause never do more than three, only do negatives once a week etc...
What I’ve found works is using a hybrid between HIT and standard pyramid training. Wife, kids, work, and school limit my gym time so I’m getting in 3 days a week, hitting two muscle groups each workout. I’ll start each muscle group with a compound lift, 3-4 sets, increasing weight with each set. Then for all of my accessory lifts, I do 2 sets. A lighter warm up set for 7-10 reps, not to failure followed by a heavy set to absolute failure in the 6-10 rep range. If I get more than 10 reps then I know to increase the weight for next week.
Follow Dorian Yates program. Been doing it for 2 weeks and haven’t seen gains like this before. Currently bulking and even feel tighter.
Even i m experiencing the same. I gained 1 pound merely in ten days, feeling good. Initially i thought of giving it a shot for 3 months atleast. Hope it turn out to what i dreamt of
Two weeks?? Lmao why are you lying to yourself and all these good people??
@@EnigmaticAnamolytry it, I do one - two sets to warm up and a full balls to the wall set. I don’t need to lie to anyone I’m just sharing my experience
No Dorian was doing too much for a natural. Listen to Mentzer the consolidation routine with 3 exercises instead of 2. Done every 8 days put 19lbs of muscle on me..And I'm 60. When most men my age are having trouble walking from all the injuries useless volume has given them. I'm training and gaining.
From my experience, I saw decent gains from HIT for 3 weeks then it stagnated. Then I started back high volume pump training and the gains are better than ever. I think switching things to heavier, low volume high intensity stuff is good to let the muscles almost “forget” about high volume while preserving them with heavy weights. That way you can keep progressing.
Low volume hit can serve as a deload from high volumes. It lets you recover and come back strong 💪🏻
I've noticed it slows down after the first couple weeks myself (noobie lifter btw)
@@deanfraser419 never really tried it but I think that scientifically there are a lot better training systems than HIT.
@@deanfraser419 I'm not sure what side of the argument you are on but I don't think HIT is good or bad just different.
@@MostIySilent Being a newbie and three weeks is not even a serious try. You need at least 10 weeks to start to evaluate the routine. And "the gains slow after 3 weeks" lol. How many pounds did you gained in those 3 weeks?
oh and i only train a muscle group once a week , i come back stronger, but ive noticed if i train that muscle twice a week i get overtrained and no results fast. Every workout now is 30-40 minutes and is so fun i love it (old days back in the 90's i would train hour and a half and felt horrible, my hormones were tanked)
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Mentzer only recommends going beyond failure in certain instances, I follow a mentzer style routine but I rest for 3 days between each workout.
Mike Mentzer, Heavy-Duty 43ver! It works very well for me! And that’s why Mike says at least iis needed 72-96hrs rest between the sessions. I do it because I love to test and bend my body to the real limit. That’s why H.I.T. Is not for everyone! Not everyone has that mentality and mindset to train to the maximum limit. Some bodybuilders are scared to reach that point of intensity. Only the strongest mentally could perform this style.
What's 43ver?
@@binchili forever
I find that high frequency training with one very heavy set (1-3 reps) near your max at the end produces the best results. Normally for bench for mass I’d do reps of 15, 12x2, 9x2, 1x3 (85%-90% 1RM) for my working sets. I find that when I don’t throw in the last heavy set of 1-3 reps in I don’t end up optimising my results. That being said, it’s important to precede that with high volume, organise recovery between workouts and expose the muscle groups to frequent stress during the week.
How you,re going with It? How often do you work a muscle group per week?
Also on the flip side if i wait more than 10-12 days to train a muscle again, i notice i lost some strength and size in that muscle, so once a week (every 6-8 days basically) is Perfect for me. Not saying my way is the best, its the best for me ! BTW Love your content , awesome video and channel !!
What it comes down to is are you training hard with good form using progressive resistance on basic exercises and avoiding extremes in any direction. Whether you call it hit slam pow boom don't matter.
Beat the logbook, be consistent, avoid performing explosive exercises at all costs and use reasonable form, train doggedly progressively in an 8 to 12 rep range. Rest, eat a well balanced diet. That will work.
This may sound crazy but I am making my best gains ever training once or twice a week, HIT is for natties , enhanced bodybuilder can handle high volume just fine
Videos like this are needed because people hear what they want to hear not what's actually being said. Mentzer actually said to go to "technical failure" as this guy calls it. People heard "death and destruction". Mentzer only suggested the advanced beyond failure methods for maybe one set a month. Literally just one. But most of the time he said not to, even within his consolidated routine. The focus on failure isn't meant for people that "actually work for a living". They do it anyway. It was meant for the book worm, DnD, video gamer types. These people think that doing groceries is hard work. When it's clearly not.
Context needs to be paid attention to.
Injury isn't caused by muscular exhaustion, but by exceeding the musculo-skeletal system's stress tolerance by excessive force caused by moving too rapidly which causes strain on the connective tissue.
Boom. *I"d add or structural integrity
Correct. And ego lifters obsessed with impressing their gym bros get plenty of injuries this way. Trying to move weights their body isn't ready for. Often without a warm up. I cant tell you how many injuries I've seen since I first stepped in a gym in 1978 as a 14 year old kid. From torn pecs. To blown knees.
There's nothing more stupid than an ego lifter..
Once you eliminate enhanced, gifted and teenagers, and add university, family, long hours stressful jobs, lack of sleep, stress and average genetics it makes sense why Mentzer pushed for more rest. It wasnt about strict numbers, it was about recovery and progress. He was just being realistic regarding recovery ability.
Exactly! Rest being the key ingredient ! Finding the sweet spot in regards to recovery yet maintaining consistency.
35y, 180lbs, 6'2", 17% bodyfat. Trained my entire life on and off. Got pretty far with Starting Strength in my late 20s. Started working out seriously and consistently since January 2023 again using 'traditional' weight lifting. Switched to HIT 3 months ago, 1 workout/week, 3 exercises/workout, 1 set each: dips, pull downs, squats. Here are some lifts before and after:
bench: 77lbs->100lbs (my chest always sucked, I suck at pushing)
cable pull down: 110lbs->176lbs
cable row: 65lbs->130lbs
squat: 150lbs->220lbs
Peter's advice is gold. I would advice to push beyond failure the first few weeks to get accustomed to the intensity and learning to push yourself. Very quickly though you should stop that and just go to positive failure.
Im 37 years old 6'3 108kg with a naturally bigger frame. HIT definitely works but i found that it made me bulk up heaps and gave me a body builder type physique. Ill definitely use it here and there when i feel like i need to build strength and size. But overall higher volume and more frequent training helps me get a leaner look and thats what im after. Its all about preference and i believe theres no better or worse training style as every method has it's own benefits/flaws. Its all about taking what works for you and customising for your body type and desired results.
High intensity works for me . Been training 35 years. So tried everything. I train every 3 days 😁
So train full body, rest 2 days and train again, rinse and repeat 🤔
I train once every 8 days. And made amazing progress from just 3 exercises.
what dorian did was pyramid style training, and he did several exercises for a bodypart to hit all angles, not 1 set on 1 exercise and go home, he did get pretty nice volume in the ramping sets for several exercises
He went up in weight as he got loose. He might have given 70% on those sets at the most.
He also tore muscles n was force to retire also had horrible abs.
@@dannyisjuan4706 yea
You can look up his exact training and see he did not do traditional pyramid training.
@@ryanrogers8211 he did.
“Picking your battles”
Referring to HIT - this is absolutely the one best item to apply to your mindset regarding the decision to move to a HIT-style routine.
👏 Bravo
I really appreciate this one Peter. Took me a while to get my head/body around failure etc. I used to think that you had to end a rep literally shaking like a sh1tting dog! I now only go to the point where I can't 'actively' perform another rep. Last time I went all out full on failure was on calf raises and I was in so much pain for days afterwards it ruined my future leg workouts for a good 2 weeks! Saying this though...I think a lot of people need to be honest with themselves when it comes to failure: That's it, can't do another rep'..and you look at them and think 'Really...are you sure?'.
So u shouldn't shit ur self?
@@binchili all depends on what you're wearing at the time. Legging it to the toilet clutching yourself counts as HIT cardio in my book!
@@alprobert be careful,Hit cardio can be Shitty to ur gains :)
@@binchili I know...I was joking. I hardly do any cardio tbh. I do a half arsed 3 mins on the bikes when I get to the gym! 😃
Generally it isn’t advised to work through failure on leg workouts, only upper body and arms
after 30+ years of training (i had a couple long layoffs , 4-5 yrs) but what works for me at 50 is moderate , hard honest sets (is what i call them) stopping 2-3 reps shy of failure , still a good set and prtty hard for about 6-8 sets for small muscle groups and 9-12 sets for large muscle groups, ive finally hit the sweet spot, and btw ive tried super high volume, 2 times a week and Heavy duty several times ( i hated both approaches and both made me hate the gym) i think the answer is somewhere in between. Moderate fairly hard sets but not extreme and get in 6-12 sets or so (depending on how advanced u are) and yes i can only speak for 100% naturals, ive never taken anabolics so it might be different for them
When do you take rest days?
Tell Dorian yates that, he won 8 Olympia, how many have you won ,dont knock until you've won something.
very well said 👍
Mike Mentzer' protocols are a gem and i defo feel and see the results.
Dorian won 6 Olympias and he trained with significantly more volume than Mentzer recommended.
If you were taking the same steroid Dorian Yates took you could do any bodybuilding routine and see muscle gain. Even not working out but on testosterone alone will increase lean muscle mass.
Good point that a lot of lifters don’t know the meaning of training to failure and beyond failure.
Majority don’t unfortunately and it makes a huge difference
I have always gone back to a year or more of HIT training to add some size and strength and it works very well for me. A lifter or bodybuilder is best served when they find the program that works for them and stays with it. Everyone is different in their response to training. The best part is that we are all in the gym doing good things for our health and our strength.
I just started and workout with mikes style and my own touch .. about 3 days a week either doing a split Monday - Wednesday or Monday Wednesday and Friday .. resting four days a week I’ve been gaining around 4 pounds a week make sure you hit your protein and get your true sleep in .. do one or two sets per lift to failure or a rep before failure .. Im happy with my progress compared to my time spent in the gym
I’ve been doing HIT for three months and gained 14 lbs by doing one warm up set and one super negative set to absolute failure with forced reps. I go to the gym 3 days a week for 1.5 hours and hit every major muscle every day and different small muscle groups as well. I have definitely modified Menser’s original ideas in his New HIT book.
Can you give us your workout? I’d like to give it a go .
Can you give a full details on your work out?
He died
Yeah, I used to do more forced reps and missing a heavy single after hitting a good one was not a huge deal, but at 62 I can't recover as well these days. Increasing intensity by decreasing rest time and training stricter has been the ticket more recently.
The best workout I've ever done, and I've done it for over ten years, is a full body workout 5 days a week, Monday through Friday. I only did 4-5 exercises, bench, curls, hammer curls, squats, for 4 sets of 6 reps. If I got all reps in all 5 days, I added weight the next week. I went from weighing 130 to 156, and benching 185 to 305 in 4 months. I have to start from scratch once or twice a year due to cystic fibrosis. I'll get my biggest and strongest, then get a severe lung infection, go into the hospital, lose all my strength, and then have to start over. But this full body workout is the best. I've also done a three day a week version, doing declining sets 25, 20, 15, 10, and 5, for each exercise, and that works just as well as the 5 day a week version.... If you're a hard gainer like me ( I can't store body fat or put on weight without lifting hard and eating like a horse because of my lung disease) I highly recommend this workout. I'm currently in my post pneumonia, start from scratch phase, down to about 128 pounds, and my bench is at 215....
Wishing you well on your recovery. I was curious- when you do the daily Full Body sets, do you take them to failure on one or two sets or just prior? I recently saw a video
On the benefits of full body 5x per week backed with research so this definitely works
@@13Ambro Thank you, and no, I go straight into my workout sets just like I described. That's been the best routine I've ever used.
Failure takes practice. It took me a good 3 weeks to find my proper failure threshold. My motto, high intensity fallowed by complete recovery!
Same. Everyone is different. Need to find that sweet spot in the set where you dont get a sunburn (MM reference). Ive stopped doing a drop set and now just one assisted rep at the end which is perfect for me. Then 5 days rest. Getting best gains of my life.
@@ThaDonJsuan Yes! It’s crazy! No more 5-6 days in the gym and 2 hour session’s. I’m 53 and building muscle faster than I did 10 years ago!
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines its a fact. One good set every 7 days is optimal. Any more and you just a broscience chump.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines tell that to mike mentzer, dorian yates, or countless other giants who did it.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines well im done trying to convince you. I just hope noboby follows your advice as it is obviously based in a misunderstanding of physiology.
Dorian Yates only performed one working set per exercise but he did numerous exercises on each body part. Example on back he did 6 exercises.
Pullovers for pre-exhaustion
Close grip pulldowns
Bent over reverse grip barbell rows
One arm machine rows
Three quarter deadlifts
Hyper extensions
Approximately 9 warm up sets in total and 6 all out working sets. The thing is Dorian's 9 warm up sets will have caused hypertrophy as well as his 6 working sets so he's actually done a decent amount of volume on his back. On quads he did 3 warm up sets on leg extensions and one working set, 2 warm up sets and one working set on leg press, and just one warm up set on hack squats and one working set which is only 9 sets including warm ups which is quite low volume for such a large muscle group. He also performed 3 exercises on hamstrings with lying and standing hamstring curls followed be stiff legged deadlifts. It's interesting that he did twice as many exercises/volume on his back than any other body part, and his back just happened to be one of, if not the best in bodybuilding history.
It takes more exercises to hit back efficiently than any other body part by far. His back was insane.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines He only did two warm ups on the incline dumbbell curls and one working set, then one warm up on the EZ bar curls and one working set, then straight into just the one working set of machine preacher curls. So only 6 sets including warm up sets. He had great triceps but obviously they got a lot of indirect work on chest day.
mentzer initially advocated going beyond failure but later changed his stance, stating that sets should only be taken to failure and not beyond.
Mikes sets were rest pause sets , so that one set would end up being his top set after 3 working sets prior. Also if he was asking for 8 reps you’d fail on 3, pause, do 2, 2 more and maybe 1 more. All those reps equals like 2 minutes time under tension with his tempo. That equal to 3 sets of 10 with the last 3 reps being most beneficial so your time under tension is not comparable.
Spot on
Please stop saying HIT Training. The Training is already in there and Mike Mentzer was probably the most intelligent Bodybuilder ever and truly inspirational.
Every training system works if done right but Mike's is just smarter than the others.
Agreed.. Mike was before his time. I heard Mike use the perfect analogy. "Compare sprinters legs to long distance runners legs." There's the answer, short duration builds muscle.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines What is your definition of small? The people I know, don't think I am.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines OK, now you have given yourself away...
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines you're welcome
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines you seem like a nice and intelligent dude
I wanna make it clear that although HIT is a good way to train, that's not exactly how I train, I have my own method, but I took some ideas from Mike Mentzer like extra recovery days for faster gains, basically you come back to the gym stronger than ever from all that extra rest, the faster you gain strength, the faster you gain muscle mass
Overall I agree with your assessment. I do think that implementing certain elements of Heavy Duty from time to time while periodization could be a good thing. Especially when dealing with techniques that bring you beyond failure, however I don't think these methods should be used routinely, or for long bouts of time. Go ahead and give it a try when you don't have time for volume work regardless if it's for one workout, or for a week, or month. However for months on end, or a year, a higher frequency and higher volume training method is best.
I think that is a pretty blank statement. I find all styles of training work you just have to find what routine works best for you. Their are al lot of factors that come into play such as what type of work you do, your age, how much recovery time you need and how much time you have to train . I’ve tried all styles for 40 years but I have to say the Jay Vincent 1 set to failure has fit into my lifestyle perfectly and it’s a tough workout that not everyone can handle. I try to follow the latest research and give it a try and then make my decision if I think it will work for me or not.
@@shamrock8561 I think your right , when your in your 20’s you can blast your body for hours it seems , fast forward 15 20 years things just ain’t the same , and it’s all about keeping cortisol in check , cutting back on the sets but keeping the intensity and longer rest days has worked beautifully !
@@wintertime331 if you can hit both slow and fast twitch fibers on each set to failure rather than do multiple sets to get the same results I choose the safer and less time in the gym alternative. Everybody responds differently so there is no one size fits all. I’ve been doing ok with the HIT training
@@shamrock8561 agreed👍
@@shamrock8561 what's blanket about it? Maybe they could have delved into the nuances a little more but otherwise, they're spot on. Pure ignorance if you think there's such thing as "the best routine/program possible."
Yates only trained with one working set per exercise, he did several warm up sets. And he wasn't sycophantic to Mentzer.
HIT can work .
Wat i do is a primare movement first lets say chest.
Flat bench 5x5
Superset (inclined dumbell press chest flyes and closed grip inclined dumbell press) 3x
Then i do a bised side raises and french press 3x
I love how fitness influencers make BS blanket statements about fitness.
HIT training works great for many people. I have used that style of training for 5 years now, and it's the only training method that really got me to grow.
I'm a 53 year old bodybuilder and have used every training method you can think of. You just have to find what works best for you with what genetics you have.
Everybody and every body is different. Genetics play the biggest role in how much/big you will grow.
The best advice you can give someone is: Don't ego lift. Use good form; controlled movements with a full range of motion, bring the weight back slow, then explode the press or pull, flexing your muscle at the full extension and hold it for a second. 15-20 reps is ideal. At least 15 sets per muscle. Train to failure or near failure. Then rest a minimum of 72 hours before training that same muscle again. Do that, and you will grow. Don't forget your diet. That is as important for growth as your workout.
Hit works for me. I stopped making progress with lotsa volume and frequent sessions so I went the other way. It's like I started over. It does take a long time to recover . Right now I'm at about a week to recover .I honestly think hit is more powerbuilding than body building and that it definitely has its place , probably in sports . If somebody thinks they're going to do an hit routine at the same frequency and volume as they would for volume training they're gonna fail. 100% of the time. You can not be giving your all every set if you can do 15 sets per exercise. To genuinely push as hard as you can is a learned skill .
100% agree. I like to go beyond faillure but my CNS doesn't. It's all about recovery in the end
So then go to failure with a 6-7 rep range, have a short rest, then do a second set to failure around the 12 rep range . 😎
Yes CNS will be shot but your solution is simple. More rest days.
Trust me Mike Mentzer wasn’t talking shit lol.
Do it more often your cns will adapt to it
@@promo130 after 2 months it was still the same
@@Housemusic90 need some time to adapt
I can train everyday going all out to failure on each set , once did 17 days in a row then took 1 day off and then started all over again
I definitely recommend adding some drop sets and rest pause and static holds into your workout … and extra resting days !
HIT style training is the best imo. My body responds very well to it. I’ve had a pass for 16 years and have tried everything you could imagine being younger. All the Supps equipment etc. will gladly post if anyone wants to try my own version of it
You gotta experiment! Everyone wants a quick fix and for someone to give them the “secret!” You have to test different sets/re schemes for each body part because of the difference between red and white muscle fibers! You have to test exercises to see what works best for you! For example, squats are great but maybe leg presses work way better depending on your body! You need to test frequency! Maybe you have decent genetics and a 4 day a week program works! Maybe 3! Others need 5 or 6! That’s just the training! Your body is going to respond to certain foods better than others! Maybe you need more carbs than the average person! EveryBODY is different! Overall most kinds of training will get you some kind of results! Gotta find what works best for your body/goals! The key all the old heads say is to learn to listen to what your body is telling you!
4:00
False.
Training to failure is only dangerous IF you're using free weights AND are in positions where you are compromised. If you train using machines nothing can fall in your foot or head.
So, when training in machines, the risk of injury actually DECREASES because you're muscles are so fatigued they can barely produce force (which is what causes injury) and if you add that to moving slowly (which is what HIT advocates for) you dramatically reduce your chances of injury.
The only ways you can get injured are by either dropping a weight on some body part or creating too much force somewhere in the body to the point where the tissue (in this case muscle, tendons, ligaments) can't deal with that much force, hence creating an injury. If you move slowly the acceleration of the weight is gonna be very low (a = m/f); very low acceleration, very low force. This means that if your muscle is almost fully fatigued it won't be able to create a lot of force, thus it can't produce acceleration to lift the weight to a position where it's really susceptible to injury because it CAN'T GET THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
High Intensity Training is SAFER that all the stupid shit people do at the gyms, talk to people who train and instruct using this principles.
PD: There's no good reason to perform free weight exercises unless you have to be good at it for whatever particular/individual reason.
I do a Upper (monday) / Lower (friday)split with 2 sets and 2 exercises on every upper muscle to positive failure.Legs I do more volume with 3 sets and 2 exercises on each muscle.Works great after covid killed my gains and I have managed to get back in to 90-95% of my lifts before covid with less workouts and sets.Still training the same muscles twice per week is most optimal,but Im enjoying my journey on intensity and lower volume for now.😎💪
Me too. Just started about a month ago. I think your plan makes a lot of sense. I believe that is enough time for your upper body to rest and doing legs on Friday is a good idea. I hate when my legs kill me all week while I’m working Sanitation. I’m 59 and in good shape but my legs stay soar all week because I’m on my feet a lot. I’m assuming you do your first set as a warmup and second set to failure or do you do both sets per body part to failure ?
Yes.2 sets is to positive fail.So a light weight first and then the heaviest last.This workout has helped my recovery from covid-19 and also bringing back my old muscles after a heavy loss.More recovery and shorter/less minimalist workouts is a smart move if you have a very physical job and age catches a little up on the body😊💪
@@espendahl9719 ,I just do a warmup for my first exercise of the routine then 1 set to failure for every other exercise but I will try that because I will now try doing legs on a separate day so that cuts down my volume a little by not doing lower body in the same workout. I want to eventually try the Dorian Yates 2 set warmup and the 3rd set to failure. You have to split the body parts up into 3 workouts though. I’ll give it a shot one day but I’m really liking the 2 day a week workouts for now with more recovery time.
I have done dorians Blood and guts style on a 3 day Split.that was very good routine for a while,but the recovery was begining to be Harder and Harder for each week,so I stopped.I have mostly trained full body 2-3 times per week or Upper/Lower 2-4 times per week for many Years now With Great success😎💪
I've done both: six days a week high volume low intensity, 3 days a week high intensity low volume. They both work.
I have tried both and have had so much better gains training with a little higher reps, working up to around 10 reps to failure, then doing a few sets of around 25 up to even 50 reps with really light weight. Focusing on connection #1. Been a hard gainer all of my life. When I do HIT training it feels good to push weight but my joints hurt and I am so much more fatigued. You deserve more subscribers.
Yes You are right. high intensity didn't work for me I was getting fatigued too much feeling I'd die when I finished it, felt too sleepy at home.
Hearing you today I did a high volume (27 set) workout no not all sets are failure and like old schoolers I targetted a pump (I did reach failure on many sets but didn't push for more reps?) . Today I am feeling a lot better!!
Likewise 5 to 6 days of training in a week can lead to overtraining and sore throats/illness.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines yes which means they are not doing high intensity training !
HIT TRAINING has worked wonders for my health and strength , been doing it now for a year full body 1 set to absolute failure - I workout 2x some times 3 x every 7 days - I will be training this way for the rest of my life
How many exercises per workout?
@@marko-182 I do 2 excersizes per body part although I some times just do leg press only and go as heavy as I can sometimes I only make 6 reps , I also don't rest at all between excersizes
That's typical of HIT - strength but not much size. Look at Jay Vincent's clients, Hilarious.
@@dtm4071 I'm absolutely not trying to look like a bodybuilder those big ripped guys are on some type of PEDS /gear to look like that- I look good I feel good I feel strong and healthy and I have great energy - and my arms grew about an inch .. with the hint of a vein pretty respectable for a 63 yr old - I'm sticking with HIT ~
If my results are typical Jay's clients are lucky to have found him !
Dude you say HIT will leave you weaker and more burned out due to lack of recovery (5 days) while at the same time saying that 1 set per body part is a minimalistic approach where you wont train the same body part for almost a month. Which is it?
Hey Pete I love what you do for us- I noticed I haven’t seen much from you in regards to lower body- please give us some good lower body material in the near future. I appreciate you bro!💪
Thanks Ross. I have some leg content scheduled for tomorrow. Be on the lookout for that 💪🏻
Bros don't do legz
Bros don’t let bros skip leg day
As Lee Haney once said , ‘stimulate, don’t annihilate’. Perfectly sums up on how you should train. 1-3 RIR, 10-20 sets weekly depending on muscle group. Recovery is what matters and a lot of people miss out on it by training insane and going to failure on each and every exercise. I see so many people do this and asking for a spot on every chest pressing exercise they do. Ridiculous
90% in the gym cant even proper stimulate let alone annihilate
@@promo130 Yeah the vast amount of people I see are in no danger of training too hard
Absolutely agree. People who don’t make progress need to push hard and train to failure to actually understand how hard they should be working. But training too hard for too long can be just as bad. More chances of injury, mental stress, regression. Experienced all three. But there is still a time and place to really push yourself and train to failure (safely)
@Peter Brandtman lol
I agree I've tried both but my best results are when I leave some in the tank and can stimulate it again in the week. Failure training can work but only briefly. Then it zaps your cns. Then you're weaker and not stimulating anything. You can still go lower volume for a small training block with heavier weight but then periodize it and back off to a lighter more moderate weight for more reps. Even doing lower volume dont go to failure.
When starting out, you should do multiple sets and train more frequently in order to learn the technique of the exercise, especially if it is a technical movement pattern. This will help to learn the skill of the exercise itself.
From there, you can begin to learn how to produce more intensity in each set and go to positive failure (where you can't perform another rep in good form).
As intensity increases and you can better target the muscle through improved skill, you will create a deeper inroad requiring LESS sets & frequency with more recovery required.
Eventually, you may be able to go to positive failure, and that may be enough of a stimulus to tell the body to build more muscle in a single set. Note, I personally do 1 main set, then 1-2 rest pause after to make sure I fatigue the target muscle.
Now, how many times a week you do this will be based on your personal ability to recover and how great of an inroad you create on the muscles. If you create a massive inroad (a seasoned HIT lifter), you may only train once every 3-5 days, maybe even as far as once every 7 days.
The reason you need more rest is your body has to first recover from the damage of the workout, THEN build muscle once that is repaired which takes time. Most people will train too often not allowing the body to recover. Note that bodybuilders are on enhancers that allow for faster recovery on top of already having excellent body-building genetics.
Also, remember that the final few reps before and up to positive failure are the only ones that really matter for the muscle-building stimulus. If you stop short of it, your body won't try and create more muscle mass as it can already move that resistance with the current muscle you have. This is true no matter how many sets you perform. This is why I recommend positive failure for the sets you perform to make sure you get the stimulus created to build more muscle vs 2 reps in reserve.
Now, HIT is tough for one main reason, most people will mentally stop way before positive failure. Without a coach, it takes a lot of time to develop that mental skill to push far enough for growth. Genetics also plays a role, but the average person isn't close enough to failure for the stimulus to build more muscle. I don't think you need to do set extenders like drop-sets and such (no additional benefit) you just need to get to a point where you can't complete a concentric contraction with the resistance in good form.
This is getting long, but some great resources on this are Mr. America Heart and Jay Vincent who have their own TH-cam channels and train with HIT with excellent results. Other sources are Dr. Doug McGuff and Drew Baye.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines Here's one. th-cam.com/video/9KrxJ-ijEuA/w-d-xo.html
Hey bro I m doing same training can we talk on insta?
Do you do rest pause on every muscle group every workout?
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines HIT hater
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines That’s your opinion to which you are entitled to
I've been reading up on exercise science lately and it's just astounding how many variations work. Everything from 52 sets per muscle group to literally one heavy single per week is "optimal" according to one criteria or another. My takeaway is that you shouldn't be afraid to try different things. Pay attention to how you feel and track your numbers. Maybe you need a little HIT now, a little volume later on, maybe your cardio is giving out before your muscles and you need a little more conditioning now, maybe you hit a plateau and really need to focus on strength for a while. Be adaptable, don't be dogmatic.
I’ve been using a HIT routine 3x week for a few years now. Best gains I’ve ever made.
Can you please link or show the routine?
@@aunertia it’s my own routine I created using HIT principles from Arthur Jones, Mike Mentzer, and Dorian Yates. It’s as follows:
Monday: back, rear delts, and bis
1. (Pre-exhaust) straight-arm pull down 1 set of 8-10 reps then Gironda Cable Rows 1 set of 6-8 reps.
2. Lat pull down 1 set of 8-12 reps.
3. Seated Machine or cable row 1 set of 6-8 reps.
4. Cable shrugs 1 set of 8-12 reps
5. Bent over cable laterals 1 set of 8-10 reps
6. Preacher curls 1 set of 8-12 reps
7. Seated machine curls 1 set of 8-10 reps
8. 1 set of ab work
Wednesday: legs
1. (Pre exhaust) leg extensions 1 set of 8-12 reps then machine squats 1 set of 6-8 reps.
2. (Pre exhaust) leg curls 1 set of 8-12 reps then one leg press (each leg) 1 set of 12 reps
3. (Super set) machine hip abduction 1 set of 12 reps then machine hip adduction 1 set of 12 reps
4. Machine Toe press 1 set of 12-15 reps
5.. 1 set of ab work
Friday: chest, front and side delts, tris
1. (Pre exhaust) Machine flys 1 set of 12 reps then machine chest press 1 set of 6-8 reps.
2. (Pre exhaust) cable crossover 1 set of 10-12 reps then machine incline press 1 set of 6-8 reps
3. Dips or machine press downs 1 set of 8-10 reps
4. (Super set) side lateral 1 set 8 reps then front lateral 1 set of 8 reps then (pre exhaust) machine overhead press 1 set 6-8 reps
5. Tricep push downs 1 set of 8 reps
6. 1 set of an work
-Start every workout with 5-10inutes of Elliptical to warm up.
-EVERY rep should be performed as follows:
a. Using ZERO momentum or swing, pull or push the weight with the focus muscle slowly from the bottom position. The lifting phase of the two should be about 3-4 seconds.
b. Stop at the “top”. Lower in the sane manner.
The key is using ZERO momentum. Push or pull through the motion slow and steady. You’ll have to swallow ego a bit and drastically cut back on the weight you use but you’ll be surprised at the gains. Before you know it you’ll be lifting more weight than ever. You’ll size will blow up too.
If it worked for me as a hard gainer all my life, it should work for anyone
@@llg3pe thank you for this!
@@llg3pe sorry, can you explain Pre exhaust? You do 1 set of 12 reps fly rest 1-2 min and then compound bench press 6-8 reps for ex or after fly immediately go bench press?
@@aunertiayou’re welcome
Peace, I was a big proponent of volume and frequency.. now I'm mixing it up using HIT and volume and frequency... the biggest thing is rest...the CNS can get burned out either way. The one set that mentzer proposed makes sense to me due to the fact that we work for the stimulus and gtfo of the gym. Maybe first set warmup then an intermediate set then a set thats amrap for the last one. Ill keep yall posted on my progress and good vid as always.
How’s it going?
@@giambi7777 peace. It's going well. Less volume and I've been told "you look fuller" so I feel pretty good about it. I stopped with protein shakes and actually ate more protein and look very similar. I weigh a lil more too
As Mike said you can't train harder and longer both.specially natural trainees
You don’t know if you have any reps left in the tank unless you go to do a rep and can’t complete a full one. Dr. McGuff said it well in that what we need to do is stop trying to mimic what bodybuilders do in order to look like them. He said it’s the body type that builds the sport and not the sport that builds the body type. So big ripped dudes can do any training method and it will work for them because their body is built for lifting.
You should study Mike Mentzer a little closer befor making a video about his techniques. You said, don't quote me on it. Mike and those who follow his techniques don't add past failure until needed or once a plateau is hit. I feel more burnt out being at the gym everyday. Less chance for injury with less time under the bar. No reason to keep training under failure. The body won't adapt without failure.
I do a variation of HIT, with great gains. 3 sets per exercise, with 15-25 seconds pause between sets. Which minimalizes the junk volume of the first reps in an ordinary set. I also extend the third set, and make it a drop set. I do this for full upper body, every 3-4 days. I do legs in the off days. But I don’t train legs very hard. I don’t want huge bulky legs.
Very great explanation! And very important clarifying points to help people understand the nuance. I’m glad this wasn’t just another “this method sucks” video!
Whoa! It works but fatigues the peripheral nervous system. That’s why you can’t do it frequently, space it out and use your style in between.
I came into this video rolling my eyes; however, this video is incredibly educational and, in my opinion, absolutely right. Thank you for the video.
Should I listen to Dorian or some TH-cam jabroni? I’ll listen to Dorian.
Several studies have shown every set and rep scheme works as long as youre hitting momentary muscular failure… if you have strict form and proper time under load as long as again youre reaching momentary muscular failure the hypertrophic results for the individual are same. And any work after that had no tangible benefit. Same goes for rep tempo and heavy vs light weight. The only difference was on 1RM and that isnt really a good indicator or difference given the higher volume group are literally practicing the movement more… so basically ANYTHING works as long as youre reaching true failure. This is all for hypertrophy goals of course not if you goal is to get better at a particular lift
@@oldskoolbodybuildingroutin7178 needed vs optimal. Not my opinion
I think the way HIT works is on a body part split. You have enough time for the peripheral nervous system to recover and you give your joints and tendons time to recover. The central nervous system recovers in 2 hours
Sorry but that's not correct you CNS is working on splits and will not recover good
@@josephperkins4857 look it up. The peripheral nervous system is what takes the longest to recover. Days sometimes. The CNS recovers in hours.
Question….. if you are training, keeping a log and your reps and weights are going up each week does that mean what you are doing is working and you will build muscle?
for me hit training works hitting multiple parts to failure then taking 4-5 days off and doing lower body and some upper isolation to failure then taking off another 3 days and repeat inbetween i do two cardio session. i have been stacking muscle this way as there is far more time to recover. I have noticed one thing though the rest days need to be fully utilised and the eating must be on point on those days.
So true. Don't train to failure, train to success. The last rep is a grinder that you succeed in getting. You can also rest pause down to nothing every now and then. But succeed.
Im a total beginner but i believ youre missing a key point when talking about the legends like Mike and Yates etc., i.,e, the PEDs they were talking.
That definitely helped a LOT with recovery.
I just got done with a 4mo period of HIT (3 days on a PPL split) and my gains were tremendous;
Only thing, Deloads are a must.
What did the workouts look like?
@@shrexyboi1850 1) Chest.Shoulders.Triceps, 2) Back.Biceps.RearDelts., 3) Legs
@@M3Besh I mean the excercises you did
@@shrexyboi1850 Isolation before compound focusing on preexhaustion;
Fly-C Press-Lat Raise-Sh Press-Tricep (machine) Ext-Tricep Pushdown;
1) 12r @ 30%, 2) 8r @ 80%
Warmup gets eliminated toward later exercises since those muscles are already preexhausted by earlier exercises.
@Old Skool Bodybuilding Routines I have spirit ;)
I love your channel but I’m also learning that Mentzer (and Arthur Jones) make a lot of sense. He continually discusses the rational of training just as hard as necessary to stimulate muscle growth and no more which leads to overtraining.
Mentzer says that if you annihilate your targeted muscle in a single set by placing intense stress on it, it is not necessary to do any more. Now, if you consistently leave RIR it will take you longer to fatigue that muscle to the point you would have with one incredibly intense set.
He was sensitive to the negative affects of overtraining. If 2 sets is better than 1 than 4 sets is better than 2 and so on infinitum.
I’d like to see the research on multiple sets vs single sets because according to Mentzer, it doesn’t show a significant difference.
He also advocated for not living in the gym because you felt you had to. If that’s your choice and you enjoy the social aspect fine but it shouldn’t take 2 hours to create damage to the body that forces a response.
HDT makes a lot of sense and I’ve been seeing gains. Knowing that the one set I have is ALL I have to hurt my muscles, I push past and don’t leave much in the tank if anything.
There is no reason it won’t work for you unless you don’t or can’t take the pain necessary to elicit the response. Now, maybe you are PLENTY capable of taking the pain and do so for brutal 2 hour workouts. While laudable, it’s not smart because you’re not allowing your body to recover.
All that being said, PD’s change the game and allow you to train harder and longer but that all still might not be necessary.
Imagine finding out on your deathbed that you could have achieved the same results in 20% of the time. That’s a lot of years spent in a gym instead of living life.
Peter looks amazing so it’s hard to argue but so did Mentzer. And, if I can look like either by working out once every 5 days, I’ll take it.
I don’t agree that Mentzer’s plans were crazy as stated but great video to get an important conversation going. 34 years of lifting and I’m trying to release myself of the dogma of the fitness magazines whose sole purpose is to sell product as Mentzer pointed out. I’d have loved to see a debate between him and Peter on this subject. RIP Mike. Gone too soon.
Recently started an UL split after doing a bro split for awhile and I really like how I’m forced to choose quality above quantity unless I wanna be in the gym for multiple hours. Since I’m doing 4-6 body parts per day, I gotta focus on the most effective exercises for me, rather than throwing a bunch of exercises at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Just did ur 5 day mass gainer program man. Thanks for the program. I mean, I went to the gym for the first time. I went before but that was for sport related stuff. Now, it's different, while I still do sport related workouts. But, i really felt great man. Thank you.
Been doing HIT with a modified version ideal routine, I have gotten great gains from it and it’s been eye opening to me. Idk if it just works for me but it’s pretty valid imo
I've been watching and listening to many of Mikes original lectures and interviews recently. He advocated for technical failure point.
Ive been training for 20 years yoga martial arts calithetics power lifting and armwrestling training. With a goal of staying cut and strong. I definitely achieved those goals. Recently ive been experimenting with Mike Mentzers Hit advice. The contractions i feel from long holds and negative training are incredible. Maybe its not for everyone still its worth trying.
QUESTION: TWO DIFFERENT MENTZERS IN REGARDS TO FREQUENCY?
I think it's worth noting there seems to be a difference between the HIT training Mentzer proposed in the 1970s and early 1980s-when he was still competing and before his mental breakdown-and the training he advocated in the 1990s and early 2000s. A difference between the young and the old Mentzer, if you like.
While the common theme of low volume and gruesome intensity techniques (like pre-exhaust supersets, forced reps, and rest-pause) remains core in both, there is a stark contrast on how he treated frequency in each period.
The "young Mike", perhaps still informed by his own training, advocated training each muscle group TWICE per week (you can find his old videos on TH-cam prescribing just that).
While the "old Mike", vocally resentful about the injustices in his past and completely out of shape, began to promote more controversial ideas about training each muscle group only once every two weeks (!) and the like. And most people seem to resort to the programs of this second version of Mentzer and treat them as if stemming from his glorious days, which is just not the case.
I think Mentzer became his own enemy in the end, which is a shame. He started espousing more extreme, stereotyped thoughts based on his former tenets, but in an exaggerated way-fueled perhaps by his desire for being recognized as an authority and vindicating his past.
This view makes sense if you correlate the changes in his ideas with his trajectory in life. But it's just my opinion, of course. I'm sure many would disagree.
Agree 100% ppl do not know what failure is, I disagree with your brief take on Mike Mentzers consolidated workout. This particular workout was designed for a bodybuilder who is season and a veteran in HIT workouts. To the point where the intensity of the workout are heavy and so taxing that 4-9 days rest is needed for progress . If a person continues progressing using HIT training there’s going to be a point where their loads are heavy the stress is so great the central nervous system where you need about 4-9 days to recover
The second best advice I got and see in the gym is that most people don't come close to failure, and that is why they don't grow. You need to force the muscle to grow, and failure is how you do that. Listen to your body it will tell you how long you need to rest after a workout. No one will know your body better than you so when other say do this routine for best results you can surly try it but just because someone else found results from that training split and rest days does not mean I will.
Another HIT Jedi.