Need some guidance on High Intensity Training (HIT)

[Francis]

Hi guys I'm about to start High Intensity Training, not to be confused with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This as you already may know involves training muscle to failure and less about volume.

There's controversy over whether this works or not and I don't want this thread to become about whether it works or not. I'm trying it. Full stop.

What I want to know is:

1. How do you pick the starting weight?

I heard something like choose a weight you can just about do at least 6-8 reps with and then do more reps to failure

2. How do you progress each session?
a) Increase repetitions to failure - i.e. try to beat last workout by at least one rep
b) Increase weights per session
c) A mix of both

3. Some sites which post workout plans show amount of sets to try e.g:

Bodybuilding.com - High Frequency HIT! - Shannon Pittman

But why do they specify the rep count if you're working to failure?

Thanks very much for any response...much appreciated.

Cheers

Francis

[Dadonda]

If you have so many questions, how do you know you want to do HIT?

Why is a rep range specified?
Most likely 6-10 reps is specified for HIT, you choose the weight correctly so that the rep range where you fail with an all out effort.

Have I tried Hit? - of course!
Did it work? - for a short time! as does any change in training parameters :-)
Why did I try it - I believed the hype :-(
Do I do it now - no! simply put, it is not the best way to train!

Why not?
Training to failure is not necessary to stimulate the muscles for growth. Training to failure bashes the CNS so that recovery time is longer, thus so you can't train as frequently.

The more often you train and can recover from, the more progress you make. The important bit being "and can recover from".

See this Thread
http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/power-s...-hit-jedi.html

If you want to try HIT, it go for it in a positive way! I wish you sucess :-)

[ATZ]

Don't do HIT, in a word, it's rubbish.

[elmo322]

You can start off with 8 reps working up to 12. Each week take the reps up one, then drop the reps back to 8 and continue like that.

[Francis]

Thanks guys for the response.

I've now being doing HIT for about 2 weeks now and getting and it's been great so far. Will carry on for a while and go back to my Strong lifts 5x5.

I think like anything in life, don't believe the hype good or bad. Always try it for yourself and see, that's what I did. But this thread was not about whether I should try hit or not or whether it's good it was more advice on how I should do it but thanks for the feedback

Cheers guys

[dope540]

if it is working well for you, then continue

[gurry]

HIT is a funny subject - everyone has variations on a theme.

Mentzer (the grandaddy or the HIT theory) used HIT as a major way to avoid injury BUT he used Statics MAx contrations and Pyramids also not one single style in isolation.

The statics were used to avoid plateaus


Mentzer said that the rep range should be 6-8 reps for upper body
12-15 for legs.

The overlap of excersices means to dont have to train shoulders AND chest in the same week.

Increases should be made EVERY with an increase in weight reps or both.

plus you should do a full warm up regimen prior to the one work set (if you have seen the HIT video Mentzer made just before his death this gives you a great idea of what you should be doing.)
I move between 5x6 HIT Statics partials and triple drop sets. Change the routine every 8 weeks and the style of training every 3 months IMHO.

Gurry

[Francis]

Thanks for your input Gurry,

some useful information there.

Much appreciated

Francis