KISS HIT Hello
I guess the article should be inverted to say...
"Hello!" you are missing something important...
in order to successfully apply the theory of "High Intensity Training...
Keep it simple stupid!" The Theory of High Intensity Training or simply an understanding of anaerobic training is not hard, it is actually very simple.
However, those athletes trying to think through it and apply it have the hardest time trying to do so.
The reason for this is that they are trying to explain the electronics of the radio while having no knowledge of transistors, instead of focusing on the elements necessary in order to listen to the desired station...
which is...
the tuning knob.
In order to apply the principle properly for uninterrupted progress there are a few points and very few, that need to be understood.
It all goes back to what Arthur Jones said...
"Everything of any value related to exercise can be stated in less than a thousand words, can, in fact, be fairly well covered in only a few words, as follows: Train hard, Train briefly, Train infrequently, and always remember that your final results will primarily be a consequence of genetics" -Arthur Jones Now Mike Mentzer expounded on this quote many years later while talking with me and said...
"Bill...
Back then (when I was competing), I was training less than everyone one else by comparison, but even then I was doing too much...
I know now with certainty that you should never reach a point of over training.
If you manage this logically and your workouts are intense, brief and infrequent ...
you, me...
anyone should reach their genetic potential within a year or at most two!" - Mike Mentzer So what is it that we are missing? What are we complicating? I get questions quite frequently regarding how many reps, 3 or 20, how much rest, 4 days or 10 days, what type of cadence, 4-2-4 or 2-1-3? All these questions are irrelevant if you understand the theory.
RECOVERY ABILITY Since the body has limited resources of recover ability (i.
e.
the average person has the ability to increase strength by some 300% while only increasing the ability to recover by approximately 50%), any exercise performed over what is minimally required to stimulate a response is not only not necessary but a negative, overtraining! It takes away from the body's reserves to grow.
As one gets stronger, this is more of a threat and must be managed properly.
SETS The logical place to start is one.
There is no reason to stimulate, then...
do it again and again and again...
and then come back and do it in an hour or in a couple.
The body only knows that there is a stress imposed on it and it is going to react.
It has been threatened and in being the adaptive organism that it is, it puts in place the proper mechanisms to be ready next time it is threatened...
muscle.
It turns on the growth mechanism.
If the process is not allowed to complete you will backslide.
REPS Whether you do one rep or 20, every rep up until the last almost impossible rep that turns on the growth mechanism of the body is a warm up rep.
There is certainly question as to the higher reps being less stressful in terms of the joints or tendons, due to the lighter weight being employed, but there is no question as to both being intense, whether high or low.
Some athletes have outgrown high reps due to certain cardio pulmonary issues...
especially an athlete who is advanced and because of the intense contraction of his large and developed muscles, the amount of waste accumulated is a hindrance, limiting the intensity of the contraction.
In this case, other High Intensity Techniques such as rest pause can be used to an advantage managed properly.
REST How long does it take for the body to recover? Yes, I did say the body! When you train a body part it is not just the body part that has to recover.
The body recovers systemically, as a whole.
When you train intensely you dig a ditch.
The first thing the body does is compensate for the exhaustive effects of the workout...
it fills the ditch.
Then, once the ditch is filled, if there is enough left over (i.
e.
you have not done too many sets or trained again before the process was completed), it will overcompensate by laying down muscle, building a mountain.
It is an adaptive response.
Muscle does not grow in the gym! It grows while you rest.
Even though you may have trained your back or chest and they feel fine, don't be fooled.
That does not mean that WALLA...
you have gained muscle.
The body takes days to recover in most cases.
How many days? I find in general that the body, depending on the stress, intensity and volume of a particular workout, takes a minimum of four days to two weeks to recover.
Remember, as one gets bigger and stronger, the ability to recover gets thinner and thinner due to the inroad produced.
An 18 inch arm contracting maximally takes more from the body than a 13 inch arm.
Have you ever noticed after a three week layoff or even a six week layoff you come back even stronger? One client of mine was performing three sets every 8-10 days...
not much! However, over a 17 week period he gained 40 pounds of muscle.
Figure our how many workouts that is and while you are doing so figure that each workout lasted 15-25 minutes.
That is approximately 14 workouts or less than 7 hours of training to gain 40 pounds of muscle.
Most confused bodybuilders spend that time in the gym per week with little or no results.
CONFUSION The biggest thing that confuses athletes is that they are trying to apply a social economic principal to anaerobic training; through a filter of emotion...
namely, more is better.
Most can get themselves to train as little as 3 days a week for an hour or less, but because of the ego, the belief system, molded from years of reading muscle magazines and listening to the supplement companies, few can logic through the mine fields.
KISS This Keep It Simple Stupid statement has been around for some time but its application is paramount in managing High Intensity Training.
1.
Perform only one set per exercise.
Your workouts should be BRIEF, no more than 4-5 sets per workout, lasting no more than 25 minutes or less.
Less is better.
2.
The last impossible rep turns on the growth mechanism, train to failure.
High reps are less stressful and low reps are more stressful.
The last rep to failure, high or low is INTENSE and thus turns on the growth mechanism of the body.
3.
Do not use momentum! Swinging and using poor exercise style does nothing but decrease the intensity of contraction, not to mention, create a dangerous situation for injury to occur.
4.
As you get stronger insert a rest day or two, if you are tired and have rested four days and on the fourth day you feel recovered, give yourself another one or two days, you will be stronger and produce better gains.
This INFREQUENT training will insure overcompensation.
Get in touch with your body.
5.
Certain exercises that involve large muscles or groups are better in TURNING ON THE GROWTH MECHANISM in the entire body than others...
example: deadlifts, squats, rows 6.
Eat for muscle.
With the proper CEMENT available, your gains will be forthcoming.
Don't expect to make huge progress while on a very low calorie diet.
This is for the natural athlete.
Those who use recovery and growth inducing drugs will have a different experience.
So don't forget to KISS with HIT! AND...
Don't forget to brush J.
"Hello!" you are missing something important...
in order to successfully apply the theory of "High Intensity Training...
Keep it simple stupid!" The Theory of High Intensity Training or simply an understanding of anaerobic training is not hard, it is actually very simple.
However, those athletes trying to think through it and apply it have the hardest time trying to do so.
The reason for this is that they are trying to explain the electronics of the radio while having no knowledge of transistors, instead of focusing on the elements necessary in order to listen to the desired station...
which is...
the tuning knob.
In order to apply the principle properly for uninterrupted progress there are a few points and very few, that need to be understood.
It all goes back to what Arthur Jones said...
"Everything of any value related to exercise can be stated in less than a thousand words, can, in fact, be fairly well covered in only a few words, as follows: Train hard, Train briefly, Train infrequently, and always remember that your final results will primarily be a consequence of genetics" -Arthur Jones Now Mike Mentzer expounded on this quote many years later while talking with me and said...
"Bill...
Back then (when I was competing), I was training less than everyone one else by comparison, but even then I was doing too much...
I know now with certainty that you should never reach a point of over training.
If you manage this logically and your workouts are intense, brief and infrequent ...
you, me...
anyone should reach their genetic potential within a year or at most two!" - Mike Mentzer So what is it that we are missing? What are we complicating? I get questions quite frequently regarding how many reps, 3 or 20, how much rest, 4 days or 10 days, what type of cadence, 4-2-4 or 2-1-3? All these questions are irrelevant if you understand the theory.
RECOVERY ABILITY Since the body has limited resources of recover ability (i.
e.
the average person has the ability to increase strength by some 300% while only increasing the ability to recover by approximately 50%), any exercise performed over what is minimally required to stimulate a response is not only not necessary but a negative, overtraining! It takes away from the body's reserves to grow.
As one gets stronger, this is more of a threat and must be managed properly.
SETS The logical place to start is one.
There is no reason to stimulate, then...
do it again and again and again...
and then come back and do it in an hour or in a couple.
The body only knows that there is a stress imposed on it and it is going to react.
It has been threatened and in being the adaptive organism that it is, it puts in place the proper mechanisms to be ready next time it is threatened...
muscle.
It turns on the growth mechanism.
If the process is not allowed to complete you will backslide.
REPS Whether you do one rep or 20, every rep up until the last almost impossible rep that turns on the growth mechanism of the body is a warm up rep.
There is certainly question as to the higher reps being less stressful in terms of the joints or tendons, due to the lighter weight being employed, but there is no question as to both being intense, whether high or low.
Some athletes have outgrown high reps due to certain cardio pulmonary issues...
especially an athlete who is advanced and because of the intense contraction of his large and developed muscles, the amount of waste accumulated is a hindrance, limiting the intensity of the contraction.
In this case, other High Intensity Techniques such as rest pause can be used to an advantage managed properly.
REST How long does it take for the body to recover? Yes, I did say the body! When you train a body part it is not just the body part that has to recover.
The body recovers systemically, as a whole.
When you train intensely you dig a ditch.
The first thing the body does is compensate for the exhaustive effects of the workout...
it fills the ditch.
Then, once the ditch is filled, if there is enough left over (i.
e.
you have not done too many sets or trained again before the process was completed), it will overcompensate by laying down muscle, building a mountain.
It is an adaptive response.
Muscle does not grow in the gym! It grows while you rest.
Even though you may have trained your back or chest and they feel fine, don't be fooled.
That does not mean that WALLA...
you have gained muscle.
The body takes days to recover in most cases.
How many days? I find in general that the body, depending on the stress, intensity and volume of a particular workout, takes a minimum of four days to two weeks to recover.
Remember, as one gets bigger and stronger, the ability to recover gets thinner and thinner due to the inroad produced.
An 18 inch arm contracting maximally takes more from the body than a 13 inch arm.
Have you ever noticed after a three week layoff or even a six week layoff you come back even stronger? One client of mine was performing three sets every 8-10 days...
not much! However, over a 17 week period he gained 40 pounds of muscle.
Figure our how many workouts that is and while you are doing so figure that each workout lasted 15-25 minutes.
That is approximately 14 workouts or less than 7 hours of training to gain 40 pounds of muscle.
Most confused bodybuilders spend that time in the gym per week with little or no results.
CONFUSION The biggest thing that confuses athletes is that they are trying to apply a social economic principal to anaerobic training; through a filter of emotion...
namely, more is better.
Most can get themselves to train as little as 3 days a week for an hour or less, but because of the ego, the belief system, molded from years of reading muscle magazines and listening to the supplement companies, few can logic through the mine fields.
KISS This Keep It Simple Stupid statement has been around for some time but its application is paramount in managing High Intensity Training.
1.
Perform only one set per exercise.
Your workouts should be BRIEF, no more than 4-5 sets per workout, lasting no more than 25 minutes or less.
Less is better.
2.
The last impossible rep turns on the growth mechanism, train to failure.
High reps are less stressful and low reps are more stressful.
The last rep to failure, high or low is INTENSE and thus turns on the growth mechanism of the body.
3.
Do not use momentum! Swinging and using poor exercise style does nothing but decrease the intensity of contraction, not to mention, create a dangerous situation for injury to occur.
4.
As you get stronger insert a rest day or two, if you are tired and have rested four days and on the fourth day you feel recovered, give yourself another one or two days, you will be stronger and produce better gains.
This INFREQUENT training will insure overcompensation.
Get in touch with your body.
5.
Certain exercises that involve large muscles or groups are better in TURNING ON THE GROWTH MECHANISM in the entire body than others...
example: deadlifts, squats, rows 6.
Eat for muscle.
With the proper CEMENT available, your gains will be forthcoming.
Don't expect to make huge progress while on a very low calorie diet.
This is for the natural athlete.
Those who use recovery and growth inducing drugs will have a different experience.
So don't forget to KISS with HIT! AND...
Don't forget to brush J.
Source...