Body By Science Review and Big 5 Workout PDFs The new workout book Body By Science, by Doug McGuff, M.D. And John Little, has introduced a lot of people to high intensity weight training. It presents a ludicrously simple workout routine, along with the well-documented and highly persuasive science to back it up! Weight training is one of the best methods of strength training! If you want to start weight training safely and effectively, with the best info, diet, and routines, While BBS only came out in 2008, this book has rapidly gained traction because of the efficiency of its workouts. It recommends working out a lot less than most other workout routines.
BBS shows how you can gain significant strength and muscle with only one workout a week that's only 12 - 15 minutes long. And if that didn't just blow your mind, it should! If you're really looking to start weight training safely and effectively right away, with the best info, diet, and routines, It includes PDFs of the following Body By Scienceworkout routines. A Short Body By Science Review McGuff and Little have worked hard to compile a stunningly compelling book about the science and most effective techniques for getting stronger and adding muscle. The science is truly impressive!
In the beginning of BBS they present studies showing that for many individuals, working out 2 or 3 times a week is no better than working out once a week in terms of actual results. So they advocate once weekly workouts. McGuff and Little deserve praise for challenging the prevailing opinions of fitness gurus through methodical research. They present their own training routine, which has been perfected over the years with many clients through observation in the gym — the complete opposite of 'broscience'. Broscience Definition (from Urban Dictionary): The predominant brand of reasoning in bodybuilding circles where the anecdotal reports of jacked dudes are considered more credible than scientific research. The Body By Science high intensity training routines are the one's I'll present here.
They are extremely simple, and produce great results. Criticism The only criticism I have of BBS is the overly strong emphasis on genetic determinism found in the book. McGuff and Little place a lot of weight on genetics as the main factor behind your strength and muscle development. In my opinion genetics are certainly important, but not as important a factor as most people seem to think.
And while hard work will not make up for not having Olympic-level genes, hard work can take you a lotfarther than you think. The Body By Science Workout Essentials Here are the fundamentals of the high intensity weight training model that McGuff and Little present. They differ from everything you've been told about weight training, I'll bet, so take a good look. During your workout you should remember these points. Form.
Move as slowly as possible without stuttering or pausing. Do not hold your breath (the valsalva maneuver). Reps. Measure your progress in terms of 'Time Under Load' (T.U.L.), not how many reps you perform. 'Time Under Load' simply refers to how long (in seconds) you're able to do exercise repetitions with the weight you're using.
1. Work with a weight at 80% of your 1 Rep Max. Sets.
Each set should be no longer than 90 seconds, and. The last 30 seconds should be hell!.
Stay tense at the end of your set for 10 seconds when you can't move the bar anymore and are too fatigued to continue. Sets, Number of Exercises, and Rests. Do 1 set of each exercise, with 5 different exercises. Rest for 30 seconds to a minute between sets. Frequency.
Since it takes 5 to 7 days to grow more muscle, most people should workout just once a week. No overtraining! So, you'll only spend 12 - 15 minutes in the gym per week. If you spend more time than that working out, you're not working hard enough! Just a tiny bit of high intensity weight training each week and you can get much stronger. It's shocking, and a real change from the conventional 3 days a week, an hour each day, 6 to 8 lifts, and 2 to 4 sets per lift workout! Body By Science Workout With Machines.
The first workout routine presented is for five different machine exercises. McGuff and Little call it simply 'The Body By Science Big 5 Workout,' since it incorporates five big, full body lifts. I'm normally more fond of free weights because they improve balance more. But machines are much safer and allow beginners to exert themselves fully without having to spend a lot of time focusing on proper form.
This workout routine has space for an entire month of training, one short workout per week. You can see the schedule of one workout to your right. Body By Science Workout With Free Weights. This is the more traditional free weight version of the Body by Science Big 5 Workout. If you already work with free weights, prefer them, or simply don't have access to machines, use this workout. You can see an example workout to the right. Unconventional, But Effective These workout routines challenge all conventional wisdom about what a good workout should be.
And yet, they work and give excellent results. The two workouts above are great for people who want the most bang for your buck in terms of time for strength gained. They also show how important it is to workout intensely, right up to the point of failure (and beyond!) to get the greatest results from your training.
If you don't have much time to exercise and want a safe and effective workout, try these. Or even if you just want a change of pace! Oh, and be sure to to get monthly strength training, exercise, and diet tips e-mailed to you - and access to the OR References: 1.
McGuff, Doug, and John R. Body By Science: A Research Based Program To Get The Results You Want In 12 Minutes A Week.
New York: McGraw-Hill. Subscribe To This Site. 'About 2 weeks ago I read all the ab strengthening stuff on your site because I decided I wanted to be strong, instead of having a lot of belly fat. So I started eating healthier, running, exercising, you name it - everything your site said to do to help. Now I am noticing a real difference! Thank you for making this.:D xD' Julia This calorie calculator is the most useful tool on the web that I can find Also, I compared the calories calculated by your calculator to the calories calculated by the treadmill at my gym, and they're within a couple calories of each other, so yours is as accurate as we're going to get. REALLY AWESOME TOOL.
I love it and depend on it. Thank you sooooo much for making this available.' Galit Sharon Marcus Thank you very much, I was too lean before 2 years (55 Kgs), after the gym now I'm 72kgs, all the muscles have developed. When someone hand shakes with me it can be squeezed easily, they're making fun of me! Tamil Arasan.
Doug McGuff, MD, is an author, personal trainer, and practicing medical professional. In an effort to prevent, and not just treat disease, Dr. McGuff has developed a unique system of weight training that promises results in as little as 12 minutes a week. Along with John Little, a renowned strength and conditioning coach, Dr McGuff wrote Body By Science, one of the best books on strength, health, and fitness you’re likely to find. McGuff comes on the show to talk about how you can enhance your performance, health, and longevity with an exercise program that takes only 12 minutes a week. What We Cover. How did you get interested in health and fitness?.
Can you share your definition of health, fitness, and exercise so we are all on the same page?. Would you talk about how to balance the relationship between anabolism and catabolism to improve health and performance?. What are the criteria for something to count as exercise?. Can you talk about how exercise is a drug?. Do you think running marathons or doing Ironmans counts as exercise? Or should it be considered it’s own entity?.
What do you think of what most people refer to as “cardio.” Do you need to do “aerobic” exercise to keep your heart and lungs healthy?. What role does nutrition play in improving body composition?.
What do you think are some of the flaws of barbell training?. Do you think Crossfit is a good way to build strength?. What do you think of explosive plyometric/olympic type lifting? Will it really help the average lifter?. Is stretching and mobility type work necessary?.
Is balance training like bosu balls and standing on one foot necessary to improve balance or proprioception?. If someone is training for a specific sport, do these principles still apply?. What is the best way to fatigue a muscle and produce growth?. Can you talk about the specifics of your “Big 5” workout?. If progress stalls, should you do more exercise or less?.
Does this mean you can’t train more than once a week? What about other activities, do those have to be limited as well?. Is this kind of training safe or useful for the elderly or people who lack experience?
Links From The Show Featured by Dr. Doug McGuff & John Little for Dr. Doug McGuff (call 864-886-0200) Food & Supplements Books by Timothy Ferriss by Dr. Doug McGuff & John Little by Uffe Ravnskov by Dave Asprey Mentions to BBC article on sleep. Listener Q & A Summary. What supplements can you take to boost immune function?.
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Should you sleep twice a day instead of once?. Are flax seeds safe?
Biohacker Report Questions for the podcast? Leave your questions and responses in comments section below. You can also ask your questions via Listener Questions Michael In addition to eating a healthy diet, what supplements do you suggest to boost the immune system? Michael What are your thoughts on this interesting piece of research about sleep. Walter I know flax seeds suck as an omega 3 source as they are exclusively ALA. For omega 3s I take cod liver oil every now and then but mainly just eat grass fed meats/fish and reduce my omega 6 intake. However, is there anything wrong with ground flax seeds to add some crunch to meals?
I heard they have many of the same problems as soy in terms of phytoestrogens. What do you think of ground flax seeds (not flaxseed oil)?
Don’t forget to leave a ranking in. It helps more people find our show. Regarding vit. C, do you have specific kind you prefer? For example, I know that there is camu camu, vit C complex etc. I had a Jamieson ‘high dose’ of 1000mg.
I then also got some camu camu (500mg). Is the regular vit C OK, and what about ‘synthesized ascorbic acid’ which could be a problem with the Jamieson brand? Also for vit D, if I have exposure to daily sun with no sunscreen, should that be OK? I have gotten tanned since March, so I feel like I am OK. One more question, if one gets serrapeptase (in addition to the supps you listed, with Bulletproof diet), is it necessary to take probiotic? Thanks for answering all my questions.
Hi Armi / Dave Attached is the latest results from my i3mindware progress – I’ve taken 2 days off during the process to date and have been very interested by ground gained. The dip came on a day following a particularly disrupted night with my 4 month old son! Does this curve reflect typical figures for those undertaking this training? I am very much looking forward to retesting my IQ at the end of the month! Thanks for all the material and guidance – now on day 18 of the bulletproof diet and IF protocol with butter / mct oil coffee in the mornings – due for another weigh in this afternoon but I know I’ve lost at least 15lb to date!
Keep up the great work guys! Question for the Podcast: Hey guys! I am so happy to have discovered your website and podcast! I love your approach to health, longevity, and self-improvement through self-experimentation. I have a question regarding optimizing my training. Background (feel free not to read): I’ve been eating low to moderate carb Paleo for nearly two years, and have lost 60 pounds, going from 200lbs to 135lb., and dropping from a size 16 to a size 4.
Recently, I tried Jack Kruse’s protocols (Leptin Reset and Cold Thermogenesis), with great success. In two months, I dropped 10 pounds and dropped a size, following a 6-month stall. The Leptin Reset requires no exercise, so I haven’t been exercising at all until very recently. Last weekend, I did my first 5K Mud Run (Dirty Girl), and now and totally addicted. I’ve signed up for a 5K trail run next month, another mud run the following month and yet another one in the Fall. I have no interested in doing “chronic cardio” to train for these events, but I would like to improve my performance.
Can you give me some suggestions of what sort of training you would do to optimize performance on these types of endurance events? Dave, This was a great interview, and Dr. McGuff makes a lot of great points.
Body By Science Doug Mcguff
While I do see the appeal of his approach on multiple fronts, honestly I was really surprised that neither you nor Armi took him to task for recommending machines like the Nautilus in training (though in fairness he definitely endorsed standard barbell training). I assume he’s way too smart and well-researched to subscribe to the common fallacy that strength and muscle are one in the same, but I just don’t see how anybody who aspires to high levels of functional strength (as opposed to just muscle growth or bodybuilding) is ever going to take that kind of approach seriously, since using something like a Nautilus machine completely ignores so much of the neuromuscular coordination that becoming strong relies upon. What I thought was really fascinating though was his discussion of tandem recruitment, and how he essentially explained why programs like SL 5×5 or 3×5 in Starting Strength are so successful. Thanks again for the great podcast.
Also, I’m curious (to Dave), you talk a lot about your exercise fast, have you taken any totals (i.e. Squat+ Deadlift+Press) before and after, or just overall what kind of numbers have you been able to maintain or improve upon with your approach? Cheers, Adam. Here’s a question for you: in a few weeks I’ll be starting a VERY intense 3 week summer masters course (9 credit hours in 3 weeks) So i’ll be up late reading, studying, writing, researching and practicing.
(i’m a musician getting a music degree) What the heck should I be eating if i intend to kick a whole ton of ass for 3 weeks straight, but have little time or interest in food preparation (minimal kitchen stuff in the dorm room i’ll be in, basically, fridge sink, and a stove top) Last summer, I did the same thing and lived mostly on frozen pizza, fast food and random processed stuff for sandwiches not interested in doing THAT again, but grilling grass-fed steaks every night isn’t really what I’m interested in doing either. Fwiw I already intend to drink plenty of bulletproof coffee ?. This is an outstanding interview.
McGuff is one sharp dude. No bs at all. I have but one thing to add. It involves Bulletproof Coffee. If you have a coffee habit at all DO NOT try BC. I am now obsessed by it.
It is so good and has such a positive effect on me that it is now the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first thing I think of upon waking. When I first read about it I didn’t find the thought of butter in coffee an appetizing idea, but upon trying it I’ve found it’s the best single thing I’ve ever had. The absolute best way to start a day.
Thanks Dave.I guess. I spend a lot of time on the road in Asia and I’m already worrying about the gyrations I might have to go through to get a morning infusion of BC.
Is butter allowed in carry-on? Dave and Armi, I’ve had an issue with stomach distension for as long as I can remember. I am 29 years old, 5’7″, 160lbs, I eat a bulletproof and paleo diet most of the time (85%), I don’t exercise very often (but I have in the past and the distension was unchanged), I have a six pack when I flex, but my stomach sticks out pretty far when I relax. No doctor has been able to explain it and I have found nothing on the subject in my own searching.
Do you guys know what could be causing it and how it can be fixed? Thanks for all you guys do. You have changed my life in a lot of great ways!
Bulletproof Coffee is the best). Hey fellas, loved this podcast!! Is there anywhere I could get information that yall talked about in reference to benefits of keeping ferritin low?
I have a strange situation, as I have hemochromatosis and high iron saturation (normal H&H) BUT I have really low ferritin. I have had a partial gastrectomy, so I have been watching a large panel of my labs for the past 3 years (and only recently found out about the hemochromatosis after referring myself to a hematologist) but the low ferritin, despite double dosing the Proferrin ES (and no matter how much red meat I eat) is confounding!! Anyway, with the low ferritin possibly being beneficial mentioned, you can imagine that intrigues me and I would like to find out more if I could!. Pingback:. Pingback:. Pingback:.
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Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective authors, who may retain copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the personal research and experience of Dave Asprey and the community. We will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this site; however, it is impossible to review all messages immediately.
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This program is based on the book “Body By Science” from Doug McGuff and John Little. The program is like a mutual fund of exercises, this means basically you need nothing more than these exercises. It is the best starting point and a ideal fundament to stimulate all of the metabolic benefits necessary to optimize human health and fitness. It is very simple and it’s done in less than 13 minutes a week. You can do the workout with machines or as a free weight option. However given that it is basically a resistance training, which means that the goal of your training is a point where you can no longer produce enough force to lift the resistance, the machine option is the better choice. The Exercises The program consists exclusively of compound exercises, that means that they involve rotation around several joint axes and therefore involve also several muscular groups per excercise.
Seated Row (Upper Body Pull) Do not try to tuck your elbows in or flare them out. Let them ride neutrally in the natural plane along which they tend to want to move – tracking in line with your hands, wrists and shoulder. Chest Press (Upper Body Push) Start the movement with plane of your palms at the front of your armpits, which means that the arms should be kept at a 45-degree angle to your body. Press your arms forward smoothly, and stop just short of lockout, so that the muscle stays loaded and you’re not resting on a bone-on-bone tower with your elbows locked.
When you’re lowering the weight, the lower turnaround should be performed when your palms are about even with your front portion of your chest. Concentrate on keeping your shoulders tucked down as you perform this exercise (important!). Leg Press The machine should be preset so that when you are seated in the machine in the flexed or tucked position, your thighs are perpendicular to the ceiling. Push your legs slowly and smoothly out to the point just short of lockout. You don’t want your knees to be locked out, as this creates a loss of muscle tension during the bone-on-bone tower. From this position perform a slow transition, or reverse of direction, with your legs now bending until they have returned to the starting position. The whole movement should be a fluid, smooth and circular motion.
In a machine in which you are standing: Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, and your back should be straight. Slowly bend your knees, keeping you back straight, until the bar on your shoulders lightly touches the weight stack. Descend with control, not rapidly. The Rep Speed – How slowly? All repetitions have to be made slowly. The reason is, that we don’t want any momentum in the movement (p85).
Your goal is not simply moving a weight from point A to point B, but rather the inroading, or weakening, of muscle. In addition to building more strength, training with a more controlled cadence significantly reduces the risk of injury. The weight should be moved as slowly as you possibly can without the movement degenerating into a series of starts and stops. I found a 5 second cadence fine, that means 5 seconds up and 5 seconds down.
Depending on the equipment you are using this can also be 10 or even 15 seconds. It can vary because some machines have a difficult start but a easy finish position and therefore the cadence can also vary in the up and down part. A rule of thumb is that the move should be as slowly as possibly and without turning into a stuttering, stop-and-start scenario, this can vary from exercise to exercise. Time Under Load (TUL) Normally we count how many repetitions we make with a given weight or load to record progress.
However in this workout we time the duration of the set from the moment it begins until the moment muscular failure is reached. This is called the Time Under Load (TUL). It is much more meaningful than just the repetitions. For example if you make 6 reps in exercise A with a TUL of 1 minute and 30 seconds and in the next workout you make again 6 reps in exercise A but with a TUL of 1 minute and 40 seconds you actually have a improvement of 10 seconds which would otherwise be missed. The TUL to achieve is about 90 seconds.
If you find that you have misjudged the resistance you should be using and are performing the exercise for too long (more than ninety seconds), keep going until you hit positive failure, and increase the weight by approx. 10 percent to get you back under the ninety-second TUL.
Frequency Once every seven days is an excellent frequency if you are going to true failure and not just to the level of toleration of discomfort. If you’re doing everything appropriately – working hard enough, keeping the volume of the workout in the realm in which your recovery can manage it, and keeping proper track of your performance – the amount of resistance you’re using should progress in a stepwise fashion, and you should be matching or bettering your time under load at an increasing resistance from workout to workout (p93). If you have difficulty with progression, that is an early marker that you need to start inserting more recovery days, because you are now accumulating enough strength to produce enough of a workload that it is difficult for you to recover at that particular frequency. Rest Periods Between Exercises You should move quickly from one exercise to the next. It should be about 30 seconds to a minute. The advantage of moving faster between the exercises is that your needed amount of resistance for the next exercise drops (you had less recovery) and so the relative degree of inroad that you’re achieving as you progress through the workout is increased. But you shouldn’t move so quickly that you feel light-headed or nauseated.
As a rule of thumb you shouldn’t feel completely recovered before each exercise as if your’e starting the first set of the workout. Record Keeping You should keep a record of the date of your workout, the time, the exercises, how much resistance, seat position, the cadence(reps) and the TUL. It’s also a good idea to measure the time from the first exercise until failure on the last exercise in the program. With this data you can also track the total rest time which should not increase massively from workout to workout (Total Time minus Total of all TUL). When to Change the Program You should stay on this program from four to twelve weeks, depending on how you are progressing.
Should you notice a slowdown in your progress, then for example you could split the program into two blocks (two Big Three Workouts) with additional isolation movements.
Last week I put together an. This is a type of strength training popularised by Doug McGuff in his book, it involves 15-20minutes of training a week, total. And – if done properly (more on this later) - the results are profound. Increased muscle mass, decreased fat levels, improved health markers and cardio fitness, not to mention significant strength gains. At least these are the claims made by HIT strength training proponents. But how does it work in the real world? Especially with someone (myself) who has tried all sorts of training techniques over the years and responds well to higher volume training protocols.
Is 15 minutes of training a week enough to achieve beneficial performance and aesthetic results? Is it even a practical way to train?
I wanted to find out, so 9 months ago (November 2015) I decided to begin an experiment. 9 months later I reveal my results. (note – if you have no idea what HIT or Super Slow training is – please read this article first - Also, HIT – High Intensity Training – is different to HIIT – High Intensity INTERVAL Training).
Also, if you are looking for me to build you a body by science HIT program head to Body By Science High Intensity Training Review: My 9 Month Experiment Background Firstly, before I share my results, I need to explain my ‘starting point’. I am a 28 year old male who has been strength training for 8 years now. During that time, I have squatted 245kg, broken powerlifting records, won bodybuilding competitions, tipped the scales at 105kg at 12% body fat and have spent far too many hours inside a gym! I have done all types of training, 5/3/1, various bodybuilding programs, starting strength, 5x5, metcon type workouts, full body, split routines etc etc etc. Let’s just say I have a solid starting point when it comes to strength training! But all of this training has been at a moderate to high volume – 2 or 3 sessions a week, up to 6 or 7 sessions a week. Some sessions lasting up to 3 hours in my powerlifting day.
I responded pretty well to higher volume (despite the ). So I was rather apprehensive as to how I would go on 15minutes of training a week Personally, I expected to waste away to nothing in a matter of weeks! Unfortunately, I didn’t take a body fat reading with at the start date, but I have a picture taken around that time.m I was sitting at around 95kgs, and I’d say I was 12% body fat +/- a few points.
Pre Experiment - Me around 95kgs after years of high volume 'conventional' strength training My 9-month Protocol My routine was based around. This involved performing the ‘big 5’ routine once a week for the first few months. The big 5 includes 5 key lifts:. Seated Row. Seated Chest Press. Seated Pull Down with Ab Crunch.
Seated Shoulder Press. Seated Horizontal Leg Press Yes these are a bit different to your usual big 5 lifts (squats, rows, deadlifts, presses, chins etc), but this is all explained in. That same article also explains tempo, timing and all the other intricacies.
So I recommend reading that if you haven’t already OR checking out this video: The idea behind each workout is to take the targeted muscle to absolute failure by moving in a slow (6-10 second) manner, without locking out/taking the load off the muscle. You then record the weight and the time under load (TUL). Next time you train you aim to use this same weight and exceed the TUL. Once the TUL exceeded 3 minutes then it’s time to increase the weight. 1 set to failure. No rest between exercises. No warmup needed.
Super slow tempo (The first inch should take 3 seconds). Job done in 15 minutes. After a few months I then switched to a 3 workout split, so I now had an A and B workout, Workout A was:. Seated Pull down with Ab Crunch. Seated Chest Press. Seated Horizontal Leg Press Workout B was:.
Seated Row. Seated Shoulder Press. Lying Hamstring curl. Yes, this now meant the whole workout was completed in 10 minutes. And yes, you do 1 session a week. So week 1 you perform A, 7 days later you do B, 7 days after that A This is what I did for 9 months.
3 months using the big 5, 3 months A/B split, then 3 months Big 5. Along with this, I performed a short interval sprint session every fortnight (5x 6 seconds sprint with 1-minute rest). Oh, and even though you’re meant to do 1 HIT session a week, some weeks I went up to 14 days between sessions, other times I did them only 5 days apart. Does HIT really work? It has now been 9 months and I have been following this protocol religiously.
To answer the billion-dollar question – does it work? The answer is yes, but there are a few ‘catches’.
All of which I’m going to explain below. Given that:. I performed a HIT session on average once every 10 days over the 9 month period. The average session would have taken no more than 12 minutes.
Including setup (setting the weights etc.) I was usually finished within 20minutes of entering the gym. Here were my key results: I lost about 4kgs of mass in this 9-month period. Now I need to point out that I am always playing around with my diet, and I wasn’t even trying to keep a steady diet during this period. In fact, during this 9 month experiment I starting doing a lot, including a few 24 – 72 hour fasts. I also did 2 super strict elimination/reintroduction diets in this 9 month period. Both which took 45 days to complete and invovled extremely restrictive diets.
And finally, in the last few weeks I started doing a strict nutritional ketosis diet. My point here is simple – my food intake was all over the place, I wasn’t eating to maintain mass or put on mass. I didn’t really care how I looked and my diet was driven by health reasons not aesthetic or performance reasons.
I personally think if I was eating to excess (or even my normal diet) during this 9 month period that I would have maintained and maybe even put on size. 9 months after HIT training - plus a lot of diet changes as well. Still plenty of mass! I loved all the free time! Remember, I used to train on average 4-5x a week, each session lasting 45-90minutes. Now I had all this extra time in the week. It was great, I focused on writing articles, building my business, fixing health issues etc.
I stayed lean Again, this is heavily influenced by diet. But at the end of the 9 month period I was just over 90kgs and sitting at 10% body fat. I stayed lean the whole time I was on this program. My had me at just under 10% Body Fat post experiment I maintained a high level of athletic ability.
This was the biggest surprise. In may 2016 (7 months of HIT training) I attended PaleoFx in Texas. They had a 3 day Fittest Man of Paleo Fx competition. I had heard about this but given the fact that I hadn’t any true strength training (I hadn’t performed 1 deadlift or squat all year!), and my fitness base would be non-existent (at least I thought) I decided I would skip this competition and enjoy the occasion instead. Well not only did I end up entering, I ended up WINNING the whole event!! Beating some pretty serious athletes.
There were a lot of CrossFit and obstacle racing athletes (including the uber fit Ben Greenfield), and somehow I came out on top. The events that made up this competition included Deadlifts for reps, 40 yard dash sprints, leg and chest strength tests, rowing intervals, agility exercises, vertical leap, chin ups and a medicine ball throw. Remember, for the 6 months prior I had only been using machines for 15minutes a week. I hadn’t done any ‘compound’ lefts, let alone the 60 odd 95kg deadlifts in 2 minutes! You can read more about this event and my story in this article - Winning this event made me realise that there really was something to this HIT training! What else you should know So those were the results, and I’m sure you would agree that they were rather significant. But before you ditch your 5x5 routine and free up 3 hours of training a week, it’s important to realise that there are a few crucial factors when it comes to HIT training.
I’ve listed these below. Tracking Numbers The goal is to keep tension on the muscle for 90sec-3minutes. If you go over this, the weight was too light - next time increase it, if you don't last 90seconds, next time decrease it. In regards to keeping track of progress, either you or your PT or training partner need to record the TIME and the WEIGHT used for each exercise.
'Bleed' has the first music video released by Soulfly. Guest members and sing this song about pain, lying and madness with lyrics written by Durst and. Scenes include a fight including strangling, guest singer Durst jumped, and driving with shattered windshield on the driver side of a car. This song tributes Cavalera for the untimely death of his stepson Dana. • • Length 4: 06, singles chronology '' (1998) ' Bleed' (1998) '' (1999) '' (1998) ' Bleed' (1998) '' (1999) track listing 'No Hope = No Fear' (2) ' Bleed' (3) '' (4) ' Bleed' is the third single by band, released in 1998 from the self-titled album.
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It may be 100kg (or Pin #16) on the stack, for 120seconds. You need to record this somewhere (paper or notepad etc) Next time you train aim to INCREASE the time while keeping the weight the same. So you would aim for 130seconds at 100kg etc.
Once you hit 180seconds, then increase the weight next session. Equipment Matters It’s important to use a well-designed machine. The reason why machines trump free weights with this type of training is due to the targeted load on the muscle. However, not all machines are designed well. Ideally you would use a machine that keeps a consistent force on the muscle, avoiding any ‘sticking points’ or ‘easy spots’. If you are doing a leg press and it’s very challenging at the start, but then very easy at the end of the lift, then you’re not getting the best result.
Sure it’s still useable, but you’ll find you’ll want to hurry through the tough part and spend more time in the easy phase of the lift. Likewise with machines that have sticking points, perhaps half way through the chest press it gets very hard. You find you fail here every time, but if you do get through this sticking point then you feel like you have more reps in you.
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Again, there is nothing you can do about this, but in an ideal world you would use a machine that has been designed to have an even force load. Nautilus and Med X machines are the best for this. However, there are some newer machines hitting the market that do an even better job. Technology Rules While attending PaleoFx I was fortunate enough to meet the developers of the ARX machine.
I learnt all about this revolutionary piece of equipment. The next day I spent a few extremely intense seconds on an ARX. The ARX allows you to set the tempo – no matter how hard you push the tempo is fixed. The magic of the ARX is that it pushes back against you with an perfectly matched force. This from: There is no need to set the resistance while using ARX; the machine only applies perfect resistance to what the user is giving at each moment in time. The machine moves the handles or foot pads at the selected speed during the positive and negative regardless of how hard a user exerts.
The difficulty is determined entirely by the user which is measured and displayed by the software in real-time. The great thing about this is that the muscle is taken to 100% at all angles. And even better, you can apply even more force in the eccentric phase (as you are stronger in the eccentric phase of a lift). So no longer are you limited to how much you can lift in the concentric, the ARX will take you to 100% effort at every stage of your lift. The best analogy is this – imagine a chest press machine that is designed in a way so the weight is changing in real time – every millimetre you press the weight forward, it adjusts based on your strength at the new position. Then, on the way back down (eccentric) it loads up even more weight and now you have to resist this weight in a controlled manner. Let’s just say that these machines are brutally tough and amazingly effective for HIT training!
There is even a video of someone using the ARX with a big 5 workout routine that you Bodyweight Training Technically you could do a HIT session using bodyweight only. I did a few of these when travelling or when I wanted to train outdoors in the sun. But for the same reasons that compound lifts aren’t the best for HIT Training, bodyweight exercises fall short as well.
There is a great video by James Steele showing how a HIT session can be done soley using bodyweight: Again, it’s better than nothing, but compared to a machine HIT session you will feel like you were short changed. Short sharp sessions A HIT session needs to be seen as one giant ‘set’. It starts with the first exercise and only ends once you have finished the last exercise. There is no talking between sets, no watching tv or getting distracted.
It’s critical that you move immediately to the next exercise and begin that. As I mentioned above, a total session should only take 10-20minutes. Adequate Recovery HIT sessions are brutally tough. Not only do they take the muscle to failure, they create a large amount of stress on the central nervous system – again assuming you have done it properly. You cannot expect to do these sessions multiple times a week.
You can try, but your numbers will plateau and go backwards. Even attempting to do 2 sets in the same session is unwise. I hear of stories where individuals started lifting a weight that was far to heavy for them.
After 45seconds they have hit failure. They then decide to redo it at a lighter weight, again they fail within seconds. This isn’t because they had the wrong weight, instead it was simply due to the fact that they had burnt through all their matches. You literally get one shot at each lift.
Remember this. I am a big fan of tracking recovery, I use the readiness score on my combined with my HRV score. If these are off I know I haven’t recovered. I found that it usually took me 4-5 days for my body to be back to 100%. Adding on an extra day or two made sure that I was truly ‘recovered’. Tracking my recovery and readiness score with my If you’re doing HIT training, then do it properly.
Do once session a week, and skip all other weight training sessions. Remember, if your TUL numbers aren’t improving then you haven’t recovered from your previous session.
It Really Hurts If you were thinking ‘this all sounds too good to be true, what’s the catch’, then this is it: HIT training hurts. To reap all the benefits, you need to do these sessions properly, and that means taking the muscle to absolute failure, which in turn means pain. It’s very easy to cheat during a HIT set – you can briefly lock out on a row and take the load off the muscle, you can use momentum to get through the hard part of the lift, you can wriggle your positioning in a seat to bring in some other muscle tissue etc. But all you are doing is cheating yourself. When you go into a HIT set you need to think ‘what is the muscle I am trying to work’, and then make that muscle hurt.
It’s really as simple as that. Your previous TUL times will keep you honest, if you did 2minutes at 90kg last week, that means you are aiming to exceed that time this week. If you only get to 1minute 30seconds, then you know you either weren’t recovered enough or you didn’t push hard enough. Train With a Training Partner I believe I have a ton of willpower and self-discipline.
However, there were sessions when even I caved too soon, finding an excuse to stop early for example. I noticed that when I trained my coaching clients with HIT sessions they often reached a point of ‘I can’t do it any more’, only for me to encourage them on for another 10 or 20 seconds. Having someone present when doing these lifts helps.
Thoughts: Who’s it for? Who’s it not for? Hopefully now you have a better understanding of HIT / Super slow training and you’re probably thinking ‘this is cool, I want to try it’ or ‘what a lock of crock’. Fair enough, I was initially in the latter camp and then swung to the curious state of mind. Eventually I decided to jump in and give it a go, and the rest as they say is history. Now that I have a bit of experience with HIT training (both with myself and with my clients) I think that everyone could benefit from this type of training, but it may not be ideal for everyone. What do I mean?
Well, it’s a handy training tool to have – if you’re ever travelling and only want to do one full body session in a week, then this is it. If you want to maintain strength and minimise time (whether you are training for other sports or simply busy with life) this is it. However, if you’re training for something specific like Olympic Weightlifting, or powerlifting, then HIT wouldn’t be the best tool.
Simply because those sports require specific movements that need to be trained and developed. Obviously I found that there was a ton of carry over between my HIT training and deadlifting, but would I be able to go and break a personal best using this training? I don’t know. As for hypertrophy – could you put on muscle training this way? I don’t see why not?
In fact, some of my corporate coaching clients have put on muscle while using this protocol. The training creates a stress on the muscle, it creates lactic acid build-up and fatigues the muscle fibres. All things required for growing muscle. Would it be the best way to build muscle though? I’m not sure.
Will I Continue Training This Way? Whenever I’m busy in life and just need a quick gym session to maintain strength, HIT will be my go to training session.
Likewise, if I’m travelling or on holiday. However, I personally enjoy lifting big weights. There is something about it that I love. Sure you can lift lots of weight using the HIT approach, but it’s not the same as picking up 250kg of bar bending iron plates from the floor! I would question whether I could continue doing HIT for a long period – the pain levels are extreme, and some sessions I went into the gym in a state of anxiety (though this was true with some rowing sessions, powerlifting sessions and bodybuilding sessions), and it may get rather monotonous over time. Though I survived 9 months and only stopped because I thought up a new experiment Finally, I think specificity is a big factor in successful training.
I have recently decided to get back into competitive sports (can you guess which one?). For this reason, I have stopped HIT training to focus on my new sport’s training (and another big experiment which I will write all about in 6-9 month’s time!) But I am extremely glad I did this 9-month experiment. It allowed me to maintain my strength & muscle mass in a time where I was extremely time poor. Also, I now have another tool in my training bag, which is always a good thing – especially if you’re a coach!
If you have any questions about HIT training or my experiment please post them below. If you're looking for a body by science training program head to page. Found This Interesting?
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