Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Revisiting The Theory of High Intensity Training

In the early 1990's, I was putting together a personal training business and at about the same time, so was Mike Mentzer. If you understand how to think through and apply the Theory of High Intensity Training, it all becomes very clear. Arthur was a driven man and he was driven by his passion. And, they weren't the fake stuff you find circulating today. as explained in the above paragraph, your ability to recover does not increase in the same degree, therefore, as you become stronger, you must allow your body to compensate and then overcompensate, or lay down muscle. We must understand the elements involved and be able to manipulate them as we change, i.e. a 14 inch arm contracting while curling a 20 pound dumbbell will not create the same inroad as an 18 inch arm curling an 80 pound dumbbell... I remember the movie Pumping Iron that gave the world a look at the bodybuilding culture. In fact Dianabol was created by Dr. you have allowed yourself to slip into this sta! te without properly managing the volume and frequency downward. I retired from competition but still trained in high intensity fashion as I do till this day. His amazing techniques save hours in the gym, with most clients training 15-30 minutes within a week, allowing them to reach their goals in record time. Allow the process to happen. What does this mean? Compare yourself to yourself. America contender to win the title at the time at age 19, in 1971. It was through Casey that Mike began to work with Arthur Jones and first learned about High Intensity Training.

Mike took some time off and in 1975 started competing again using High Intensity Training principals. If you continue to get stronger, i.e. In 1960, to enhance their edge against the Russians, the Olympic Weight Lifting Team via Hoffman, or certain athletes in their team were administered this drug or a form of it... In my book R U Serious - the Foundation, I cover a properly designed program and h! ow to manage it.

If you are presently following a HIT wo! rkout an d you have ceased to make progress or you are back sliding, loosing strength, feeling lethargic, metabolism slowing... His passion was in discovering ways of measuring exercise and the elements related as such... I had reached my genetic potential and was not willing to take the type of chemicals necessary to move any further. Don't compare yourself to Arnold, or Mike Mentzer or even me. a little trivia for the bodybuilder on steroids.

Everyone was using a social economic principal, namely, more is better...everyone except for Arthur Jones that is. Even though I was training intensely and briefly I was still doing too much? Jones didn't stop there either; he said that if everyone is doing 12-20 sets using the volume method, then if we are training intensely we should do less. For the sake of example let's call that 100 shovel fulls. This means that as you get bigger and stronger, you must manage your volume and frequency downward. I did that using High Intensi! ty Training. We have a limited amount of recovery ability. Bodybuilders are confused and bewildered about the proper course of action to take in designing their workouts while applying these principals. Inserting an additional day between workouts and/ or removing a set from the workout. As a bodybuilder, we need an intense contraction and a full range of motion. If you are getting stronger, this is a plus... Applying a cadence of 3-2-4 until you get accustomed to this would be wise. Mike, up until this point, discovered that just once set per exercise and in most cases two sets per body part was sufficient... This will give the cement necessary to continually make progress. The proper style of exercise is one that there is control through the entire movement. When this happens, don't start flipping through muscle magazines or visiting websites looking for different workouts. No one up until this point had discovered the precise amount necessary to stimulate musc! le growth without at some point becoming over trained, i.e. U! se your training journal to chart your progress. Indeed I did with the help of Mr. Although in the best shape of my life, I did not win my weight class. Mike was building his personal training business and phone coaching business at the time and was working with quite the number of athletes. Weider backed that up by stating that bodybuilding is a science and then contradicted that by saying everyone was different and each had to find what worked for them. There IS and can be only one valid theory of High Intensity Training and if you revisit and rethink the following you will always find your answer.

1- Training intensely to the point of momentary muscular failure in proper form

2- Volume- Doing no more than is precisely necessary to stimulate muscular growth

3- Training infrequently enough to allow the growth to occur without short circuiting the process

Train intensely using the proper cadence. Mike Mentzer covered the issue very well in his book, Hea! vy Duty II, Mind and Body and I have covered it also in my book, R U Serious - The Foundation. Remember, you body first has to recover or compensate (fill the ditch) and then overcompensate (build the mound) for the exhaustive effects of the workout before it can lay down muscle.

Apply these three elements properly and you will find your answer. He also was a study of philosophy which helped him think through the proper application of the theory of High Intensity Training. volume and frequency.

I competed in my last show in 1988, the Nationals which was the biggest amateur show of my life, a pro qualifier. grow larger and stronger.

An important fact to understand is that the body's ability to get stronger can improve by some 300% where as the ability to recover may only increase 50%. and he said that three times per week was too much. i.e. i.e. however, I always inevitably ended up in an over trained state. Plain and simple... That thing is think! ing. I hope this will give you the road map you need to succe! ssfully accomplish your bodybuilding goals. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. It was just not worth the risk. The frequency was never an issue either, some trained 5 days, some 6 days and some twice a day. therefore you must adjust the volume and frequency to allow for the growth to happen. In doing so, Arthur Jones created the famous Nautilus machines, which in my opinion are the best on the market, with Hammer Strength following closely behind.

In those days... Casey was the youngest Mr. You will find that one of them is wrong."-Ayn Rand

Bill Sahli is a 36 year veteran X Competitive Bodybuilder, HIT Trainer, Author and Life Coach.

Bill is author of two High Intensity Training Books: "R U Serious ®?- The Foudation" and "High Intensity Powerbuilding - The Next Step".

His Audio Teleseminar - "High Intensity Mindset" along with his books can be found at " http://www.ruserious.info

He is available for personal coach on a limited basis. friction etc. liver function etc... Instead of spending two hours, I was there 45 minutes.

I competed using Mike's Heavy Duty Training and did very well... Arthur established one of the elements contained in the Theory of High Intensity Training which is... However he never established the precise amount of sets that was necessary.

At the time Casey Viator was training under the direction of Jones. If you short circuit this process, you will not grow optimally or grow at all.

We know that intensity means carry a set to a point of momentary muscular failure where the last almost impossible rep is the one that turns on the growth mechanism of the body. One ! of the first things that Mike made very clear is that even though we were doing less than everyone else back then, we were still doing too much. If you hit a wall, remember, as Ayn Rand said...

"Contradictions do not exist. We all have genetic traits mediated over a broad continuum such as height, intelligence and sunlight tolerance. I have tracked it to a single reason, just one thing. I called Mike and asked if we could work together and he agreed. Since the body recovers systemically, as a whole and then overcompensates by laying down muscle, you must first allow it to compensate and then overcompensate. In this article I am going to attempt to clarify any confusion and once and for all give the simple roadmap to designing a HIT workout.

It all started back in the 70s with an entrepreneur named Arthur Jones. Instead of being in the gym 5 or 6 days a week for a show, I was there 2-3. Ziegler who had worked for Ciba for a time in the early 50's and then! went to research performance enhancing drugs until about 1959! . You w ill find that your progress, based on your strength gains will be forthcoming and consistent.

Also, it is important to mention that for natural athletes, it is necessary to increase the calorie allowance a bit, but no more than 250 - 500 calories above maintenance level. In the same way, those who are trying to reduce body fat on a lower calorie diet, your goal should be to maintain your existing muscle. Back then we were still doing too much, less than everyone else, but still too much. bodybuilding took a leap of popularity with the introduction of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arthur was a genius of a man with a great mind. change and you do not adjust your volume and frequency, you will slip into a state of over training. Arnold had it all and was one of the best bodybuilders that ever lived. Don't get mystically enticed by those who assert contradictory. and you were good to go. As I studied them, they made sense as I was tired of spending hours in the gym and I! began to use them. Bill has trained bodybuilders, athletes, professions, the handicapped & both men and women. His guidance helped me through learning how to think logically and with his lifetime experience.

Fast forward to now and what we know. Mentzer and his suggestions and we became friends. Despite these efforts, confusion still arises. He was a genetic marvel and took the bodybuilding word by storm.

Arnold professed somewhere between 12-20 sets or more and at the time, everyone was following suit. Back then you could go to a doctor, get a prescription and or a shot, and have your body tested every so often. This came in pretty handy because I needed the time to kick my training business into high gear. If you are using momentum, or throwing the weight, you are decreasing the intensity of contraction.

I continue to be overwhelmed by questions from experienced bodybuilders regarding High Intensity Training. So we do also have our genetic capabi! lity to build muscle and to what degree. This was Weider's st! ar, with a persona that captured the bodybuilding world. As you get bigger and stronger that will increase also. i.e. I also took a layoff of almost three weeks before starting on my new endeavor. "Intensity refers to the percentage of possible momentary muscular effort being exerted, and that to stimulate an optimal increase in strength and muscular size, a set of an exercise must be carried to a point of momentary muscular failure where 100 percent intensity of effort is being exerted." Jones precisely defined what intensity is. Use one set per exercise and no more than two sets per body part. Well as human nature goes, everyone is going to follow the most successful guy, thinking that he has the answers.

No one questioned how many sets were too much, some were doing 40 sets but just about everyone was doing over 20 sets. Well, back then all the top bodybuilders were using recovery inducing drugs, steroids. very difficult to do as a natural athlete.

Well, there! you have it. My strength went through the roof. As you get stronger... You can reach Bill online at http://www.ruserious.info you are over trained! This was actually the first introduction to High Intensity Training for me. As you get stronger begin to insert rest days and randomly remove an exercise from your workout. As in the science of electricity, you don't have to keep flicking the switch on and off in order to get the light to go on, it only takes one flip of the switch. You will always progress up to your genetic potential, whatever that potential may be. This is failure, not when it sort of feels like your muscle is burning or hurts (not in a painful injury way), but true failure where you can not do another rep in strict exercise form.

Then, as part of this, let's visit momentum. I began to gain all over again. Well, I went to work in changing things around for myself and drama! tically reduced the workout sets and the frequency and guess w! hat... This means it takes 3 seconds to lift the weight, 2 seconds in the contracted position and 4 seconds lowering the weight, free of any swinging or hoisting.

Next is managing the volume and the frequency. As you get stronger, the contraction of your muscles create a deeper inroad... We know that in order for us to succeed, we must apply the theory of High Intensity Training properly. In fact, he said we should not blindly accept dogma to dictate our exercise workouts; rather it is our individual genetics that dictate exercise tolerance.

Wow, that was a mouthful for me to digest. In the muscle magazines in the later 70's...Mike began to publish his workout regiment which was totally in contrast to what everyone else was doing. It was here that Mike Mentzer met Casey Viator, being defeated by him and taking 10th place.

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