high intensity training
High Intensity Does Not Equal High Risk Of Injury
Every once in a while I come across an article by some well-meaning but ignorant trainer warning people of the dangers of training to failure.
If the point of failure is defined as the moment where it is no longer possible to continue an exercise in the prescribed form, than there is nothing dangerous about training to failure. Unless there is a pre-existing injury or condition which would contraindicate performance of the exercise to begin with, risk of injury only increases when one attempts to continue an exercise beyond the point where they are capable of using proper form.
Due to the greater physical and mental demands of to-failure training, a lower volume of work is necessary. I strongly suspect many of the beliefs about problems with training to failure, such as concerns over injuries, CNS “burnout”, etc., are probably the result of people attempting to train with a high level of intensity without an appropriate reduction in training volume.
I’ve been training people using high intensity training methods for over 15 years, and the majority of my clients train to failure almost all of the time after their first few weeks. None of them have ever been injured as a result, and this includes clients with various lower back problems. There is no merit to the claim that training to failure in and of itself leads to or is associated with injury, and while trainers who say so may mean well, they are mistaken.
HIT vs HIIT
I google “high intensity training” and “HIT” a few times a month to find new research, articles, discussions, blog posts, etc. and I’ve noticed more and more people using the term high intensity training to refer to high intensity interval training or HIIT, a method of cardiovascular training involving short periods of high intensity activity followed by short periods of rest or very low intensity activity. This is not high intensity training. High intensity training or HIT refers to strength training methods and programs characterized by relatively high level of effort and low volume and frequency of training.
It could be argued the term is equally applicable to both strength and cardiovascular training of high intensity, however, Ellington Darden set the precedence when he used the term in reference to Arthur Jones training principles during a presentation at Duke University in the 1970’s.
Q&A: 3×3 High Intensity Training Routines
After reading your article on 3×3 routines I have been doing a 3×3 (squats, chins, dips) and am liking it very much. How long would you do a 3×3 specific routine and then how long would you do 3×3 before going back to a traditional HIT routine?
Do you see 3×3 as a good type of routine to perform occasionally or more long term?
If you are performing 3×3 routines exclusively or frequently I recommend rotating exercises every workout or at least every other week, so that you can incorporate more variety of movement and more direct work for different muscle groups. You should alternate between upper body pushing and pulling movements in different planes and between pushing and pulling lower body movements. › Continue reading
SuperSlow Training, Ken Hutchins and the SuperSlow Zone
I still receive questions on a weekly basis from people about Ken Hutchins, SuperSlow training, and the SuperSlow Zone personal training franchise. I am writing this post to save myself time responding to e-mails and to clear up any confusion people may have over my position on these things. If you have been referred to this post after sending me a question regarding any of the above and have further questions, please post them in the comments section. › Continue reading
More Metabolic Conditioning Workouts
Those interested in workouts geared towards metabolic conditioning may like to give the workout I did earlier tonight a try. It is a modified version of the CrossFit workout called “Cindy”. The CrossFit version of Cindy consists of as many rounds as possible of the following exercises in 20 minutes:
- 5 pull ups (usually performed with a kipping motion)
- 10 push ups
- 15 bodyweight squats
The modified version I did tonight used variations of the same exercises, with added weight and shorter time (15 minutes):
- 5 strict weighted chin ups (190 pounds bodyweight plus a 25 pound dumbbell held between the ankles)
- 10 push ups with narrow hand spacing (inside shoulder width)
- 15 squats with 25 pound dumbbells
All reps were performed in slow, controlled manner, with a brief pause at the top of the chin ups. During the fifth and sixth rounds I had to rest a few seconds after the third and fourth reps on the chin ups to complete five. I was able to complete six rounds in 14:34, after which I started feeling a little nauseous and could have sworn the temperature in the house went up 20 to 30 degrees, so I crawled into the bath tub and filled it with cold water. It seemed to do the trick, because I felt completely recovered within a few minutes. › Continue reading
Bodybuilding Book Progress Update
I am making some major changes to the structure of the book, which means it will take somewhat longer to complete, but I believe it will flow better and makes more organizational sense.
A lot of people have been e-mailing asking about it, and I greatly appreciate the interest in the book, but I would rather wait until I am happy with it than rush out something I will regret later. I believe the changes will be worth the wait.
I am trying to edit it to maximize the “signal to noise” ratio, with efficiency and readability and ease of use the top priorities. Unless an anecdote or detailed scientific explanation significantly contributes to understanding of a concept, it’s being cut or moved to a sidebar or the appendix. By moving some of these to sidebars or the appendix the flow will be improved while somewhat off-topic or more technical information will be retained for those interested.
I hope to finish it soon, but it is more important to me to do it right than to do it right now.
Ripped Abs
Contrary to the idiotic recommendations of most current ab training books, courses and group class instructors, it is neither necessary nor beneficial to perform dozens of high rep sets of a wide variety of abdominal exercises. You also don’t need different exercises for your lower and upper abs, and you don’t need stability balls, special slings, benches, or any other gimmicky crap. In fact, you don’t need any direct abdominal exercise at all to get ripped abs. All that is necessary is to reduce body fat to very low levels, and that has far more to do with diet than exercise.
Drew Baye
Regardless of the strength or development of your superficial abdominal muscles, if your body fat level is low enough they will show good separation due to the muscle being divided into distinct “blocks” by lines of connective tissue. I performed no direct abdominal exercise for over half a year prior to the photo to the left being taken, yet had extremely good abdominal definition simply due to having reduced my body fat to the low single digits. My routine during that time was very basic, especially compared to the kind of unnecessarily complex routines being promoted by the internet ripped abs “experts”. It consisted of of only one set each of stiff-legged deadlifts, leg presses, pulldowns, chest presses, rows, and calf raises, along with occasional barbell curls and cable tricep press-downs. No crunches, sit ups, leg raises, knee raises, planks, twists or bends of any kind.
Indirect Effect
If you regularly perform chin-ups, pull-ups (especially with additional weight), heavy pull-downs, pullovers, standing presses or even just very heavy cable tricep press-downs, your abdominal muscles receive quite a bit of indirect work stabilizing the body during those exercises. Little additional abdominal work is necessary, and the primary benefit of any additional direct abdominal work is improved trunk strength for being able to better handle weight in those other movements and for protecting the back, not the appearance of your abs. Abdominal muscle development makes absolutely no difference at all if body fat levels are not low enough. Your primary purpose for training abs should be performance and spine health, and not appearance. › Continue reading
Effect of Hand and Shoulder Position On Elbow Flexor Involvement During Curling and Pulling Exercises
This morning during a phone conversation with Greg Anderson the subject of the previous post on the effect of hand position on triceps involvement came up.. Greg mentioned, and I agree, hand position makes little difference to arm flexor involvement during curling and pulling movements as well.
Articles on arm training in bodybuilding magazines and web sites often make claims of different hand or shoulder positions or grip width having the effect of isolating or emphasizing one head of the biceps or a particular arm flexor (i.e. incline curls to target the long head of the biceps, hammer curls to target the brachioradialus, reverse grip curls to target the brachialis, etc.). While there is some truth to this - changes in hand or shoulder position affect the relative length and thus the ability of some of the elbow flexors to produce force - the effect on muscular development is greatly exaggerated. › Continue reading
Physique Versus Function - A False Dichotomy
Bodybuilding and training for performance need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, a training program and diet geared towards performance - specifically building as much strength as possible throughout the entire body while maintaining a low body fat percentage - will result in a physique that is both highly capable and impressive.
A major reason for belief in the physique versus function dichotomy is probably the greater use of isolation exercises in bodybuilding, which are often erroneously considered “non-functional” by many in the functional training crowd. They believe that an exercise must be performed in a manner that mimics how the body moves during activities of daily living, work, or sport for the strength or other aspects of fitness gained in that movement to effectively transfer to those activities. However, it is not necessary to work the muscles involved in a particular movement using a similar movement for the strength gained to transfer. Regardless of how a muscle becomes stronger, the greater strength can be applied to any movement involving those muscles, and any program that effectively addresses all of the major muscle groups will improve function, even if it includes isolation exercises. › Continue reading
Fat Loss Myths Part 2: Cardio Is Necessary For Fat Loss
Myth: It is necessary to perform cardio on a regular basis to lose fat.
Truth: Cardio is not necessary for fat loss, and contributes relatively little to a fat loss program compared to high intensity strength training.
To lose fat it is necessary to create a calorie deficit - you must consume fewer calories than you expend so the body obtains the difference from your fat stores. While overall activity level has an effect on daily calorie expenditure, additional “cardio” (steady state or interval training) burns relatively few calories even if performed for an hour or more at moderate intensity daily. A greater calorie deficit can be achieved by simply restricting calorie intake, with little time investment other than the few minutes required for planning and recording meals.
The most important benefit of exercise to a fat loss program is not the calories expended during workouts, but the maintenance of muscle tissue while fat is lost. This requires strength training. There is a direct relationship between lean body mass, particularly muscle mass, and metabolic rate - more muscle equals a higher metabolic rate. If calorie intake is reduced significantly without regular, consistent strength training, muscle tends to be lost along with fat resulting in a reduced metabolic rate. Cardio does nothing to prevent muscle loss and may even accelerate it. › Continue reading