Less Is More

[TexasRanger]

The biggest and perhaps most important difference was that HIT training sessions (including warm-up) averaged 20 minutes, compared to 45 minutes for the MI-RE group. That’s big when “lack of time” is a frequent excuse for people who don’t exercise.

Improvements in cardiometabolic health were basically the same, with two eye-catching differences. Systolic blood pressure and LDL cholesterol decreased significantly in the HIT group only.

In terms of muscular fitness, body fat percentage decreased significantly and 1-RM and 5-RM improved significantly for all exercises in both training groups. HIT-RE, however, elicited greater improvements in the seated row (1 and 5 reps), chest press (5 reps), leg press (1 and 5 reps), and lat pull-down (5 reps).

The researchers zeroed in on another difference: HIT 5-rep training improved muscular fitness for all exercises at three weeks, while the traditional protocol didn’t produce results for several exercises until 6 weeks. “The achievement of such rapid results is important to highlight,” the researchers wrote “as seeing these gains in only three weeks may improve the motivation levels of many clients during the early phase of a new workout, when they are typically most prone to frustration and dropout.”

www.cbass.com/hiit_resistanceexercise.htm

In fairness, the study included a limited number of people (48) -- is that enough to qualify the results?  Don't know.  But, the before/after HIT results are pretty impressive.  (Of course, the Bullworker and another site we all know of cite an obscure study by an obscure coach who uses a 'strap' in his so-called research yet provided some useless claims, based on his publication that I read on line, that his workout was more productive than weight training.)

[TexasRanger]

This is an advertisement for Pete Sisco's product, but, his numbers are interesting: (strength) train less, gain more:

www.precisiontraining.com/results-of-the-mass-gain-study/

John Little's "Nautilus North Study" -- a .pdf he released in the 2000s -- put experienced trainees in their 30s, 40s and 50s (?) through workouts that were brief and infrequent, yet, the results were again impressive.  Stronger, leaner in ~6 weeks.

[mr potatohead]

Thanks for the CB article link, TR.

I am a little confused though. In the first paragraph, he starts talking about HIIT and then switches to HIT.
He also doesn't explain what "RE" means, but, from the context, I assume it means "Resistance Exercise"?


I really like this part with the Arthur Jones quote:

Arthur Jones would approve of this study. I find it important and credible.

“Train hard, train briefly, train infrequently,” Jones repeated over and over again. I have followed that advice with great success for many years. The end result has been short, one-set, whole-body weight workouts once or twice a week. Split routines, according to Jones, make no more sense than eating or sleeping for a particular part of your body.

[Michael]

Mikey, he's just saying how HIIT(High-Intensity interval training) is the same concept as HIT(High Intensity Training) in a shorter workout time with better results. HIIT is done intervals like say 30 seconds high intensity/30 seconds low intensity on a cardio machine. The rest of the article is about HIT which he's probably talking about weights but could be done with bodyweight.

[josepz]

HIT makes sense but I must assume that it doesn't work for everybody. Whiffet used to train that way but he didn't unleash his potential until he switched to calisthenics and more conventional lifting protocols. With HIT he didn't get the results he expected and he said he dreaded his workouts.
Whiffet? You there?😅

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2019 15:18:57 GMT josepz said:

HIT makes sense but I must assume that it doesn't work for everybody. Whiffet used to train that way but he didn't unleash his potential until he switched to calisthenics and more conventional lifting protocols. With HIT he didn't get the results he expected and he said he dreaded his workouts.
Whiffet? You there?😅

More volume and less intensity definitely led to a better-looking physique, far greater strength gains, and I enjoyed my workouts, too!

I'm still low volume and infrequent compared to what many do, but found a sweet spot.

I do a full-body routine with five sets per exercise. I then typically have 3 or 4 days off between resistance workouts. I do cardio on some of these days.

Therefore it has a lot in common with the lower-volume approach but I avoid failure most of the time.

[Deleted]

Each workout is around 38 sets in total for the whole body.

[Deleted]

Sometimes I switch to HIT still. It's really just the same routine but I do a couple of warm up sets for each exercise and a final set to failure. This works well for 4 weeks or so then it starts to become a grind, so I up the volume and reduce the intensity.

[Deleted]

With HIT my max dip was stuck at an added 40 kilos. When I started avoiding failure and implementing many of Pavel's tips it shot up to 70 kilos for a few reps.

[TexasRanger]

Feb 2, 2019 17:13:14 GMT whiffet said:

Sometimes I switch to HIT still. It's really just the same routine but I do a couple of warm up sets for each exercise and a final set to failure. This works well for 4 weeks or so then it starts to become a grind, so I up the volume and reduce the intensity.

Would agree.  I cycle HIT and less intensity/a set or two more periodically, or, when I'm traveling which provides impromtu "periodization".

[Michael]

Feb 2, 2019 17:14:57 GMT whiffet said:

With HIT my max dip was stuck at an added 40 kilos. When I started avoiding failure and implementing many of Pavel's tips it shot up to 70 kilos for a few reps.

Are You talking about the tension tips? If not what tips did You use? Thanks

[TexasRanger]

Feb 3, 2019 14:41:05 GMT Michael said:

Feb 2, 2019 17:14:57 GMT whiffet said:

With HIT my max dip was stuck at an added 40 kilos. When I started avoiding failure and implementing many of Pavel's tips it shot up to 70 kilos for a few reps.

Are You talking about the tension tips? If not what tips did You use? Thanks

Not speaking for Whiffet, but, in PttP -- and you probably know this already Michael ( ) -- Pavel recommends not going to failure, keeping the reps around 5, staying fresh for the next workout.  And after a few weeks, you back down/back off and then start on your next cycle.  (Pages 50 - 57)  Pavel notes, " Accept the necessity to take a step back in order to take two steps forward." (pg 51, PttP)  He cites Atko, Matveyev as some of the sources of this approach.  (To give credit, other coaches in the US and New Zealand had both strength and distance running coaches making similar recommendations.  The father of modern coaching techniques for distance running, Lydiard, had coached runners to gold medals using this approach.)

My son in law follows a program similar to PttP called Smolov which is based on lower reps, a few more sets and baby steps (like Pavel) to more intensity. He has reached PRs regularly, but, the cycles are over a number of months allowing for gradual adaption to the imposed stress.  Proabably  a wiser way to do things and you allow your body to adapt.  (On this recommendation: Pavel notes Dr. Joseph Horrigan, chiropractor in Los Angeles who has written a number of books on strength training, mentions those who "cycle their lifts experience a lot fewer injuries".)  





www.jackedfactory.com/smolov-squat-routine/

Whiffet -- hope I'm not misrepresenting what you meant?

[Michael]

Yeah, that's what I figured. With dips using that amount of weight, I'm guessing has no choice but to use the tension techniques. I'm working on a goal to press a heavier kettlebell for 5 reps before summer, was curious.

[mr potatohead]

Um ..... OK, "cycles / periodization", I get that, but I must have missed it ....?

So, what are Pavel's "tension tips" &/or "tension techniques"?

[TexasRanger]

Feb 3, 2019 16:25:46 GMT mr potatohead said:

Um ..... OK, "cycles / periodization", I get that, but I must have missed it ....?

So, what are Pavel's "tension tips" &/or "tension techniques"?

Mr P -

Written with a huge grin: I'm surprised you don't recall them from Gordon Anderson's cut & pastes which claimed Pavel's approach to strength training is the same as Swoboda's BS.

But, Pavel covers this in PttP first on page 12 where he states "Tension = Force.  The tenser your muscles are, the more strength you display."  He also notes that to do this, your reps need to be slower...not ramming out rep after rep...to optimize the benefits of using 'tension'.  Again on page 60, he talks about this again but calls it "hyperirrandiation".  In this case, it is what many of us instinctually do or were coached to do when we were first starting out: 'brace' for a big lift. A heavy squat? heavy deadlift?  You certainly don't relax when getting ready to get under the bar or pull the bar off of the ground.  Pretty much the same idea, but, on page 61 he talks about the benefits including improved strength, form and safety.

Pavel's Naked Warrior (...warrior?) book also covers the subject in quite a bit of detail mixing in tension and bracing with the performance of one-armed push ups and pistols.  I can't find my copy right now, but, there's a section in the first part of the book that talks about bracing your core and glutes, etc., to create better strength for your push up.  Admittedly, I didn't get too far with the NW book in terms of trying it out, but, what I did use appeared to support Pavel's recommendations.  Convict Conditioning includes some of this as well.