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High intensity training, often abbreviated to HIT, is a series of training methods with the overall approach of performing short and intense workouts infrequently during the week, leaving plenty of time for rest from the training induced damage.
Many common bodybuilding style training programs follow the same basic format of sets, reps and rest time. High intensity training however often involves targeting your muscles in a very hard fashion, in a much shorter period of time. Workouts are commonly limited to two per week, take no longer then 60 minutes, and involve a selection of mainly compound exercises which are collectively taxing on the muscles of the body. Such a high intensity training (HIT) may look like the following:
Monday
Thursday
Deadlifts
Push press
Bent over rows
Sets are usually limited to two, with eight to ten repetitions per exercise, with a limited rest time between sets. This rep and set scheme is not rigid however, if you can perform more reps with your selected weight then keep going, keep the set as intense as possible, Remember to ensure you are fully warmed up before starting your session as the aim is to be intense with each set, using a challenging weight and going very close to failure (and sometimes beyond if you have a training partner to spot you). The midsection can be trained at the end of both training days during the week, with a couple of very high intensity sets of crunches, or another midsection targeting exercise.
The above training routine example should give a clear indication of the way high intensity training routines are structured, but we should always remember that no training program should be totally rigid in this manner. There are many training techniques that can be used within your training that heighten the training intensity to another level, pushing your muscles to limit of what they are capable of, the fundamental purpose and aim of high intensity training. Incorporating such high intensity training techniques will allow for greater muscle damage, damage that is repaired during your rest days to result in greater hypertrophy and adaptation to the stress. So what are some of these high intensity training techniques?
Rest pause training - interpretated and integrated in different ways, although the basic concept behind rest pause training is performing a set number of reps close to failure, then pausing for enough time to recover slightly to allow for another few repetitions to be performed.
Drop set - this is the reduction of resistance once a muscle has failed at a particular resistance to allow the trainer to continue performing repetitions. An example would be a biceps curl at 40kg being curled for 10 reps (the 10th rep was a challenge) and then for the weight to be quickly reduced to 30kg to allow for another 6 reps. This technique is sometimes best performed on machines due to the ability to quickly change the resistance with the change of a pin in the weight stack, and also allows for greater safety with the increased chance of failure.
Super set - the completion of a set of a particular exercise, instantly followed by a set of an exercise that targets the opposite muscle group. An example would be a set of biceps curls instantly followed by a set of overhead triceps extensions. This is also sometimes referred to when two exercises are performed back to back that target the same muscle groups.
Negatives - the positive part of an exercise is done very quickly in a less taxing way, often partially or completely aided by a spotter, whilst the negative (also called the eccentric) phrase is done very slowly. This training technique is very taxing on a muscle and is a stimulus that is often foreign to most trainers.
Giant set - this is the completion of three exercises successively that all target the same muscle group. An example would be a set of dumbbell curls, instantly followed by a set of EZ bar curls, instantly followed by a set of hammer curls.
Forced reps - these are repetitions that could not be completed by the trainer by themselves, but need the aid of a spotter for completion. The spotter will aid with the lift just enough to allow the trainer to complete the reps, resulting in the trainer going beyond failure.
Partial reps - these are repetitions that are performed through a limited range of motion for a particular exercise. These are often performed at the end of a set once the trainer has failed and can no longer complete a full range of motion of the exercise.
The above high intensity training methods are advanced training techniques that can be used to increase the intensity of your training. The training principals are very taxing on the muscles, and therefore required enough rest after the workout to recover, hence why they are very well suited to high intensity training style workouts.
The high intensity training methods can be incorporated into a training program such as the one outlined above, and can also be successfully used to include some isolation exercises into your high intensity training program, and to work on weak areas.
So, there we have it, high intensity training and a selection of training methods that can be used to further increase a workouts intensity to the next level. This training method can be successful in many trainers at inducing muscle growth and strength, but it is important that the things outside of the gym are in place. Nutrition is vitally important to supply the much needed building blocks and energy to recovery from your very high intensity training sessions. Other taxing activities need to be limited to allow for recovery, and we must limit the number of training sessions per week.
High intensity training + lots of rest and nutrition = winning formula!
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