BODYBUILDING

What is High Intensity Training (HIT)?

Arthur Jones (Nautilus)
MIKE MENTZER (Heavy-Duty)
Dorian Yates (Blood & Guts)

1|Page
2|Page
 Arthur Jones (Nautilus)

Naturally big
The founder of high intensity training (HIT), Arthur Jones, came up with the system
while watching his 200kg pet gorilla do a one arm pull-up as if it weighed as much as
a marmoset monkey (we have no idea what he's doing with a gorilla as a pet, but
that's beside the point).

3|Page
The reason behind this incredible strength was because gorillas in the wild do almost
no physical activity. But when they do work, they go at it with 100% intensity. The
activity is hard, brief and infrequent. But if you exercised a male lion or gorilla as
much as most bodybuilders do you'd probably kill them – and it's certainly obvious
they don't need that much training to get so big. Neither do you. The truth is you don't
need to slog it out for hours in the gym to get alpha male muscles. Just stick to these
principles to maximize the gains from your efforts.

Repetitions

Working with 80% of your 1 rep max you should manage 8-12 repetitions which
means each sets should last no more than 120 seconds. Always aim to do more
repetitions on each exercise in your next workout than you did in your previous
workout. When you get to 12, add more weight.

Form

Lift and lower the weight smoothly taking 4 seconds to raise it and another 4 to lower
it. Work through a full range of movement with all reps.

Naturally big
The founder of high intensity training (HIT), Arthur Jones, came up with the system
while watching his 200kg pet gorilla do a one arm pull-up as if it weighed as much as
a marmoset monkey (we have no idea what he's doing with a gorilla as a pet, but
that's beside the point). The reason behind this incredible strength was because
gorillas in the wild do almost no physical activity. But when they do work, they go at
it with 100% intensity. The activity is hard, brief and infrequent. But if you exercised
a male lion or gorilla as much as most bodybuilders do you'd probably kill them –
and it's certainly obvious they don't need that much training to get so big. Neither do
you. The truth is you don't need to slog it out for hours in the gym to get alpha male
muscles. Just stick to these principles to maximise the gains from your efforts.

Repetitions

Working with 80% of your 1 rep max you should manage 8-12 repetitions which
means each sets should last no more than 120 seconds. Always aim to do more
repetitions on each exercise in your next workout than you did in your previous
workout. When you get to 12, add more weight.

4|Page
Form

Lift and lower the weight smoothly taking 4 seconds to raise it and another 4 to lower
it. Work through a full range of movement with all reps.

Intensity
Performing one set to muscle failure with a weight that's 80% of your one rep max
you may find, mid-set, that you can do an extra rep – go for it then try for one more
until you've got nothing left.

Duration

You'll need about 25 minutes to perform the routine, if you take longer than 40
minutes to complete then you're being lazy and doing something wrong.

Frequency

Do no more than three workouts a week leaving at least a day between each one, this
is to let your muscles recover properly. Training stimulates growth but only full
recovery permits that growth to actually occur.

Rest

Don't rest between sets. The time it takes you to put away the weight you've just used
and rack up the next set is all you need to recover.

The routine
Do only exercises 1 to 8 for the first week and focus on doing them with perfect
form. On Monday of the second week, add exercises 9 and 10 then on Wednesday
add exercises 11 and 12. On Friday of the second week, crank up the resistance and
your intensity, but still don't go all out on all 12 exercises. At the beginning of the
third week you should be prepared to go to failure in good form. Do this for another 2
weeks then reduce your training load to 5 session in the following 2 weeks.

1. Bicep curl

Works:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a bar-bell with an underhand grip.
Keep your upper arms tucked against your sides and your shoulder blades pulled
together.

5|Page
Bend your elbows to curl the weight up until the bar reaches your shoulders. Contract
your biceps, then reverse the motion and slowly return to the starting position.

2. Stiff legged deadlift

Works: hamstrings, lower back

stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place a dumb-bell on either side of each
foot. Keep only a slight bend on your knees.

Bend at your knees and hips to grab the dumb-bells with an overhand grip. Push your
thighs forward to raise the weights so your legs become fully extended to the start
position. Lower the weights to the floor by bending at your hips while keeping your
knees locked. Return the start position along the same path.
3. Leg extensions

Works: quads
Sit at a leg extension machine with your ankles tucked under the footpads, back and
buttocks flush against the seat.

Slowly extend your legs up and forward until they are straight in front of you, but
keep your knees unlocked. Pause, then slowly bend your knees until your legs are
lowered back down.

4. Squat

Works: quads, glutes

Place a bar-bell on a squat rack at about upper chest level. Grab the bar with an
overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, duck underneath it, and rest
the bar across the backs of your shoulders.

Lift the bar off the rack and step back. Tense your abs and keep your back straight.
Slowly bend your knees until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Pause then
press yourself back up into a standing position.

5. Pull-over

Works: lats, chest, triceps, serratus anterior

Lie with your upper back perpendicular to a bench. Push your hips slightly upwards.
Hold a dumb-bell from behind or from side with both hands under inner plate of the
weight. Position the weight over your chest and keep a 30° arc in your elbows
6|Page
throughout exercise.

Lower dumb-bell over and beyond your head until your upper arms are parallel to
your torso. Pull the weight to the start position along the same path.

6. Bar-bell bench press

Works: chest triceps

Lie on a bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grab the bar-bell with an overhand
grip (palms facing away from you), your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width
apart. Remove the bar from the uprights and position it above your chest with your
arms straight.

Bend your elbows to slowly lower the bar to your chest, just below your nipples.
Straighten your elbows to press the weight back up until your arms are straight but
not locked. Don't arch your back off the bench.

7. Bar-bell bent over row

Works: lats, biceps, traps, rear deltoid
Stand holding a bar-bell with an overhand grip with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Keeping your back flat, bend forward at the hip until your back is at a 45 degree
angle to the floor. You should have a slight bend in your knees with your straight
arms beneath your shoulders.

Bend your elbows to bring the bar to point that's just below your chest. Pause then
slowly lower the weight to the start position. Breath in when you pull the bar and
exhale when you return it to the start. Never round your back during this exercise.

8. Shoulder press

Works: shoulders, triceps

Sit on a bench with your feet placed shoulder-width apart on the ground. Rest the bar-
bell behind your head just above your neck.
Straighten your arms to press the weight up until your arms are straight but not
locked. Lower the weight back to your shoulders along the same path. Don't arch
your head forward.

7|Page
9. Triceps extension

Works: triceps
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumb-bell one each hand. Extend
each your arm directly above your head and let your other arm hang at your side.

Lower your forearm behind your head by bending your elbows completely. Keep
your elbows tucked close to your head while you lower the weights. Raise your arms
up along the same path you lowered them.

10. Lateral raise

Works: shoulders, traps

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumb-bell in each hand at your
sides. Keep a slight bend in your elbows with your palms facing each other. Raise
your arms straight out to your sides.

Imagine you are holding two jugs of water, so don't tilt your wrists forward. Stop
when the weights are even with the tops of your shoulders. Pause, then lower them
along the same path.

11. Standing calf raise

Works: calves
Place a raised platform behind you that's about 3 inches high. Stand with your feet
shoulder width apart while resting a bar-bell across your shoulders. Lock your knees.
Rest your toes on the platform with your heals in the air.Lower your heels as far
down as you can then rise up onto your toes. Hold for a second then repeat. This is
muscle is used all day when you walk and is tough to work so don't be afraid to use a
heavy weight.

12. Trunk curl on floor

Works: abs
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor and your hands behind
your head for support. Hold a weight plate behind your head if you can manage it.
Slowly lift your head and shoulders using your abdominals, curling your trunk about
30 degrees. Now lower your head and shoulders back to the floor. As you are lifting,
imagine that you are trying to touch your ribcage to your hip bones, curling your
trunk into a flexed position and pressing your belly button down and in.

8|Page
 High Intensity Weight Training Routines (HIT)

High Intensity Weight Training takes a different approach to the high rep workouts
that were popular before and still popular today. Here we look at some of the history
of HIT, reasons to try it, research concerning its limitations, a few HIT cycles and
then Dorian Yates’ HIT routine. This introduction is by no means an exhaustive
review of High Intensity Weight Training. Note: Do not confuse HIT with HIIT.
HIIT, with two I’s, is High Intensity Interval Training, and is primarily a cardio
workout, although elements of bodyweight resistance training is often incorporated.
Read more about HIIT in our article on Metabolic Conditioning.

HIT was made famous by Mike Menzter and Arthur Jones in the 1970s. He was an
inventor who founded Nautilus weight training equipment. Critics of the system
suggest that the promotion of HIT was a clever piece of marketing to promote
Nautilus.
In short, HIT focuses on training to muscular failure. You lift very heavy weights for
fewer repetitions and aim to fail at the end of each set.
A good weights gym is needed for HIT workouts, simply because some of the
exercises, specifically hyperextensions, pressdowns, seated calf raises and leg

9|Page
extensions all require apparatus. As good as free weights are, some exercises require
machines or specialist benches.
As HIT man mentions below, practitioners of HIT rarely if ever perform sets of single
lifts. The general prescription is 1-3 sets per exercise/muscle, 6-10 reps or 8-12 reps
per set, and a maximum of 12 total sets per workout.
Why Do HIT?
HIT methods were developed to increase strength. Weight Lifters use these methods
for their training, as the goal is to lift the maximum weight possible. The main
purpose of the HIT method is ensuring that you train to failure, i.e. that the last rep
you do you fail on, meaning that you cannot complete another, no matter how hard
you try.
Sometimes you reach the last set and manage to complete it. Rather than attempting
another one at a heavier weight at this point, you should just ensure you push yourself
further in your next weight training session.
However, there is a lot of debate over whether it is best to complete extra sets until
failure is reached. Some research suggests that training to failure too much can
impede muscular development. Some people would add an extra set to the end and
keep going until they fail.
Experience shows that this is usually the next set anyway, unless you have suddenly
made vast improvements, or you have made a mistake on your training plan and have
been lifting too light a weight!
HIT is sometimes just used to get over a training plateau. When this happens it is
advisable a change your workout and one way to really give your workout a change is
to adopt a high intensity training routine (also known as HIT).

High Intensity Training Warning

HIT hurts. Here are some general pointers on HIT training:
•A proper HIT workout will leave you exhausted to the point that you will
most likely want to lie down afterwards
•If you are training HIT full on then your body will need a proper rest after 6
weeks of training
•HIT routines need to be split and you can only train once per day, 3 times per
week (maybe 4 if your are already well conditioned to training)
•HIT sessions are generally short, from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.
•HIT is not for the weak minded. It takes as much mental preparation than
anything else. You may start to dislike the thought of training
•As HIT is so intensive you need to do nothing else but HIT during your 6
week cycle (or any other length cycle). So no cardio, kickboxing, football or
running. Just HIT, eat, sleep, eat, HIT etc.

10 | P a g e
High-intensity Resistance Training Reduces Body Fat
Research carried out by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the
University of Texas investigated the effect of high intensity weight training and
intensive endurance training on body fat and resting metabolic rate.
The study looked at the effects of either 12 weeks of high-intensity endurance or
resistance training on resting metabolic rate was investigated in 47 males aged 18-35
years.
During the study subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group (i.e. no
exercise), weight training resistance-trained (RT) or endurance-trained (ET) group.
After training, both exercise groups showed a significant reduction in relative total
body fat either by reducing their total fat weight and maintaining fat- free weight in
energy expenditure [ET, 2.721 MJ (650 kcal) per training day]. This research seems
(ET) or by reducing their total fat weight and increasing fat- free weight (RT).
Resting metabolic rate did not significantly change after either training regimen
although a small decline in energy intake was observed along with an increase in
energy expenditure [ET, 2.721 MJ (650 kcal) per training day]. This research seems
(ET) or by reducing their total fat weight and increasing fat- free weight (RT).
to suggest that one a basic level exercise does not significantly raise metabolism
enough to really burn more calories. But the act of exercising itself is enoto suggest
that one a basic level exercise does not significantly raise metabolism enough to
really burn more calories. But the act of exercising itself is enough to burn more
calories.
These results also suggest that both endurance and resistance training may help to
prevent a reduction in resting metabolic rate normally observed during extended
periods of negative energy balance (energy intake less than expenditure) by either
preserving or increasing a person’s fat-free weight.
Weight training has for a long time been shown to help reduce body fat, and many
people believe that it is attributable to an increase in metabolism, which helps to
reduce body fat further – however this research reveals that it can only prevent
metabolic rate declining, and not actually increase it.
One again some research into weight loss and exercise seems to conclude that they
real key to losing weight is to follow a healthy lifestyle and take regular exercise.
They actually type of exercise does not make a huge difference in metabolic rate and
therefore daily calories needs.
If you are looking to lose weight (or more specifically to lose total body fat) then you
should change your eating habits permanently (go on a lifelong diet) and also learn to
exercise on the regular basis. There appears to be no “best way to exercise” though.
Personal experience suggests that following a range of activities, such as weight
training, cardio workouts, HIIT and sports can help you to manage your weight well.
11 | P a g e
Take a look at our fitness section to find many articles which provide a range of
different fitness workouts, from bodyweight circuits through to polymetric training
and resistance training.

Weight Training To Failure Makes You Weaker

Training to failure is still a very popular way for many to do weight training. The idea
is that only by reaching momentary muscular failure you become stronger. Failure in
this respect means that you are exhausted to the point that you can no longer lift the
weight.
This has always been open to debate, but now research has shown that people who
train to failure all the time are limiting their strength gains. The best way to train is to
stop each exercise set before you reach failure, to almost fail. Going “beyond failure”
as popularized by Mike Mentzer and other HIT bodybuilders will only make you
weaker.
In June 2010 the National Strength and Conditioning Association stated;
“Failure training performed too frequently can result in reductions in the resting
concentration of testosterone and contribute to the overtraining syndrome. The
research suggests the greatest effectiveness when failure training is practised
consistently over 6-week cycles, interspersed with exclusive nonfailure training cycles
over equal periods. Coaches should consider athletes’ training status and goals and
the point in a yearly training cycle to determine whether sets are to be performed to
failure or ended short of reaching failure.” Dr. Jeffrey Willardson.

This supports the periodization training method that many athletes follow.
Periodization follows cycles of high intensity and heavy work with cycles of lower
intensity endurance training. The main purpose to this form of training is to avoid
adaptation, where you become more efficient and performing a particular type of
exercise, and so gain less from it.
Our bodies want to just maintain their current level of fitness, so development tends
to decline the longer we do something. Increasing intensity sparks new growth but
prolonged intensity then leads to overtraining and a reversal of fitness and muscle
development.

Middle Intensity Training is Best

In similar research it was determined that for the best strength improvements you
should train at a middle intensity, between working to failure and endurance training.
“short-term resistance training using moderate volumes of high relative intensity
tended to produce higher enhancements in weightlifting performance compared with
low and high volumes of high relative training intensities of equal total volume in
12 | P a g e
experienced, trained young weightlifters. Therefore, for the present population of
weightlifters, it may be beneficial to use the MIG* training protocol to improve the
weightlifting program at least in a short-term (10 weeks) cycle of training.”
González-Badillo et al, 2006.
*MIG refers simply to the moderate-intensity exercise group in the study.
One of the problems with this type of research is that it never takes into account the
genetics of the individual. Some people may just respond better to a high intensity
method. The normal optimum response may be volume training but generally
bodybuilders do have slightly freaky genetics.
Many bodybuilding professionals have adopted a high intensity training method, with
Mike Mentzer being one of the first to make HIT popular and then more recently
Dorian Yates. However, they still have many years of volume training under their
weight lifting belts before starting a high intensity protocol.
The facts about weight training seem to have not changed a great deal:
1.For muscle size, volume training is best – i.e. bodybuilders methods
2.For power and functional strength, high intensity training periodized with
cardio training to increase VO2 is best
3.For pure strength training moderate intensity with periods of high intensity
works best
See Are You Training for Muscular Strength, Size, or Power? And Weight Training
Intensity or Volume for Bigger Muscles? For some older discussions on this topic.
How you lift weights should depend entirely on your goals. It is still my belief that
many of the pro-bodybuilders that have followed a HIT method do massive warm-ups
which are not mentioned in the discussions on their methods. One persons warm-up
is another’s first work set.

4 Week HIT Cycle

If you just only have time to do one big workout each week, then this HIT* routine
(high intensity training) is a good place to start. The workout is split over a 4 week
period, with the third week being a repeat of the first week. You still need to fit in a
second session, but this is a quick session, which can easily be completed in 20
minutes, assuming you have some dumbbells at home.

Week 1:
Saturday:
1.Shoulder press
2.Pull ups
3.Bench press
4.Bent-over row

13 | P a g e
Monday & Thursday:
1.Bicep Curls
2.Tricep extensions

Week 2:
Saturday:
1.Deadlifts
2.Pec flyes
Monday & Thursday:
1.Bicep Curls
2.Tricep extensions

Week 3: (same as week 1)

Week 4:
Saturday:
1.Squats
2.Upright row
Monday & Thursday:
1.Bicep Curls
2.Tricep extensions

This is a really good beginners HIT-style training programme. There is one big
session per week and the recovery-time per muscle groups is proportional to their
size. The big full-body compounds are spaced two weeks apart. Shoulders, chest, lats
and upper-back get a full week of recovery from the systemic-damage of the big
compounds and two-weeks since they were hit with the same exercise.
In between you are giving the smaller muscle groups three days recovery. The week-
day sessions are also very small (half-hour maybe) so they are less impact on your
evening.

Typical HIT 3 Day Split

Triceps and Delts Day

•Incline Barbell Press – 3 sets – 10, 8, 6 reps
•Flat Flye – 1 set – 8 reps
•Shoulder press – 2 sets – 8, 6 reps
•Side raises – 1 set – 8 reps
14 | P a g e
 •Pressdowns – 2 sets – 8, 6 reps

Thighs and Calves Day

•Barbell Squats – 3 sets – 10, 8, 6 reps
•Leg extensions – 1 set – 8 reps
•Leg curls- 3 sets – 10, 8, 6 reps
•Standing calf raises – 1 set – 8 reps
•Seated calf raises (requires use of a specialist seated calf machine) – 3 sets –
10, 8, 6 reps

Back and Biceps Day

•Hyperextentions (use hyperextension bench for this)- 3 sets – 10, 8, 6 reps
•Bent Over Barbell row – 3 sets – 10, 8, 6 reps
•Pulldowns or narrow grip chin ups – 1 set – 8 reps
•Barbell curls superseted with incline hammer curls – 2 sets – 8, 6 reps
•Barbell shrugs – 2 sets – 8, 6 reps

15 | P a g e
 Mike Mentzer’s High Intensity Weight Training
Mike Mentzer did not invent High Intensity Weight Training, but he made it popular.
During his time in the military, while also doing his bodybuilding training the old
fashioned way (very long training sessions with many sets and hundreds of reps) he
came across Casey Viator, who was the winner of Mike’s first bodybuilding
competition.

Mike was shocked when Casey Viator told him that his training sessions only last
about half an hour. Viator would train to a very high intensity using much heavier
weights, while still lifting for as many repetitions as possible before total muscle
failure occurred.
For Mike this method would solve his current training issues, as he often lacked time.
He was an instant convert.

Mentzer’s Weight Training Rules

Adding to our study of Mike Menzter and his High Intensity Training methods, here
is a video clip from YouTube. The video includes some warm up exercises to do
before weight training. Each exercise must see the muscle worked through its full
range of motion from a fully extended position to a fully contracted position.
1.Once the fully contracted position is reached, pause momentarily before
returning to the retracted position.

16 | P a g e
 2.If a momentary pause is not possible this is an indication that the weight is
too heavy.
3.Important to remember to slowly lower the weight through the eccentric
(negative) phase until the muscle is fully extended.
4.In order for the exercise to be effective muscular involvement must be at a
maximum.
5.Rapid reps reduce muscular involvement.
6.The concentric movement should last 2-3 seconds and the eccentric
movement 4 seconds.
7.Progressive overload is the key – add more weight
8.Recommended that you start with a weight for which you can only just
perform a set of 8 reps with strict form
9.Work this weight until failure. You will get stronger.
10.Once you are able to perform 12 reps, add approximately 10% more weight
to continue the progressive overload cycle.
11.Once you have more experience, add forced reps to help attain total
muscular failure. A partner is required.
12.Failure is measured by no longer being able to lift the weight through its full
range with strict form. Some people make the error of thinking that failure
Work on the smaller muscles to support your compound exercises.
13.Here is a “classmean that you can no longer lift the weight no matter how
hard you try. This is not the case. It is when good form does not allow you to
lift the weight from fully contracted to fully extended and back again.
ie,” Mike Mentzer HIT routine from his early training. Legs are given a little more
reps than the upper body. Nowadays HIT enthusiasts often perform fewer reps,
preferring the 6-10 range. The main legs workout is repeated. He later created a
“Consolidated Routine” which had even less exercises. Each workout is followed by
4-7 days of complete rest.

17 | P a g e
Mike Mentzer’s Legs Workout 1
•Leg extension 12–20 reps (superset with leg press 12–20 reps)
•Calf raise 12–20 reps
•Sit-up 12–20 reps

18 | P a g e
Mike Mentzer’s Chest and Back Workout
•Flat dumbbell flye 6–10 reps (superset with incline bench press 4-6 reps)
•Overhead cable pullover 6–10 reps (superset with reverse-grip cable pulldown
6–10 reps)
•Deadlift 5–8 reps

19 | P a g e
Mike Mentzer’s Delts and Arms Workout
•Dumbbell lateral raise 6-10 reps (superset with barbell shoulder 3–5 reps)
•Bent-over lateral raise 6-10 reps
•Barbell curl 6-10 reps
•Triceps cable pressdown 6-10 reps (superset with Dip 3–5 reps)

20 | P a g e
21 | P a g e
Two Session HIT Weight Training Workout
If you plan to start high intensity weight training, then after a few general full body
sessions this split routine is an effective way to target the main muscle groups and
also add some isolation exercises. This session is composed of two big compounds
and two isolation exercises.
With HIT workouts the general rule is to always train to momentary muscular failure
– not really possible within a set number of reps on the first session. Keeping a
training log will help you to ensure that later sessions are designed to allow you to
perform the ideal number of sets/reps. each set should be 6-10 reps for upper body
and 12-20 reps for lower body.

HIT Training Session 1:

•Squat
•Chin ups
•Concentration curl
•Skull crushers
(four days rest, then)

HIT Training Session 2:

•Deadlift
•Bench Press
•Barbell curls
•Tricep bar seated tricep extensions

Rest Pause and HIT

High intensity training is a great way to build strength and hypertrophy. It uses the
“rest-pause” method of lifting that was popularized by Mike Mentzer, a former Mr.
Universe.
Mike Mentzer ‘s bodybuilding peaked after performing rest-pause routines, which is
an old system of lifting involving single-rep maximums interspersed with brief (10
second) rest periods. Rest-pause has the advantages of old-school power training
while also allowing for enough overall reps to be performed for hypertrophy and
cardiovascular exercise purposes.
While many people know the basics of Heavy Duty training, the advanced
techniques are known by only a few. Learn the detailed secrets!
The advanced and super advanced techniques were fully researched and tested by
Mike in the late 70's, but following the infamous 1980 Mr. Olympia, Mike retired
from competition. After that he worked as a personal trainer and concentrated on
what works best for beginners and intermediates. And so Heavy Duty for advanced

22 | P a g e
and super advanced trainees became all but lost, even though Mike made the best
gains of his life using these techniques.

Climbing the Ladder of Intensity

Mike knew that, as a bodybuilder grew bigger and stronger, he would eventually
require an even more intense training stress if he hopes to continue progressing. If the
stress is not more intense he will stagnate and stay at the same level of size and
strength.

Beginners
For beginners starting a weight training program is a huge leap in intensity from not
training, and this is why they make such rapid gains at first. To keep progressing they
can simply keep increasing the weights and decreasing the rest periods between sets.
When they stop making gains this way they are ready for the next level of intensity.

Intermediates
At this stage a more intense stress is required, this is be done by using Pre-Exhaustion
sets, for example a set of Leg Extensions to failure followed by a set of Leg Press (or
Squats) to failure. Also forced reps and negatives to go beyond the point of positive
failure can be occasionally used. These techniques will carry someone into the
advanced level, Mike reached this point and using these techniques he was unable to
get bigger or stronger, this forced him to do further research into the highest levels of
intensity.

Advanced
At this level Mike found that he was so strong and his willingness to work at
maximum effort was so high that each rep of a set was so intense that oxygen debt
and lactic acid build up was practically immediate and severe enough that he was
forced to stop due to cardiovascular limitation rather than because he reached a point
of actual muscular failure. He looked for a way that he could do even more intense
reps while at the same time slowing the buildup of lactic acid and the onset of oxygen
debt in his muscles.
The way he did this was to do his own version of Rest Pause training, he used a
weight that would allow him to do one all out maximum rep, then rested for 10
seconds, this would give enough time for his muscle to clear out waste products and
bring new fuel and oxygen so he could do another all out rep. After the second rep
and another 10 seconds rest he would have his training partner help him do another
all out rep, or he would reduce the weight by 20%. He would then rest 15 seconds

23 | P a g e
and do his last all out rep. This was considered one set, with each and every rep of the
set being an all out effort.

1 Mike Mentzer Set

=
1 st Max Rep
+
10 Second Rest
+
2 nd Max Rep
+
10 Second Rest
+
1 More All Out Rep
or
Reduce Weight By 20% And Do The Rep
+
15 Second Rest
+
Final Rep
An example rest pause workout that Mike would do for his chest was Pec Deck 1 set
of 4 Rest Pause reps, Incline Bench Press 1 set of 4 Rest Pause reps and Dips
(Negative only style) 1 set of 5 reps. Mike then had to ask himself what could be
more intense then Rest Pause training?
Super Advanced Heavy Duty
Mikes next step up the ladder of intensity was what he called Infitonic training; he
followed each maximum positive rep of a Rest Pause set with a maximum negative
Rep. He had his training partner push down a little on the negative and he would fight
to resist it, lowering it as slowly as possible. He then rested 15 seconds before his
next maximum positive and negative rep.
The very highest level of Heavy Duty he called Omni-Contraction training, meaning
all contraction. There are three ways a muscle can contract, that is lifting a weight
(positive), lowering a weight (negative) and holding a weight (static).
In Omni-Contraction training Mike would make each a maximum effort. He would
do his one all out maximum positive rep, followed by a maximum negative, but
during the negative he would stop the weight and actually try to raise the weight
again (which was impossible). He would do these static holds at three different points
during the negative rep, the first was at the top, close to the fully contracted position,
the second was halfway down and the third was close to the bottom position. Each
position was held for a count of 3.

24 | P a g e
25 | P a g e
26 | P a g e
27 | P a g e
28 | P a g e
29 | P a g e
30 | P a g e
 Dorian Yates Workout Routines

Dorian Yates is a British bodybuilding champion. He was born in Sutton Coldfield in

the West Midlands in 1962. At the age of 30 in 1992 he became a World bodybuilding
champion when he won Mr. Olympia. He then won a further 5 times in a row until
1997 when he also retired.
Dorian Yates has adopted and adapted the HIT principal. With HIT training the
number of work reps is reduced to the bare minimum, with more weight and more
intensity applied.mith the more traditional high rep approach to bodybuilding people
either work a set number of reps and sets on an exercise or stop at initial failure. With
HIT the aim is to fail sooner, but to put vastly more effort in to trying to work through
the point of failure, i.e. it is more intense.

31 | P a g e
“Dorian Yates ushered in the era of the mass monsters in the ’90s.” – Various
journalists. I never set out to redefine the standards for muscle mass and density over
the course of my six-year reign as Mr. Olympia. To me, bodybuilding was all about
creating the best-developed physique I possibly could, and along the way I suppose I
did help to ‘usher in’ a new era in the early to mid-’90s. Prior to that, it was unheard
of for bodybuilders to compete at over 250 pounds in peak condition. Just a few short
years after I did that at the 1993 Mr. Olympia, the mental barrier had been knocked
down and there were no shortage of pros tipping the scales above that previously
‘unattainable’ mark.

My training style was unorthodox, borrowing heavily from the influences of men like
Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer and lower in both frequency and volume from what
just about every other bodybuilder at the time was doing. But once people saw the
results I was achieving, interest in my ‘Blood and Guts’ style grew exponentially. My
training video and book of the same name were quite successful, and many thousands
of bodybuilders used my methods with success. There was nothing overly radical
about the ideas of training briefly with high-intensity and allowing for proper rest and
recovery, but most bodybuilders had gotten caught up in the typical ‘more is better’
mentality and it was holding many back from making the mass gains they were truly
capable of.

I will outline the principles I successfully employed to become the largest Mr.
Olympia champion the world had ever seen up to that point in the history of the sport.

How often should I train?

This depends on the individual and his or her recovery ability, which does vary from
person to person. The one concept to always keep in mind is that the process of
muscle growth happens only when a muscle has been stimulated via intense stress,
such as would occur with intense weight training, and then the muscle is allowed time
for adequate recovery and overcompensation. If you train too often, that vital last
stage of overcompensation (growth) never occurs. One analogy I often used in my
seminars was that of rubbing sandpaper on your palms to create calluses. If you
rubbed your hands raw and bloody every day, they would never have the chance to
heal up and form thicker skin. A callus is nothing but the body’s way of handling the
stress of repetitive friction, just as bigger and stronger muscles are its response to the
stress of intense weight training. A muscle will only grow if that adaptation is given
time to take place. How long that recovery process takes will depend on various
factors, including whether or not an individual is using anabolic steroids (which will
speed up the process).

Generally speaking, I recommend that a given body part be trained once every six to
32 | P a g e
seven days. You may need slightly more or less time. Just recently a personal training
client of mine had a lot of things going on and was only able to hit legs once every 10
days instead of his usual once a week. To his surprise, his strength went up.
Apparently he needed a bit more time for his legs to recover all along and just never
realized it. So training a body part once a week is a good starting point, but you do
need to see if a day more or less works out better. You also always need to keep in
mind that systemic recovery needs to be addressed in addition to the recovery of
individual muscle groups. Every time you train intensely, your nervous and endocrine
systems undergo significant stress. Personally, I never liked to train more than two
days in a row. If I ever did, I found that my performance started to suffer noticeably.
There are some rare individuals who can make gains training as often as six days a
week, but the vast majority of people I have worked with do much better training
about four times a week.

Excercise selection
The most effective exercises for stimulating muscle growth are multi-joint
movements like the squat, bench press, deadlift, chin-up, and dip. The musculature of
the human body was never meant to work in isolation. All the compound movements
put a great deal of stress on the belly of the muscle in the mid-range of motion, which
is usually their sticking point as well. If you lock out your knees at the very top of a
squat, you’ll note that there’s no longer any stress on the quads, hams, and glutes. In
the middle of the rep, there is tremendous stress on that whole area. Isolation
exercises are more effective at providing stress at either the full stretch or the peak
contraction of the movement. Think of leg extensions, cable crossovers or preacher
curls. To fully tax the length of any given muscle, you should perform both a basic
compound movement and an isolation exercise. For example, the chest always needs
a pressing movement as well as some type of flye (which could be a dumbbell flye, a
cable crossover, or a pec deck). Isolation movements do have their place, as they
allow you to work the muscle from various angles. This was one point I dissented
with men like Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer on. They advocated full-body
workouts, using just one key exercise per body part, whereas I never felt this would
be suitable for a bodybuilder aiming for complete development of all muscle groups.
Just as an example, an overhead press would provide plenty of stress to the anterior
or front head of the deltoids, but very little for the lateral heads. That’s why I always
did some type of lateral raise in addition to presses.

The fact that different exercises actually do work specific parts of a muscle to a
greater degree was proven in the early ’90s by Per A. Tesch in his book titled Muscle
Meets Magnet. He used an MRI machine to test a wide variety of exercises. Incline
presses did work the entire pectoral muscle, but the MRI reading showed that the
upper chest was being stressed more, for example. I had learned that by my own
practical experience in the gym. For instance, leg presses gave my quads good overall
mass, but I didn’t notice much of a flare and sweep unless I also did hack squats. The
33 | P a g e
book showed that the only type of triceps movements that stimulate the long head of
the muscle is an overhead extension. So your triceps would have a different look to
them if you included an overhead extension regularly or not. But the key point here is
that you do need both types of exercises for best growth results.

Training volume

A very popular misconception that has been around for many decades is that
increasing volume is the most effective means of stimulating muscle growth. If that
were the case, you wouldn’t need heavy weights and you wouldn’t need to train to
failure. That begs the question: how many sets should you do? If three sets are better
than one, why not do 10 sets, 20, 50, or 100 sets? Training with a very high volume
demands light loads and low-intensity, and it won’t stimulate muscle growth. Think
about a guy who digs ditches for 8 hours a day. If high volume was so effective, the
ditch-digger would have the shoulder, back, and arm development of a pro
bodybuilder. His volume is very high, but his intensity is low, as are the loads of dirt
in his shovel. Or, consider a man who operates a jackhammer all day at a construction
site. I can stimulate more triceps growth with one intense set of skull-crushers than he
can operating that jackhammer for 8 hours.

I discovered that one heavy, intense set of an exercise, once I was properly warmed
up, was all it took to stimulate maximum growth. Anything beyond that did nothing
but cut into my ability to recover and grow. After training with more of a standard
bodybuilding volume approach for a while, I had read Heavy Duty by Mike Mentzer.
He stated that most bodybuilders were massively overtraining, and that made sense to
me. Once I cut back on my training volume, I saw immediate and significant gains.

34 | P a g e
Some would argue that I was genetically-gifted and would have grown anyway. I am
sure I would have had a decent physique no matter what I did, but I know I would
never have been able to build sufficient mass to become Mr. Olympia if I hadn’t
trained with high intensity and low volume. One major mistake that most
bodybuilders make is to increase training volume over time, feeling that this is how
‘advanced’ people should train. The problem is that we all become much bigger and
stronger over years of training, but our ability to recover never improves much. As
you are able to work the muscles heavier and harder, they actually need less actual
exercise and more time to recover. Most bodybuilders do the complete opposite, with
longer, more frequent workouts. It’s also why most bodybuilders fail to ever make
much in the way of gains after their first couple years of training. Just to illustrate,
suppose you start out only able to squat 95 pounds for 10 reps; that’s not putting too
much stress on your muscles and your nervous system. A few years later, you can
squat 500 pounds for 10 reps. That will put a great deal more stress on your system as
a whole, and your body needs time to recover.

Rep range
This may go against what others have recommended, but I always found the optimal
rep range for upper body exercises was 6-8. Occasionally I would go as high as 10
reps, but never more. For lower body training, I went just a bit higher: 10-12 reps,
occasionally as high as 15 for the leg press. I never felt anything beyond that was
effective, because it meant the resistance would be too light. And just to make it clear,
I did train many others with all types of genetics, and these rep ranges still proved to
be the most effective

Training Intensity
While training at maximum intensity is a good thing, too much of anything can be
detrimental. Eventually your nervous and adrenal system would burn out and you
would become grossly overtrained. The remedy that I found for this was to cycle my
training. I determined that I could train all-out, to failure and beyond, for periods of
five or six weeks before starting to feel run down. At that point, I would take two
weeks and stop my sets just short of failure. This was enough to allow full
recuperation and ‘recharge the batteries’ so I could launch into another intense
training phase. Still, it is important to note that without maximum intensity,
maximum results in terms of growth can never be achieved.

Rest and Recovery Outside the Gym

Rest and recovery needs vary among individuals. In my competitive days, I always
aimed for 8 hours of undisturbed sleep every night, plus an hour nap in the afternoon.
This actually follows the natural circadian rhythm of the human body. You’ll note that
in many Mediterranean countries, businesses shut down for an hour or 90 minutes
35 | P a g e
every afternoon for a nap. In Latin American countries they call it a siesta. They all
recognize that we all experience a natural energy dip in the afternoon, and a nap is a
perfect way to recharge. Of course, I recognize that as a professional bodybuilder,
taking naps is a luxury that many people simply can’t take advantage of. I always
avoided any extraneous physical activity outside the gym, because my training and
recovery were that important to me. I wouldn’t do anything in particular that could
result in an injury. My wife at the time was always on me to go skiing, but I couldn’t
take the chance of breaking a leg and being unable to train for a few months.

Whether or not you go to these lengths depends, first, if you are able to, and second,
if gaining muscle is that critical to you personally. Keep it all in perspective. If you
don’t make your living bodybuilding and don’t plan to, don’t miss out on anything
you’ll regret later on in life.

Eating for Mass

Protein provides the raw building blocks to grow new muscle tissue, so make it your
priority. I always aimed for 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight. Take that number
and divide it by six, and that’s how much protein you should be consuming at each of
your six daily meals. The remainder of your calories should come from complex
carbohydrates and healthy fats. To gain muscular bodyweight, you must consistently
take in enough calories to support growth. Just as you shouldn’t miss workouts,
missing meals is a no-no and will definitely slow your progress. I always thought of
my meals in terms of building a house. Every day I was laying more and more bricks
down. Just as training heavy and hard over time yields significant results, so does
eating quality food day after day. Treat your eating just as seriously as you do your
training.

The Value of Patience

They say that patience is a virtue, and nowhere is that more true than in bodybuilding.
A great physique is not built overnight. You can put on a great deal of weight in a
short amount of time, but most of it will be in the form of useless, unappealing body
fat. When it comes to gaining solid muscle mass, it takes time. Many great workouts
and many great meals, together with a lot of quality sleep, add up gradually into
amounts of muscle that can transform an average person into a veritable Hercules.
Along the way, it’s important to set small-term goals to keep you constantly moving
forward. You may want to add a half-inch to your arms, three pounds of bodyweight,
or 20 pounds to your squat. Each one of these becomes a few more steps forward in
your long journey.
Finally, I highly recommend that you keep a written record of your workouts and
meals so that you can chart your progress, as well as note trends and see what’s most
effective for you. If you work hard, observe the above principles, and you’re in this
for the long haul, you will one day have an exceptional physique that’s well worth the
effort.
36 | P a g e
37 | P a g e
38 | P a g e
39 | P a g e
40 | P a g e
41 | P a g e
42 | P a g e
43 | P a g e
44 | P a g e
45 | P a g e
46 | P a g e