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HIT the Ground Running in 2011

The new year is a time for resolutions, goal setting, and assessing where you are in life.

A big key to starting the new year off on the right foot is to get some momentum built up right out of the gate in January.

Here’s a way to do that with your weight training.

High Intensity Training, HIT for short, was founded by Arthur Jones in the mid-60s and slowly but surely found its way into the mainstream.

While HIT has gone through different incarnations and modalities, some basic principles of Jones’ theories remain:

  • Train to failure
  • Use only 1-2 Sets
  • Use compound, multi-joint movements
  • Perform these exercises 2-3 times per week
  • Heavy weight with max intensity

I’ve trained various ways throughout my lifting life, but no matter what, I always come back to HIT.

Why?

Because it works. Period.

If you’d like to start the new year right, try this basic HIT program for about 4-6 weeks and watch how fast your strength and physique improves.

Perform this total body workout twice a week with heavy weights, (whatever is heavy is for you), with 1-2 sets per exercise. For best results be sure to drink lots of water, get plenty of rest, and eat good, healthy food.

Basic HIT Workout

Overhead Press 1-2 x 8-10
Pulldown 1-2 x 8-10
Bench Press or Dips 1-2 x 8-10
Bent Over Row 1-2 x 8-10
Squats/Deadlifts 1 x 10-12 (Perform squats one workout, deadlifts another)

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Written by Brian Carson · Filed Under Workouts 

Comments

3 Responses to “HIT the Ground Running in 2011”

  1. robert higginson on November 14th, 2011 3:51 pm

    great stuff, ive trained hit style for nearly 15 years with great results.

    “everything of any value related to exercise can be covered in only a few words, train hard, train breifly, train infrequently – and always remember that the final results will primarily be a consequence of genetic’s” – arthur jones

  2. robert higginson on November 20th, 2011 8:24 pm

    hi brian,

    just listened to the hit section on your ultimate workout video, and id just like to make a few points; i disagee with your statement that mike mentzer “ripped off” AJ’s idea’s, mike did advocate some of AJ’s method’s, however mike differed in many ways:

    *mike advocated using static holds on exercises that prodive maximum resistance in the contracted position. where as jones recommended full range exercise.

    *mike advocated taking more than 96 hours off between workouts (which is what jones had been advocating), mike found many of his cleints required much less frequency, depending on the individuals genetic’s and training history.

    *mike advoctaed using split routine’s, (not full body workouts as recommend by jones), he felt for most, full body workouts were/are too much in one sitting.

    *mike did not always train the largest muscle group’s to the smallest muscle group’s. for example mike would have cleints train their chest before back.

    id also point out that trainee’s indeed can and should train to failure on every workout. if you train to failure 2-3 times a week all your training life, you will indeed become overtrained and hit stick points, however if (as mike recommended) you properly regulate your volume and frequency, you’ll WILL continually make progress on every single workout!

    mike also did not believe in bodybuilding tradation (nor do i), he stated many times tradation has nothing to do with science, to train a certian way just becuase thats how they trained yester-year is arbitrary.

    guys like park, grimeck, hackenschmidt, reeves, ross etc, were indeed all great natural athlete’s, however they were also the most genetically gifted indivduals at that time. most of these champions did (volume wise) overtrain, in the book “building the classic physique” steve reeves used full body workouts which had no less than 20 exercises, and lasted up to 3 hours.

    id like to hear your view on this brian,
    best wishes
    rob

  3. robert higginson on November 21st, 2011 3:30 pm

    hi brian,

    sorry i forgot to mention, jones did not merely advocate using compound movements, i think you’ll find most of nautilus machines he developed were rotary isolation machine’s that provided maximum resistance thoughtout a full range of motion.
    best
    rob

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