| If you want to reshape your body, weight training is | | | | help much, but reach the "high point" and ... boom! |
| a must. But it takes more than lifting light weights if | | | | Muscles suddenly appear. Phillips describes the |
| you really want to make a significant change. It takes | | | | situation as, "The stimulus to trigger muscle growth |
| high intensity training, or HIT, as it is usually called, | | | | happens fast, or not at all." |
| and it is effective. The technique has been pushed | | | | How hard do you have to train to stimulate this |
| and publicized extensively by many people over the | | | | growth? According to Phillips you have to train with |
| last couple of decades, including "Mr. America" winner, | | | | "heart and soul." According to Art Jones you have to |
| Mike Mentzer, Bill Phillips (author of "Body for Life"), | | | | train so hard "you throw up." (That 's a little too |
| Art Jones (builder of Nautilus equipment) and Ellington | | | | much for me, but I think it gives you the message.) |
| Darden who (some say) wrote the "Bible" on HIT. | | | | You not only have to work out hard, but you have |
| HIT is based on intensity -- extreme intensity -- and | | | | to go beyond that. It may surprise you, but when |
| it definitely brings results. The magic of HIT according | | | | you think you're completely exhausted, you usually |
| Phillips is the "high point." Mentzer calls it the "break | | | | aren't. You can usually squeeze out one more rep. |
| over point." Regardless of what you call it, it's the | | | | This basically is what you want: take your reps to |
| point in the set (usually the last rep) where muscle | | | | the limit, then squeeze out one more. |
| growth is stimulated. Below it, nothing happens, so it | | | | You are no doubt wondering, with a program such as |
| is indeed, a 'magic point." The idea is to continue your | | | | this, how long it takes to see results. With high |
| reps to the point where you can no longer lift the | | | | intensity training (and I'm assuming it truly is HIT) |
| weight, or even budge it an inch. It is the point of | | | | they'll come fast -- in only a few weeks. What you |
| "total failure," and it is also the magic point you are | | | | will see first is an increase in strength. Where you |
| looking for. Only when you completely exhaust your | | | | could only do three chinups last week, you can now |
| muscles do they grow. It's that incredible all or | | | | do eight, and so on. In short, an increase in strength |
| nothing effort that does it. Mentzer gives a metaphor | | | | comes first, then an increase in muscle size. |
| that I think is quite apt. He says, "exercise and | | | | Let me end this by saying that the key is quality, not |
| muscle growth are like a stick of dynamite and a | | | | quantity. Intensive weight training will bring you a lot |
| hammer. Hit the dynamite lightly and nothing happens | | | | more than long duration, easy, workouts. Indeed, you |
| (even if you hit it ten times), but hit it hard enough | | | | might make no gains at all with light weights and long |
| and ... boom! The same situation occurs with muscle | | | | duration. But, of course, any exercise is better than |
| growth and weight training. "Easy" weight lifting won't | | | | none. |