High Intensity Training

High Intensity Training is method of resistance training where by you put in a very high level of effort and performing relatively brief and infrequent workouts, as opposed to performing a higher volume and frequency of workouts with a comparatively low to moderate effort.


High Intensity Training or HIT follows the same fundamental principle of exercise that is to overload the body stimulating it to produce an increase in muscular strength. The difference between conventional exercise and HIT is that HIT involves an all-out effort with a heavy poundage till the point you cannot make even one single repetition. This is associated with momentary failure of muscle which helps in formation of new muscles.

As obvious, there is an inverse relationship between the poundages you lift and the number of repetitions you perform. Similarly, the more effort you put in your workout, the shorter it is before your muscle strength dies and stamina gives up. Stretching your body beyond this limit can only be counter productive.
High intensity training workouts typically last less than 45 minutes, and some "consolidation routines" may take fewer than 10 minutes to complete.
The appropriate volume of exercise varies significantly between individuals based on genetics, age, and lifestyle factors such as quality and amount of nutrition and rest. Athletes or trainees with physically demanding jobs or lifestyles must also balance their workout volume against the amount of other physically demanding activities they perform to avoid over training.

HIT involves training less often. The reason behind this theory is as you had put your muscle under a lot of stress in your previous workout, it needs time to recover. Putting it under tension again before it has properly recovered can lead to muscular pulls, cramps etc.

Most trainers recommend the use of a level of resistance which allows an exercise to be performed for between 30 and 90 seconds before momentary muscular failure occurs. The most popular example of this is the traditional Nautilus recommendation to perform 8 to 12 repetitions, lifting the weight in approximately 2 seconds, and lowering in approximately 4 seconds, which results in a set duration of approximately 48 to 72 seconds.

While performing HIT, training sessions should not be too frequent, possibly limiting to 3-4 sessions per week. Poundage should be such that number or repetitions are limited to 8-12 before muscle failure sets in. Since the number of sets are going to be less, try and perform slow controlled repetitions and have a full range of motion.

The idea again is to surprise the body. If you have been long following the traditional workout plan and not getting results, this program is worth giving a try. I can assure you the body is going to feel a lot more sore if the sets are done in a proper manner.




In words of Arthur Jones - "train harder, but train briefer" or "...train harder, but train less often".