I really thought HIT was the way for a while, but in hindsight the reason it gave me any progress was because it taught me the value of training to failure and progressive overload. But since adding more volume, doing MULTIPLE sets to failure for each exercise, I’ve seen way better growth and development. That’s why I now tell people to focus on Intensity AND volume AND frequency and any program that neglects any of these 3 traits is leaving serious gains on the table. 30 minute workouts once every few days sounds great on paper but it’s not ideal for maximizing gains.
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Different individuals respond better to certain stimulus, it seems. An endless discussion of getting to know oneself.
Me, I grew like a weed when I first started doing Darden HIT (in a fashion similar to OP) - though I was much older. To be honest I made SOME progress on Schwartzenegger inspired HVT when younger. But it took forever to happen, and I always did too much of everything - and in hindsight was constantly overtrained.
That being said - If OP has BETTER results on HVT - Keep on doing it! Blend in a full body HIT day as a shocker once in a while, if you still “want to believe in HIT”. Btw, I would really like to see @Ellington_Darden comment on what OP could have done differently? @Chris_Colucci: Is this thread better off in the Darden forum?
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With HIT I did make some gains but not nearly as much as HVT. I varied my workout due to having a squat rack and bench at my parents house to moving to a condo with Bowflex, adjustable dumbbells, and a pull up bar. I would do my best to contract until I failed the concentric and kept trying to squeeze for additional 5-10 seconds.
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Lmao! This is the one 
.
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Are you prepared to kill your darling?
Not saying this is your case…
Sometimes with HIT training you need a trainer to make sure your form is good, your intensity is high, you reach failure or very close to it, your frequency is appropriate, your rest time between exercises is low, etc
Sometimes this can be factor if gains are made or not
Not getting into this yet again, but no. If it was, it wouldn’t have been moved in the first place.
Seems like the issue has been laid out pretty clearly for @dstate. To continue making progress, stick with the method that’s delivered results. To stop making progress, return to the method that hasn’t delivered results.
However, training is all about trial and error. If you want to invest more time into figuring out how/if HIT can work for you, that’s something to consider. Just accept that it’ll be weeks/months of learning, not necessarily weeks/months of progress.
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I agree. And really trying to fit your training style into a confined “box” like “HIT” or “HVT”,where you HAVE to follow certain parameters like 1 set to failure or what have you, is extremely limiting. The ideal volume Varies so much, not only on an individual basis, but also a body part to body part basis. Just training the way a guy like Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates did or even like Jay Cutler or Arnold did because you like their physique or their personality, will not get you their physique. They probably would’ve gotten there regardless of how they trained because of PEDs and genetics.
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Results come from forcing your body to adapt to the trauma you are putting it through. Your body doesn’t care if you call it “HVT” or “HIT”, just that it will need to recover from and adapt to whatever you are doing. Find whatever training protocol that gets you excited, and put in 100% effort and consistency and you will see results regardless of what you call it.
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Run through a couple sensible Tnation 5x5-ish style templates like below and then go back to HIT…