[quote]Hitkiller wrote:
[quote]hanban wrote:
Hitkiller very nice,but let me ask you somthing, in what portion did you make most of your gains? do you believe you could reach that level STARTING with 1 set style? (the n00b comment is for people who actually start with 1 set to failure). do you train like that on all of your exercises?
I have yet to see someone who got huge with JUST HIT, most will tell you they trained with shit load of volume for years (or atleast followed some lowish volume powerlifting programs). [/quote]
Most of my gains came as soon as I began HIT training back in late 1998. When I first began working out in early 1997 weighing a mere 140lbs. I began the usual 3 X 10, 3 times a week routine and gradually moved to split routines, increasing the volume and frequency, I did gain a modest amount of mass, (I went from 140lb to 160lbs) but stagnated and remained and that weight with the same modest lifting stats. Dorian Yates came over in mid 1998 and I attended his seminar and I took notes of his advice, training style, diet, techniques etc. I put it all together,I studied how he trained, his approach to diet, rest and recovery. Not just Dorian, i also read and studied Mike Mentzers, Arthur Joness and Fred Hatfields articles. Then a few months later I began training using HIT.
So to answer your question, the portion of time I made most of my gains was from mid 1998 onwards to the photos above taken in 2001 where I weighed 222lbs at 5’7 but by no means “huge”. Do the math though, thats 62lbs in approx 2 and a half years. Its certainly not advisable for someone who is just starting out to begin using 1 set to failure because it takes time to correctly perform each excersise properly and see how there body reacts to weight training, like anything the basics must be mastered before moving on to more “exotic methods”. Its unreasonable to think that your going to come across someone who trained soley with HIT from the very first time they picked up a dumbell.
For me its the most efficient way to train, to gain a good amount of muscle over a shorter period of time, but the training sessions must be brutal, nutrition has to be dead on and plenty of rest and recovery. I was never afraid to take a an extra day off or even a week off on occassions.
Again this is what works best for ME.
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Well HIT can be used in many ways, some may do light warm up sets and some may ramp up to a top set (what you did?) wich is not what i meant with 1 set to failure because the volume is still there.
however , fair enough, my views on 1 set to failure are still putting it way behind higher volume training, but props to you for showing pics and doing what works for you.