When it comes to packing on pounds of rock hard shredded muscle I’m a firm believer in keeping it simple and sticking to the basics. Most people forget the fact that you can workout for only 45 minutes and still make lots of gains as long as you are keeping intensity high.
The Basics
If you are constantly pushing your body, training at a high intensity while giving your muscles sufficient rest and nutrients you will make constant progress on your weight lifting program. Adding weight to the bar every week and looking at the mirror is the only benchmark you need. Many people make weight lifting much more complicated than it has to be.
If you train at any commercial gym you’ve probably seen the typical persons who lift there. Generally people doing endless bicep exercises and talking for 30 minutes in between sets and other nonsense with no intensity whatsoever. A lot of these people will never change but reading this article and actually applying the information will allow you to make gains you never though possible.
The KISS Principle – Keep it Simple
Most people wouldn’t believe me if I told you that you could get stronger and bigger than you’ve ever been by training twice a week for 45 minutes or less. In fact a lot would stop reading right here but this simple way of training is much more challenging than you can comprehend.
High intensity training (HIT) is based on sporadic workouts done at a high level of intensity, centering on compound exercises and constant progression. To understand why this type of training is so effective you must realize that building muscle is a fairly straightforward concept. When you lift weights in the gym it causes the muscles to break down and the body’s natural response to this is to build the muscle back bigger.
Very few individuals train as hard as they possibly can. This is essentially the reason some people will never make the gains they have the potential to. If you’re honestly training at 100% intensity it is physically impossible to train for a long period of time and do endless sets. Really think hard about this and realize that you could be giving much more effort in the gym, it’s a very important step.
It is crucial to train with every drop of strength you can round up for this program to be effective. If you do not your results will suffer and basically it wont work for you. A lot of people say that low volume does not work but that’s a load of bull, their just not training hard enough so their forced to spend more days in the gym. The end goal should be to train with the least possible amount of volume to produce adequate stimulation.
Sample High Intensity Program
Day 1:
- Deadlifts, 1 x 10
- Military Press – 2 x 8-10
- Pull-ups – 2 x 6-8
- Shrugs – 1 x 8-10
- Calf Raises – 2 x 8-10
Day 2:
- Squats – 1 x 15
- Incline Press – 2 x 6-8
- Barbell Rows – 2 x 6-8
- Straight Leg Deadlift – 1 x 15
That’s really all there is to it. Do the program once per week following the defined sets and repetitions. It may look simple and plain and quite frankly it is. But believe me this program is no pushover. Do each and every set to muscular failure with every drop of intensity you can squeeze out. You will probably end up completely exhausted kneeling over a toilet when you’re finished.
Remember to keep a journal of your lifts so you can see the progress your making. Something powerful happens when you write things down, and it makes it easier to track progress. Also take 2-3 days of recovery between each workout and believe me you’ll need it. Also give the program some time to work and try it out for at least a month. Make adjustments to your high intensity training program if you are not getting the results you want. If you succeed I guarantee you will have no problem building muscle mass onto that frame of yours.
