Body by Science / HIIT Experiment

[Konstantin]

I am going regularly to the gym for the last 12-13 years. 4 to 5 times a week. During all these years I have tried a lot of workouts, techniques. The one described in this thread was the most effective. Even after years of training when your body is getting used to training, this techniques is so effective that it always have results

The key is in the slow movements, and going beyond the failure.
My training in this style goes max 20 minutes if I am exercising alone.

Sometimes I was experimenting to try to overload the muscle in the negative portion of the movement by pressing down the barbell. For example, while I was making benchpress and slowly move the barbel with the weights, when I will come to the situation that I can't lift it anymore, my training partner would help me to push the barbell and that I was just lowering it very slowly, and while I am lowering it ,he would press the barbell down even more so it would be even harder for me to go slow on the way down.
Training like this is so short, so intensive and so powerful.

I was practising this workout style a few years ago, and now I am doing it from time to time.

I haven't read the book mentioned in this thread but I will read it when I can find some time.
This training method is also very popular among professional weightlifters and bodybuilders

As I can find this method was firstly introduced by Mike Mentzer
-www.flexonline.com/training/mike-mentzers-high-intensity-workout

As I said I haven't read the book yet, but according to what I have read about this method it has a lot of similarities with this one

 

[theos]

As for the squats, I found that with the veeery slow reps and keeping the tension (not standing up completely straight so that I avoid any resting position) I can get to exhaustion much faster and with less weights. But still, I don't quite get there with the squats, and maybe it's just not possible really? Thanks again!

I've noticed the same with the squats. (I use two 25lb. barbells held on each shoulder.) It takes a long time to get to exhaustion and I don't think I quite get there even without fully standing during the squat. It's better when I keep the range of movement between the lifting and the squatting small but I still think that using a leg press machine (which we don't have) is much better at working my leg muscles.

 

[Ca.]

I've noticed the same with the squats. (I use two 25lb. barbells held on each shoulder.) It takes a long time to get to exhaustion and I don't think I quite get there even without fully standing during the squat. It's better when I keep the range of movement between the lifting and the squatting small but I still think that using a leg press machine (which we don't have) is much better at working my leg muscles.

No room here as well. So I recently did a little improve while working on a rock wall project.
On a 30 degree slope, at a distance of 30 meters for about an hour. With interval's of rest in between.
I feel the same burn as if having a LPM, and get some scenery ta-boot.

Recipe:
1 Wheelbarrow
Rocks or Boulder's (Adjust weight accordingly)
Electrolytes Hydration (Big Plus)
Sturdy shoes or boots (ankle high)
Leather gloves (palm padded)

Extreme approach, but the same idea. Ignore the VEG Jive

 

[Nicholas]

I have done weight lifting for many years with a variety of techniques and equipment. I really didn't enjoy working out 3 to 4 days a week but I knew I had to do it to maintain health.

Three years ago I was introduced to Drew Baye's HIIT training (whom we did a SOTT Health and Wellness interview with) and was intrigued by the simplicity of the exercises, the short duration of 20 minutes and only twice a week. I have regularly been doing his exercise routine from his book "Project: Kratos" ever since. It is a similar concept to this "Body By Science".

This routine really gets your heart rate up so it is also a great interval cardio training. I have been impressed with the results. It is not about being 'big' like Adonis but have working strength like Kratos. I am almost 60 and can keep up with guys half my age playing 5-on-5 full court basketball for an hour.

I've noticed the same with the squats. (I use two 25lb. barbells held on each shoulder.) It takes a long time to get to exhaustion and I don't think I quite get there even without fully standing during the squat. It's better when I keep the range of movement between the lifting and the squatting small but I still think that using a leg press machine (which we don't have) is much better at working my leg muscles.

One way to make squats harder without weights is to do them with one leg at a time. Balance yourself with chairs or hold on to gym equipment.

 

[3DStudent]

Wow, I'm more excited about this than NeurOptimal! It just seems so easy. About 6 years ago when I started Keto and we were researching about mitochondrial repair, I did HIIT alongside it. I would go about 3 times a week for 45 minutes and just do the main muscles to failure (about a minute or two) and then rest for a minute. I didn't see any gains after about 3 months (other than feeling better I suppose due to endorphins), so I stopped. I haven't exercised since, so I'm pretty sedendary. This gives me some hope in that it doesn't require much time.

How agonizing is it really? Is it like cold showers, where every day when it's time to do one, I dread it, and then after about 5 minutes in the cold water I realize I had forgotten that I love them?

I had put the book on my wishlist, seeing y'all post about it on FB, but I think now I will have to make time for it in between the latest recommended books. Thanks all for sharing your results!

 

[Scottie]

I did HIIT alongside it. I would go about 3 times a week for 45 minutes and just do the main muscles to failure (about a minute or two) and then rest for a minute. I didn't see any gains after about 3 months

Well, there are many flavors of HIIT. In fact, the reason I stopped reading the book initially was basically because I thought I was already doing what he was talking about. Later when I finished the book, I realized he was talking about something totally different. For example, he would yell at you if you did his HIIT 3 times a week! Not enough recovery time. He really emphasizes the recovery time.

How agonizing is it really?

Much of the time, you REALLY don't want to go do it, but once you're doing it, it's not so bad... And then when you're done, you're like, "WOO! Done. Now I can slack off for the rest of the week!"

 

[Laura]

Much of the time, you REALLY don't want to go do it, but once you're doing it, it's not so bad... And then when you're done, you're like, "WOO! Done. Now I can slack off for the rest of the week!"

Yup! I start dreading it an hour or so before I know I have to do it. But then, I can forget about it for a whole week!!! That's so much easier to manage than having to dread working out three times a week or so. And really, if you do it right, it is ONLY TEN MINUTES. Painful, yes, but only really painful for the last 30 seconds of each of five exercises; that's a total of just over 2 minutes of real agony. For a week. And after the first few sessions, you don't really have aches and pains afterward. Yeah, you are weak and shaky for a few hours, but then, as long as you aren't trying to do something hard or weighty, you are fine.

Keep repeating that bit: TEN MINUTES ONCE A WEEK!

 

[marek760]

Thanks for posting Scottie, I will give it a try.

 

[Gwenllian]

Just TEN minutes? This past year I have become much more sedentary and I don't like it, so I am really happy about this thread! I am not much of an athlete, but I do like physical activity.

I have ordered the book, The Book Depository appears to be still having it in stock: Body by Science : John R. Little : 9780071597173

I will see if some family members are interested in doing these exercises as well. Thanks, Scottie!

 

[Voyageur]

Appreciate the post, Scottie. The time commitment for this body maintenance seems like a dream come true.

 

[Laura]

Appreciate the post, Scottie. The time commitment for this body maintenance seems like a dream come true.

You can say that again! I absolutely HATE exercise to begin with, and there are many exercises I cannot do because of physical injury... but this system I can do. And I can convince myself pretty easily to "Just Do IT!" since it is so short and only once a week. Geeze, if a person can't talk themselves into doing something once a week, they are hopeless!

 

[Kay Kim]

Wow, this is amazing information. And all we needs to do it once a week, then we all become super-human! Haha.
Can anyone tell me, what kind of things or equipment I need for start?

Because I am getting book tomorrow afternoon or later, but in the morning, I need to go bigger town for grocery shopping and while I’m there I would like to buy exercise equipment. I go there about two times month, because it takes me about 1 hour 30 minutes to get there.

 

[Alejo]

I tried this a few months ago and have kept doing a variation of it once (or twice) a week. I’ve combined it with the Drew Baye philosophy, the one he discusses in the Project Kratos book.

Very slow repetitions (although he has a count you should stick to depending on your level) careful watch to your range of motion and proper form.

Not so much focused on how many reps or how much you lift, but on how well you do the exercise. The goal is deep momentary muscle failure. I particularly liked how he talked about working out on the interview they did with him on the health and wellness show, he said it was a form of meditation.

I haven’t read this book, but I think I’ll be picking it up as it seems to have a lot more science than Drew Baye’s philosophy does.

Thanks for sharing

 

[A Jay]

I've been doing HIT since reading BBS back in 2011, though not continuously. I started exercising consistently again back in September after taking about a year or two off. When I first started back I would exercise twice a week doing the full workout, and then after a few months I started doing an A/B routine split where I would exercise twice a week but only hit a certain muscle once in that week. Looking back, I was still over-training even with the split, but I didn't like the idea of paying $50/month for a gym membership that I only use once a week. Anyways, in that time I was able to get stronger on a couple of lifts than when I was in high school (which was 10 years ago for me) and with exercising a fraction of the time (I took a weight training elective and would work out 5x a week for about an hour). Along with strength, my posture and cardiovascular efficiency has improved as well.

Now for the past four weeks I've been going to Dr. McGuff's personal training studio in SC, and I'll definitely say that there's really something to be said about having someone coach and encourage you. Before I would workout by myself and I could reach really high levels of intensity and muscle failure, but I'm finding that having someone there with me makes me more willing to dig even deeper. So if y'all can I would recommend finding a workout partner to remind you to keep good form and encourage you to push past the discomfort and reach true muscle failure.

As for recent results with the training studio, my trainer told me that from week before last to this past week I was able to keep the same time under load but with 40 extra lbs on the leg press. So in one week I was able to lift 40 more lbs for the same amount of time, and I only exercised my legs for a minute and a half at the most (didn't ask what my exact TUL was). Talk about efficient and effective! I also experience "limp" limbs for a few hours, and a deep muscle fatigue lasts for 3 or 4 days. Which is interesting because the deep muscle fatigue I experienced before going to the studio would only last a day or two.

I highly encourage everyone to read BBS, because it really explains everything about exercise in a clear way that can be adapted for whatever equipment (or lack thereof) that might be available to you. It also gives you the knowledge to cut through a lot of mainstream exercise nonsense.

As I can find this method was firstly introduced by Mike Mentzer

The term 'high-intensity exercise' was actually first coined by Dr. Ellington Darden, but the technique was originally developed by Arthur Jones.

 

[shijing]

Thanks for starting this thread, Scottie, and also for linking to SAO's original post. I know I need to get more exercise, and this seems like a really good program to consider since so many people have reported good experiences with it (the time factor is also a big plus). I've had the book on the shelf for the past couple of years and never read it, but I picked it up today and put it in my reading rotation. I don't currently have access to any exercise equipment, but I'll see if I can figure out another way to go about it between reading the book and paying attention to the posts on this thread (there are also already a lot of videos to watch!).