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“Look brothers, the point is this--find a way to combine crazy intensity, a rep range of 6-12, on a set taken to failure...”

You wanna be thick, right? There's just one catch… You have to be fucking crazy, don't care about nothing else but growing, I'm paying my dues, old school, don't talk to me when I'm training, Animal to truly take on this training style. We're talking High Intensity Training (HIT). This is the style that I use when I have my mind set on nothing but getting bigger and better. Notice the emphasis of this style is INTENSITY.

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Intensity, brothers, is what separates the freaks and the Animals from the 99% of those lifters in the gym who constantly complain that they aren't getting any bigger, but they swear on their mother that they're training hard. There's nothing that I hate more than the excuse makers and the complainers. Trust me, you can't be one of them and use the HIT method. The two just don't mix.

The premise of the HIT method is to perform one working set per exercise using the heaviest weight that you can properly handle--that is a BALLS OUT, EVERYTHING YOU GOT, MAXIMUM INTENSITY set. And of course, the reps fall in the 6-12 range. This guarantees that you will be hitting your 2b fibers and maximizing your potential for growth with this set.

Now, if you think that you just jump right in and do your max set, you're off the mark. Notice I said you perform one "working set" per exercise. You do perform several warm-up sets that are not taken to failure before getting after it with your one max set. Here's an example of what I might do on the incline bench with a max of 455 lb for 6-10 reps using the HIT method:

Set 1 - 135 for 10-12
Set 2 - 185 for 8-10
Set 3 - 225 for 6-8
Set 4 - 315 for 5-6
Set 5 - 365 for 4-5
Set 6 - 405 for 4-5
Set 7 - 455 for as many as possible, including possibly 1-2 forced reps

I would do a set and rep scheme like this, only on the first exercise of the day. For the rest of the exercises performed, I would only incorporate 1-2 warm-up sets before my max intensity set. The reason I use 6-7 sets on my first exercise is to be certain that I am sufficiently warm and ready to hit my max set. I also try to jump a max of only 50 lb between sets.

Keep in mind that the job of the warm-up sets is to get you ready to handle the maximum weight that you'll be using on your last set. Going back to my example, I can probably do 405 for 10 reps but I don't waste my energy on it because it's not the heaviest weight that I can handle in the 6-12 range. Instead, I do it for a few reps, get used to the feel of the heavy weight and rack it. Now my body is used to the weight, ready for 455 lb and I didn't just jump from 365 lb bypassing the feel of the weight and risking injury.

The next exercise might be dumbbell flyes. My sets and reps might look something like:

Set 1 - 80 for 10
Set 2 - 100 for 6-10
Set 3 - 130 for as many as possible falling in the 6-12 range

Again, I know I can do the 100s for 12-15 reps, but I just use it as a warm-up and step up the intensity and the weight to the 130s. The rest of my exercises are performed in this fashion.

Look brothers, the point is this--find a way to combine crazy intensity, a rep range of 6-12, on a set taken to failure, and you should be on your way to maximizing your growth potential and achieving your goals. Trust me, soon you'll be hearing it, the whispers in the background... That guy is thick as fuck.

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Tags: Bodybuilding Life

Thanks,