“involves holding a weight in maximum “moment arm“ to recruit and fatigue all muscle fibers. So instead of moving the weight through a full range of movement, you resist against the weight at the point where the most muscle is engaged. And then you hold it until complete failure is reached.”
Louie Simmons has touched upon this subject as well. I think he called it functional isometrics. The only caution he gave was this. His research indicated that the strength gains generated from this training were greatest 10 degrees in each direction from the joint. Thus if your elbow was at 90 degree during your hold, then your strength would be greatest between 80 and 100 degrees. He also talked about rate of force production. Thus my guess is that he would include low volume plyo’s as well.
Welcome my friend. I gave up my gym membership two years ago this month and have never looked back. In the summer I’m at the playground and in the winter I just workout in the apartment (our winters are a tad harsher than yours up there). I bought a pull up bar that breaks down and fits under my bed. And I use some chairs for dips.
I workout similar to your current style but over the past two years have mixed it up a bit. I sometimes use a backpack with weights on dips, pull ups, and pushups.
I just started my own blog and will soon be writing posts on the specifics of these workouts.
Sustainable? Oh yeah. And so much fun – you will start to look at playgrounds with a new set of eyes, trust me.
@Aaron – Thank you for the encouragement. I’m subscribing to your blog. I got a feeling I’ll be getting a few ideas on how to mix up my playground workouts.
@Txomin – Believe it or not, they do. I’m actually still a bit sore from my workout 2 days ago. Pre-exhaust, followed by a static hold really works. That was my best leg workout in months.
Fresh air, sunshine, free. What’s not to like? I do my sprinting at a local park and work out with the playground equipment too. Still, I wonder how you will measure or gauge your progress using this method. Do you time the static holds?
@Geoff – Good question. I am moving away from metrics. I no longer find them helpful. So I don’t time my static holds or count the reps of the pre-exhaustion. I’m going for a level of intensity that I know when I feel it. Although the level of intensity will remain very high, the reps/time needed to get there will vary based off factors that I may or may not be able to control. So I don’t bother tracking them. If I injury myself or stop making progress, then I know I’ve found my upper or lower limit.
Got it. Still I wonder whether it might make sense to pay the day rate at a gym once every 8 weeks or so to test yourself against an “objective” measurement like McGuff’s “Big 5″ or a deadlift challenge just to get a sense of the effect your training has had. I still find it helpful to test myself every so often to see where I stand. I’m in a different place and have different goals so I can see why that might not fit with your system.
I agree completely that when exercising this way you toss out the metrics and concentrate on the intensity. Failure is failure. I actually think this way may force you to listen to your body a bit more.
When I vacation to Portland and Florida each year I hit the gym for my workouts. I’m not trying to hit specific targets to see if I’m improving though. It’s just for fun and to mix it up. I think that if you pay attention to your body when you workout, you should pretty well know if your strength or body comp. is declining in short order.
Awesome. I’ve been waiting for this post. I’m not working out right now, but I’ve been looking for a way to do BBS-type workouts without a Nautilus for some time. Can’t wait to bust out my sandbag and training rings this Spring.
Sounds great. I think the biggest bonus is the extra unfiltered daylight and the fresh air.
I’m hugely convinced about the benefits of plyometrics, so I’d encourage you to try to clapping pushups – that could be a good benchmark measure. Even more serious would be clapping pullups.
I have a 45lb weight vest that I use for “body weight” exercise. I also sometimes use 5lb wrists and ankle weights sometimes. They cost a bit, but after three years I still find them a good investment.
Lastly – and maybe your’e doing this already – but I would encourage you to do the exercises barefoot whenever possible. Direct contact between the soles of our feet and the pure earth – it’s a rare and beautiful experience!
@GWhitney – I used to have a weight vest. When I thought I was going to move from Seattle, I sold it. I wish I still had it. It’d be perfect for the park.
[...] is my body weight exercise program? I detailed it in the post Escaping The Glitter: Taking High Intensity Outdoors. The short summary is I do a set of normal reps to rep-exhaust the slow twitch muscle fibers and [...]
@Jared – I have being doing some form of HIT for about a year. Whereas my outdoor method just started about 3 weeks ago. HIT is amazing and I’m finding that I really like training outside. I’ll provide another status report in a few months.
[...] that workout, I have fully embraced HIT. These days I am experimenting with an outdoor version of HIT. 2011 turned out to be the best year I had in strength training in a decade. Despite being ten [...]
[...] report on my outdoor High Intensity Training program. I outlined my playground workout in the post Escaping the Glitter: Taking High Intensity Training Outdoors. Since November I have been averaging one workout every 7-9 [...]
[...] Add in a a few push-ups and body weight squats and you’ll make progress. I have designed an outdoor workout that can be done at a park or backyard in under 10 minutes just once a week. It [...]
[...] without multi-hour breaks. The only exercise I do these days, other than neighborhood walks, is a 7-10 minute High Intensity Training workout that happens just once a week. How is this [...]
If you have a backyard…try putting some weights in an out of the way place there….I have 2 barbells…one for military press and one for bentover rows….just periodically go outside and knock out a set…I am really trying to make my workouts as random as possible to mimic a primal man…sometimes I knockout a set as soon as I get up in the morning…it gives you a nice rush and wakeup…
[...] day at my gym. My gym is a neighborhood playground where I do a workout that I describe in the post Escaping the Glitter: Taking High Intensity Training Outdoors. It was 41 degrees today with a 10 mile an hour wind, which made it “feel like 35 [...]
Mas,
Do you feel that the workout is balanced enough? I don’t see any hamstring work – or do you feel the goblet squat sufficiently works the entire lower body?
@Jim – I don’t know. It is possible that I might be developing strength imbalances. I feel that the goblet squat is doing the trick. Maybe by adjusting the stance from week to week, that might be enough.
Hi Mas.I have just found your blog.I think it is very interesting.I haven’t read all the articles but I am catching up.I am from Bulgaria and my English is bad.I am an ectomorph and skinny fat.Do you think this kind of training routine is good enough for building muscles?In your articles about ectomorphes you suggest training in 5 reps zone.
@Alex – For me 5 reps and heavy worked much better than the 8-12 reps at a lighter weight. However, in the past year I’ve changed the way I lift to focus on intensity. Reps and weight are less important.
I believe HIT will help you build muscle. I do not have enough data to say for sure if the Outdoor HIT protocol in this post will build muscle. I suspect it would. Time will tell.
How should I train with this protocol.Should I use weighted chin-ups and push-ups to work near 5 rep zone?I think this kind of workout with static holds is much similar to gymnasts training.And gymnasts have perfect bodies.
@Alex – I no longer think reps are the important metric. Just do the movements very slow and controlled. Take out the momentum. I would start out not doing weighted.
I have just did my first HIT training.Well I am still feeling the lactic acid and my body is still red.I have thought that I won’t get pumped with HIT but i was wrong.I did elevated leg push ups,bodyweight chin-ups and dumbell goblet squat.The part with static hold is really very dificult.I can stand only 10 seconds.But i can’t wait till next monday to train again.When should I incorporate some more work targeting stomach fat,for example sprints.If I do them on friday,do you think I will have enough time to recover till monday.Have in mind that we – skinny fats have terrible recovery.
I know stomach fat is best removed with diet,but when I restrict calories I loose muscle,and my metabolism slows down and keep fat.It is better if first I build muscle and then loose the fat.But for skinny fat ectomorph building muscles is almost impossible.What do you think about combininig for example one or two sets of deadlift before the HIT?
I am doing these trick allmost 2 years.I don’t think low carb,more sleep and IF is enough for skinny fats.These tweaks are working for loosing fat.I can reach 10% bodyfat but my arms looks like my calves.The real problem with belly fat is lack of muscles and high cortisol levels.
P.S. Today I am not fatigued and don’t feel my muscles sore from teh yesterday HIT.Maybe it wasn’t hard enough training.By the way wich is better for muscle growth, HIT once per week or training every day away from fatigue?
Intensity is time under tension (load) right?Doing push-ups 6 seconds down and 3-4 up is high intensity isn’t it?I think doing squats 5×5 is good for strenght.But 1 set of 20 breathing squats to failure is good for hypertrophy.Isn’t the same with HIT?
@Alex – There are many variations of HIT. Don’t focus on the weight or reps. The goal is to go to complete failure (safely) and then allow time for recovery.
Hypertrophy can be achieved many ways. HIT is just one of them.
As long as you are being safe, you’ll be fine. Find a plan that works for you. My example is just what I’m experimenting with, which may or may not work best for you.
Experiment and be safe.
Michael, quick question: as you fail on the goblet squat, how do you ‘draw the kettlebell close’ when presumably you’re already holding the kettlebell to your chest ?
I myself would like to experiment with goblet squats to failure. But obviously how to unload safely if the crucial aspect.
@Dale – The goblet is probably 18 inches away at the start of the movement. Since this post was written, I have dropped the “draw kettlebell close” step. Now I just drop it.
To clarify my “dropping the kettlebell” statement. I’m dropping it on grass and my kettlebell has a vinyl cover. You probably shouldn’t drop your KB on a solid surface.
[...] then I would recommend the plan in the book HillFit by Chris Highcock or my less detailed outdoor HIT workout. If you want more ideas, especially if you are designing a Tabata or another strength interval [...]
[...] My results improved when I traded duration for intensity. I’m in far better shape doing one 10 minute HIT workout every 5-7 days than when I did longer more frequent workout [...]
[...] day for Seattle. Because of the cold temperatures and rain, it had been over a week since my last Outdoor HIT Workout. Instead of being pleased with the chance to return to the park, I realized I was tired of doing [...]
[...] Intensity workouts outdoors using body weight exercises. I describe my current workout in the post Escaping the Glitter: Taking High Intensity Training Outdoors. Although I am proud of this post, it probably is not that useful to someone that is new to the [...]
[...] Squat – This is something I just named that was part of my Outdoor HIT protocol. It starts as a body weight squat or body weight plus kettle bell. Perform a few squats at [...]
Louie Simmons has touched upon this subject as well. I think he called it functional isometrics. The only caution he gave was this. His research indicated that the strength gains generated from this training were greatest 10 degrees in each direction from the joint. Thus if your elbow was at 90 degree during your hold, then your strength would be greatest between 80 and 100 degrees. He also talked about rate of force production. Thus my guess is that he would include low volume plyo’s as well.
I workout similar to your current style but over the past two years have mixed it up a bit. I sometimes use a backpack with weights on dips, pull ups, and pushups.
I just started my own blog and will soon be writing posts on the specifics of these workouts.
Sustainable? Oh yeah. And so much fun – you will start to look at playgrounds with a new set of eyes, trust me.
This is exactly why I keep read this blog.
Thanks, I will try and put this in practice.
(I hate gyms but love outdoors and a toned body)
When I vacation to Portland and Florida each year I hit the gym for my workouts. I’m not trying to hit specific targets to see if I’m improving though. It’s just for fun and to mix it up. I think that if you pay attention to your body when you workout, you should pretty well know if your strength or body comp. is declining in short order.
I’m hugely convinced about the benefits of plyometrics, so I’d encourage you to try to clapping pushups – that could be a good benchmark measure. Even more serious would be clapping pullups.
I have a 45lb weight vest that I use for “body weight” exercise. I also sometimes use 5lb wrists and ankle weights sometimes. They cost a bit, but after three years I still find them a good investment.
Lastly – and maybe your’e doing this already – but I would encourage you to do the exercises barefoot whenever possible. Direct contact between the soles of our feet and the pure earth – it’s a rare and beautiful experience!
.
How has your training method been going?
Do you feel that the workout is balanced enough? I don’t see any hamstring work – or do you feel the goblet squat sufficiently works the entire lower body?
I believe HIT will help you build muscle. I do not have enough data to say for sure if the Outdoor HIT protocol in this post will build muscle. I suspect it would. Time will tell.
As for the skinny fat thing, check out my post “Moving Up The Leanness Levels” for ideas.
http://criticalmas.com/2010/12/moving-up-the-leanness-levels/
P.S. Today I am not fatigued and don’t feel my muscles sore from teh yesterday HIT.Maybe it wasn’t hard enough training.By the way wich is better for muscle growth, HIT once per week or training every day away from fatigue?
http://criticalmas.com/2011/06/training-to-failure-or-training-to-quit-part-2/
Hypertrophy can be achieved many ways. HIT is just one of them.
As long as you are being safe, you’ll be fine. Find a plan that works for you. My example is just what I’m experimenting with, which may or may not work best for you.
Experiment and be safe.
I myself would like to experiment with goblet squats to failure. But obviously how to unload safely if the crucial aspect.