Dorian only trained for 45 minutes a day, but it was brutal training.  He would use 3 exercises per body part and 3 sets each exercise.  He would take the first 2 sets just short of failure, but the final set was always to complete failure. 

Dorian prescribed to the Mike Mentzer style of H.I.T.  He definitely took things to the limit.  Where Yates was different was that he didn't believe in training the entire body in one session.  He took what he learned about H.I.T. and created a hybrid.  His hybrid obviously worked as he won the Mr. Olympia contest 6 times, with 5 of those being consecutively.

What Yates realized while training with Mike Mentzer was that intensity is great for building muscle.  Yates would use H.I.T. during his building phases to gain mass quickly.  He felt that he had to modify the intensity as he got closer to the competition because of the reduced caloric intake he would be under.  He felt that only with alot of calories could you sustain this type of training.

If H.I.T. was good enough for 6 time Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates, it should be good enough for you!

OK, so this was a particularly brutal workout.  I need to describe it to you for you to get the full effect.  I had been adding 5 pounds to the thigh extensions each workout, but I came to the gym feeling like a caged animal ready to explode, so I added 10 pounds to my previous weight.  I managed to crank out 10 repetitions.  My legs were quivering and my quads were on fire.  I moved over to the Thigh Curl machine and proceeded to bang out 10 repetitions with 150 lbs.  It had my legs screaming.  I then loaded up 360 lbs. and cranked out 27 repetitions of standing calf raises.  This was particularly brutal because my calves were on fire by the 10th repetition and I just kept on going.  I managed to go to complete and total failure on the 27th repetition.  I racked up 225 lbs. on the squat rack and proceeded to crank out 9 very nice repetitions.  I do not take squats to full positive failure for obvious reasons, but I was about 1 rep shy of that.  At this point I could feel my body was already wasted from the effort I had already put in.  I got on the Quad Blaster, grabbed a 47.5 lb. dumbbell and proceeded to ride the Blaster for 13 intense repetitions.  I went down for the 14th repetition and just fell to the ground.  I literally had to crawl to the bench to do my dumbbell pullovers.  I managed to keep the intensity extremely high for the rest of the workout until I hit deadlifts.  I stuck with the "mistake" from the last week and worked on 275 lbs.  I managed 8 repetitions, but as soon as I was done, I had to run to the trash can to vomit.  The intensity of the workout had pushed my body over the limit.  I finished off like a warrior with my shrugs and forearm curls.

Today I will share with you why this system is here to stay for me.  I am completely amazed at what I am about to share.

In just 4 short weeks I have seen some pretty incredible jumps in my numbers.  I have purposely been keeping my numbers to myself, but since I am now a H.I.T. evangelist, I thought I'd put my money where my mouth is.

Four weeks ago I weighed 215 lbs. and was at 16.8% body fat.  That is 177.88 lbs. of LBM and 36.12 lbs. of fat.  I have been eating about 25% more calories per day for the past four weeks.  At this point I now weigh 223 lbs. and I am at 16.39% body fat.  This equates to 186.45 lbs. of LBM and 36.55 lbs. of fat.  I have gained a total of 8 lbs. on the scale but only 0.43 lbs. of that is fat–the rest is LBM!  Pay attention–I am eating 25% more than ever before and I am not gaining fat! 

My strength has increased as well.  Take a look at the chart I created below and you will see how much my numbers have improved. 

I honestly do not know how anyone could look at the above spike chart and not immediately ask about having a H.I.T. routine designed for them.  I have never seen strength gains like this in such a short period of time.  Remember, all of these weights are with timed repetitions of 3 seconds up and 3 seconds down.  That makes it even more incredible because it means that for each and every one of these exercises, if I lifted with the standard cadence, I'd be able to do even heavier weights.

The bodybuilders I plan to discuss are:

1. Dorian Yates
2. Mike Mentzer
3. Dave Draper
4. Casey Viator
5. Ray Mentzer
6. Sergio Oliva

The history about these guys is pretty amazing to read.  I enjoyed doing the research and will really enjoy presenting the history here for you to read.  Please return each day starting Monday to read the latest update in this series.

Powerful Reasons Why

We have all discussed our Powerful Reasons Why in the past, but today I thought I'd show you 3 of my Powerful Reasons Why. 

Alyssa is 6 years old.  She loves to watch me do my pictures.  Her favorite is "muscle pictures" and so here she is copying some poses I normally do during "muscle picture" day.

Mitchell is 6 years old.  He copies anything his dad and his brother do.  He's got a mischievous smile and an awesome personality.

Matthew is 13 years old.  He has started lifting weights with me a couple of times a week.  I now have him (and my oldest daughter – 16) on a H.I.T. routine.  They are both making some pretty amazing progress.  Matthew's passion in life is ice hockey.  He plays goalie and has for several years now.  The only person goofier in the house than me is Matthew.

My oldest, Ashley (16), was not around or I'd have had her pose as well.  Maybe some other time?