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#1. Re: Dieting/CV health - from Lyle McDonald
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 00:09:35 -0600 (CST) From: lylemcd@onr.com (Lyle McDonald) Subject: Re: Dieting/CV health >Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 09:44:34 -0600 >From: Robert Ohlhausen <rao@sprynet.com> >Subject: Training program while dieting; cardiovascular health >1. I have decided to lose a few pounds. I plan on doing this by >reducing my caloric intake by about 500 calaries per day. so far .. so >good. Since I can't lose fat and build muscle mass at the same time, I >need to alter my program. The question is what do I need to do to >maintain my muscle mass while dieting? Just keep doing what you're doing as far as weights. Possibly one of the most damaging concepts to come from pro-bodybuilding is that you should use high reps to 'etch in the cuts' or 'burn off the fat' while dieting. My opinion is that pros joints couldn't handle heavy training as they came off of the highly androgenic steroids so they went to pumping workouts. When yo'ure on drugs, you won't lose muscle doing this. A natural bodybuilder will shrink if they cut back training weights. So keep your training at it's same intensity to maintain mass and let your caloric deficit handle the fat loss. >2.So, the question is whether endurance training would >be of benefit to me, or are the cholesterol reducing effects of >endurance training also served by weight training and having a larger >muscle mass to support? UNless things have changed greatly in the past 5 years (and on this topic they might have), exercise generally hasnt' been shown to lower cholesterol per se. It tends to raise HDL (the 'good' cholesterol) which improves the ratio of HDL/Total (arguably a more important risk factor for the development of heart disease than absolute amounts of anything) but LDL (the 'bad' cholesterol) is generally more diet/genetic related. Lyle McDonald, CSCS "Oh my god!! They killed Kenny!!!" Stan
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#2. One or more sets per bodypart - from W.M.Bragg
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 06:11:13 From: "W.M.Bragg" <braggw@usa.net> Subject: One or more sets per bodypart Well, I don't want to open a debate. I'm a hardgainer (ectomorph), and I am training for four years now. In my training history, I started five days a week 15 sets per bodypart. Now I'm training twice a week in a upper/lower split, one set per bodypart to absolute failure (with sparingly HIT techniques). I have read all HIT sites I have found, as well as BRAWN (McRobert) and HD & HD2 by Mentzer. My eternal doubt is: żI'm undertraining with only one set per bodypart? My strenght come and goes, and my weight is always the same (If I eat more I gain fat, no more muscle). I have tried return to multiple set scheme some times, but the second set I try, or the weight is far less than the first, or I only can do one or two reps if I choose the same weight. MM says to reduce volume and add more rest (!! I am doing 5 sets per workout every four or five days!) . I'm afraid that going on that will be to undertrain. What would you advise me? I'd like hearing your opinions, of course, with a reasoned basis explaining me about the beneficial of doing one or more sets per body part. I am only interested in getting big; I don't mind about training one or six times a week, doing one or seventeen thousand sets or reps. I want to grow!! Thanks, and... excuse my english (I write from Europe) W. M. Bragg
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#3. HELP SOMEBODY!!! - from Paul Hayes
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 20:58:41 +0100 From: Paul Hayes <phayes@spin.ch> Subject: HELP SOMEBODY!!! Dear Sir or Madam, I dont know if this is or was the correct place to send a question for answers. If not I hope you would do me the favor of forwarding this to the correct person for my particular problem. First, I have been lifting weights since age 18, I am 26 now. I have bench pressed over 400 lbs, in competition, and squated over 500 in competition. So I know that I have some weightlifting ability. I started trying to do hit training about 2 months ago. I have gained no muscle, little strength, very little weight, much knowledge of training with this particular discipline, but sorry to say, my results have been poor. I dont dispute the claims of others, the human body is an amazing machine and can do remarkable things. I feel that I am getting weaker and smaller using this method of training. Being Honest, I must admit that I did not do any measurements before so I cant dispute that I might actually be bigger. However, before I started HIT, I did do a bench press test and tested at 415 (not in competition) and a squat test 515 (again, not in competition). I did try to lift these weights the other day and was crushed. How did I get weaker? I try to follow hit guidelines as closely as possible; diet,rest,giving the maximum, going to failure,concentrating on form, etc. I read the digest and do not see where I am making my mistakes. Could someone please help? Second and maybe the problem, I am very active, I play American football and baseball. I love these sports and cannot stop playing them. But in order to be good in any sport you have to put in time, time in the weight room and time running, doing drills. drills that will make you better. I train for football myself Wednesday and Friday mornings for one hour doing sprints,agilities,form running. Then with the team Mon-Fri in season. I do hit training on Mondays and Thursdays, if I am not to tired or sore. If I am to tired or sore I will take the following planned workout off. I have asked others and I recieved answers like your running is the problem. I find it hard to accept answers like, "just stop running" or "your to activity level is what is causing you not to increase in strength and size" I feel this answer is to general and to easy to give. The sports I play are very anaerobic and should go well with hit training? I did read that a hit lifter Greg Roman, was also one of the stronger football players while at John Carrol University and recorded some impressive lifts. I want to do this!! Maybe my genetic potential, is not what his is, but so far with this form of training I am not even close to using the poundages I was using. I know I can do better and I am not satisfied, unfortunatly I am making mistakes somewhere and I need help to finding them. How do I get bigger? How do I get stronger? Where are my problems? I settled on doing this workout from the cyberpump page after trying others. Day One Day Two ------------ ------- 1. Deadlift 1. Squat 2. Leg Press 2. Bench Press 3. Overhead Press 3. Rowing (Machine) 4. Shrug 4. Dumbbell Press (O.H.) 5. Close Grip Pulldown to the Chest 5. Triceps Pressdown 6. Standing Calf Raise 7. Reverse Curls 8. Abdominal Crunches
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#4. Re: HIT Digest #106 - from Juan Castro
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 12:59:36 PST From: "Juan Castro" <castrojuan@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: HIT Digest #106 >From: "Timothy J. Ryan" <72263.2770@compuserve.com> >Subject: Measurement of Muscular Strength >4.) Stored Energy... A failure to measure and >remove stored energy torque can cause errors of several thousand >percent in strength tests. Several thousand? How is this possible? You are saying that you can get that much error measuring leg strength? Or is this amount of error just for measuring some very little muscle? >5.) Friction. In reality, muscles are not actually stronger >eccentrically than concentrically, it just appears that way due to >the effects of friction within the muscles. Are you saying that friction alone explains the entire difference? > Due to the fact that friction is constantly changing, there is no > way to simply measure it Then how do you know it is changing? >friction does not exist in static testing procedures because there is >no movement. But there must be a frictional force opposing the motion. There is static friction. > Therefore static tests are free from the error caused by >friction That is not true - friction is still there.
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#5. re:Hit106 Training while Dieting - from LFeld49371@aol.com
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 18:16:54 EST From: LFeld49371@aol.com Subject: re:Hit106 Training while Dieting <<From: Robert Ohlhausen <rao@sprynet.com> <<1. I have decided to lose a few pounds. I plan on doing this by reducing my caloric intake by about 500 calaries per day. so far .. so good. Since I can't lose fat and build muscle mass at the same time, I need to alter my program. The question is what do I need to do to maintain my muscle mass while dieting?>> For starters, do you know what % of your average daily caloric intake 500 cals is? In the long run, it may be better to gradually acclimate your system to the decreased level at a rate of minus 10% a week so as not to trigger your body's starvation instinct(that's when your metabolism will slow down to preserve it's resources). This makes muscle building even more essential...and intense cardio less desireable. I feel that it is absolutely possible to gain muscle while loosing fat and weight. Here's how it should work: True, the body would rather not use the fuel you feed it(calories) to build muscle(it prefer's to store it as fat). When you feed it less it will passively lose muscle along with the stored fat that it now has to give up to compensate for the shortfall. It is this muscular atrophy that slows the metabolism. However, if you continue your weight lifting to overload the muscles, whatever limited resources the system has will be used to repair and rebuild the muscles. (Low, moderate or intense aerobic activity will not provide this growth stimulus....it may, in fact contribute muscular atrophy...just what your're trying to avoid.) Anyway, you have created a gradual caloric deficit(so that stored fat has to be used for energy), you have given you body a reason to build muscle so your metabolic rate will be maintained, therefore why shouldn't you continue to lose fat and weight???? The only way you wouldn't lose weight is if you are capeable of building an extaordinary amount of muscle....most of us don't have to worry about that, especially on a reduced calorie diet. << I have fairly low levels of over cholesterol (180), but also levels of hdl ("good") cholesterol, which makes my ratio of "bad" ldl to "good" hdl fairly high, which is not a good thing. >> You may want to check this out with an MD, but your LDL problem may be a result of too many trans-fatty acids in your diet and have little to do with your exercise program. LCF
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#6. bad, bad back - from Ira K Ellis
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 17:44:43 -0600 From: Ira K Ellis <irakelli@Mars.utm.edU> Subject: bad, bad back I have been subscribing to the HIT list now for only a week or so, but I have learned so much in that time. I have been lifting weights rather consistently for over 8 years. I will be 23 years old in a few months. I have a very bad lower back thanks to improper power cleans when I was a 16 year old high school football player. Due to this, leg work is quite difficult. I am able to do squats moderatley well, but I must be careful with the weight I use. I use the 1 - 2 sets until failure now, and it works quite will and seems to relieve some of the stress on my lower back. Deadlifts, however, are nearly impossible. Can you suggest some type of lifts to help with leg work? One more question. When planning out a workout session where there is relative freedom as to equipment use, how are the best workouts arranged? For instance, should I group all the chest and arm lifts together (Bench press, then dips, then preacher curls, etc) or should I mix upper and lower body exercises (bench press, squats, dips, leg extensions, etc)? A statement now on cardiovascular fitness. I lifted weights rather intensly for the first four or five years. About three years ago, I was getting very heavy (in excess of 250 pounds on a 6 foot high frame) and decided that jogging or running was my only alternative. Once my running program was tolerable (3 days per week at 20 minutes per day), I began to notice that I had more endurance in the weight room. I could do more weight at fewer reps or more reps at a reduced weight. I was moving from lifting station to station quicker and with less "down time" or resting. I attribute this to increased cardiovascular fitness. My body was learning to use oxygen more efficiently. Since then I have increase my running in both distance and time. I have also seen about a one hundred pound increase in my single rep max in bench press. I owe about sixty of that to my intro to HITing about eight months ago. I will always say that running or any type of cardiovascular workout can only supplement weight training. While my actual biological terminology is lagging, I am very confident and have seen similar results in many individuals I have ran and lifted with. I have also seen the opposite result, as individuals quite or reduce running (cardio) work, their lifting ability seems to decrease. Please email any scientific results that contradict any of my statements. I love the HIT list and read each article throughly. Best Wishes and Hit those weights hard. keith ellis irakelli@mars.utm.edu From childhood's hour I have not been as others were - I have not seen as others saw - I could not bring My passions from a common spring. From the same source I have not taken My sorrow; I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone; And all I lov'd, I lov'd alone. Edgar Allan Poe "Alone"
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#7. P.O.F - from Steven Zorn
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 22:39:49 -0500 From: szorn@webtv.net (Steven Zorn) Subject: P.O.F I have recently skimmed through the various comic books ( bodybuilding magazines) on the store shelves and I came acrossed several ads and articles that mentioned P.O.F (position-of-flexion training). Does anyone know what it consists of? Is it something that can be added to a H.I.T program? Any information would be appreciated. STEVE