High Intensity Weight Training for Muscle Growth and Weight Loss

If you just only have time to do one big workout each week, then this HIT* routine (high intensity training) is a good place to start. The workout is split over a 4 week period, with the third week being a repeat of the first week. You still need to fit in a second session, but this is a quick session, which can easily be completed in 20 minutes, assuming you have some dumbbells at home.

Week 1:

Saturday:

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  1. Shoulder press
  2. Pull-ups
  3. Bench press
  4. Bent-over row

Monday & Thursday:

  1. Bicep Curls
  2. Tricep extensions

Week 2:

Saturday:

  1. Deadlifts
  2. Pec flyes

Monday & Thursday:

  1. Bicep Curls
  2. Tricep extensions

Week 3: (same as week 1)

Saturday:

  1. Shoulder press
  2. Pull-ups
  3. Bench press
  4. Bent-over row

Monday & Thursday:

  1. Bicep Curls
  2. Tricep extensions

Week 4:

Saturday:

  1. Squats
  2. Upright row

Monday & Thursday:

  1. Bicep Curls
  2. Tricep extensions

This is a really good beginners HIT-style training programme. There is one big session per week and the recovery-time per muscle groups is proportional to their size: The big full-body compounds are spaced two weeks apart. Shoulders, chest, lats and upper-back get a full week of recovery from the systemic-damage of the big compounds and two-weeks since they were hit with the same exercise. In between you are giving the smaller muscle groups three days recovery. The week-day sessions are also very small (half-hour maybe) so they are less impact on your evening.

Other tips concerning compound weight training:

  • Bent over row following bench press is excellent.
  • Follow shoulder presses with pull-ups (Follow the compressive exercise with an expansive one)
  • Don’t neglect your triceps. Take the curls and triceps out into a separate short set which you can do more frequently. Biceps/triceps can be exercised at least every other day.

*High Intensity Training (HIT) is a form of strength training popularized in the 1970s by Arthur Jones, the founder of Nautilus. The training focuses on performing quality weightlifting repetitions to the point of momentary muscular failure. The training takes into account the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the amount of time the muscle is exposed to tension in order to maximize the amount of muscle fibre recruitment.

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Recommended Reading

Weight Training Push & Pull Split Routine
Split Routines for Bodybuilding and Weight Lifting
German Volume Training – Old School Approach to Bodybuilding
Bicep Workout for Explosive Guns
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Weekly Weight Training Routines

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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
By MotleyHealth

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