Introduction

Upon searching, it surprises (shocks?) me to find not one review of this absolute gem in exercise physiology. This book truly is a needle in the hay stack.

While I can not personally vouch for the long term effectiveness of the principles contained within- nor am I especially qualified to criticize or praise those notions on a more scientific basis- Moment Arm Exercise truly is an amazing read.

In light of this- and before beginning the review- I would like to state that this book is not for “beginners” or someone with only a mild interest in exercise.

At the soonest, MAE should be read after a thorough understanding is had of the concepts behind Body by Science- so in a sense it is “continued education” for those highly motivated to continue learning about the human body, exercise, and how it all “works”

In the authors defense, what the book is, is explained right in the introduction. It is not “a comprehensive encyclopedia of exercises”. Nor is it “intended as a heavy duty, academic engineering text”.

MAE, in the authors own words…

“is an approach to strength training that emphasizes aligning the forces and levers, ie the “moment arms”, of both the muscles and resistance.”

Experience thus far

And finally, before beginning the review, I will state that I have tried the concepts in the book (one session thus far, 2 days ago) and that I will continue to apply them in my following workouts should I continue to grow- to the best of my ability and understanding.

I write this review with a back that feels more thoroughly worked than ever before- even in the face of Nautilus and MedX pullovers, lat pull downs to a level of failure that abruptly called my traps into almost exclusive action, and so on.

I also write this review after experiencing a Smith Machine barbell squat in the manner suggested in the book- a indescribably intense compound leg movement only rivaled (from my experience, which includes an 800lb MedX leg press /w 4 holes pinned) by the elusive Hybrid Machine.

I have loved performing “full” barbell squats over the past few months, but never before have any been at this level of intensity- not even close. And while this could have been some sort of novelty effect, it sure as hell didn’t feel that way while my legs were (almost) uncontrollably shaking.

Review

MAE (Moment Arm Exercise) is a well written book on the- well, in my opinion- overlooked bio-mechanics of exercise.

Bio-mechanics that have been “widely accepted” as the norm for far too long. MAE challenges these norms, thoroughly, and with science that makes sense- after reading it a few times over =).

The author adds humor here and there, and it is apparent he has done his best to help the lay reader understand not so easy to understand concepts. Although admittedly, the science makes infinitely more sense once you put yourself through a workout applying it. There really is no understanding like doing.

That said, the book is not formatted perfectly. I don’t believe this is a lack of effort, but a lack of applicable knowledge for the field.

Not that I’m perfect with my endeavors- not by any means- but the field of exercise is sorely lacking in the tech department in relation to other fields. Going off on a tangent, other fields- even the dating advice industry- are light years ahead from most of what I’ve seen… But, perhaps that level of infrastructure is unnecessary or undesirable at this point…

Regardless, the book still flows well, is properly organized, and illustrated when necessary from start to finish.

The chapters are as follows:

1.Finding the Moment Arms in Your Workout

2.Locating the Hidden Moment Arm

3.Moment Arm Meets Machine

4.Congruent Moment Arms and Why They Matter

5.Technology to Perfect Your Workout

6.Moment Arm Exercise: Chest

7.Moment Arm Exercise: Back

8.Moment Arm Exercise: Shoulders

This section proved particularity interesting since one of the exercises suggested is something I am all to familiar with from my years of high volume training. Perhaps not coincidentally, my shoulders were the one area of my body that really excelled even in the face of over training- of course having little idea why then…

9.Moment Arm Exercise: Upper Arms

10.Moment Arm Exercise: The Squat

11.Moment Arm Exercise: Calves

12.Putting it All Together: the Congruent Routine

While some are lengthier than others, all are in depth and leave nothing untouched as it pertains to the premise of the book- which you still may be wondering about.

The premise of the book is this- in my limited and humble opinion( in no way, shape, or form do I speak for the author)- the bio-mechanics behind “full range of motion” may not be optimal for best results in terms of muscular hypertrophy or in particular, overall health of the joints and limbs being exercised.

The author does an excellent job challenging this status quo, at times even revealing where well known texts regarding “full range of motion” contradict themselves (at least that’s how I interpreted it).

So much for “basic anatomy” being agreed upon

You may be wondering at this point, does this book try to justify that machines are better than free weights?

I would be wondering the same thing if I were you, but you would be surprised to find out that no, that is not even a significant theme in the book (that is- what’s better, machines or free weights?).

If anything, Bill shows us how to do with free weights, what has been attempted by machine manufacturers for decades- which is, the attempt to deal with the varying degree of “strength” through a “full range of motion”.

Which is done by…ah hell, read the book. I won’t even begin to try to explain it in my own words, HA.

Again though, the book does not focus on machine usage (although you can use machines once you understand the concepts behind MAE).

It does however refer to them from time to time since the effort he makes is not unlike that effort machine manufactuers made in the past- rather than constructing machines for individuals though Bill shows us how to design and modify conventional equipment exercises by applying certain biomechanical patterns (exercises that end up being relatively similar for everyone).

Sounds fancy, but it’s actually really, really cool.

Favorite Part of the book?

The chart on page 137. It outlines all of the exercises listed throughout the book by muscle group and ranks them from left to right regarding stablization. Super helpful and simplifies things ten fold.

Second favorite part?

The page after that Bill challenges the “novelty” feeling from adding “variety” to your workout. If anything this topic warrants a lot more discussion due to the emphasis placed on it from so many different corners of the field of exercise.

In Summary

You need to get this book (if you’ve completed reading BBS)- and no, I have not been paid or compensated in any way for this post.

There’s no telling how long it will be for sale, and as said in the introduction, it is a gem, pure and simple. Does is void every long held belief about exercise? Hardly, but it does a great job shaking things up a bit- and therefore re-examining those unproven assumptions- and is worth every penny it costs (about $35)-and the minimal amount of time it takes to finish reading (150 pages).

You can find it by visiting Bill’s website and e-mailing him directly at the bottom of the site. He takes Paypal and check- although I’d recommend PayPal for faster delivery (of which, he ships almost immediately).

A++

-Dream

ps- for further reading check out this interview with Bill S. from Doug Mcguff (co-author of Body by Science).

Before I begin, I would like to say that I agree with a lot of notions promoted by the CrossFit and Primal Fitness crowd- those who look to our past for guidance concerning our health and fitness.

In fact I am a massive supporter of eating like our ancestors- until I find a valid argument voiding 2+ million years of evolution (which, I’m somehow doubting will ever be done to any substantial degree).

I like the exercise protocols promoted by these groups (or, at least my personal understanding of them) because- for the most part- they are a MASSIVE step in the right direction and are a far cry from programs such as P90x and the generic (leftover aerobics?) “cardio” movement.

They “get it”. Our bodies are built for brief, intense, and relatively infrequent exercise- built so because that is how our species evolved over the course of a very, very long time. The specifics will always vary, but least this much is “agreed” upon.

However this is where the agreeing comes to a rather abrupt halt- where these training modalities fall prey to the intellectual missing link concerning our evolution in accordance with exercise.

If the “3 laws” of proper exercise are brief, intense, and relatively infrequent, the fourth would undoubtedly be safe.

Let’s examine this rift in thinking together and try to get to the bottom of things- for everyone’s sake.

Recently Mark Sisson from Mark’s Daily Apple made a post about (moderate?) low level aerobic activity. You can find the post here.

His blog by the way is excellent. I highly recommend digging through it and finding the gems hidden within.

Beneath that post I made the following comment

Mark, I highly recommend reading a recently released book titled “Body by Science”, particularly the section on romanticizing our ancestors and the errors/consequences that can be made in attempts to mimic their exercise habits.

Now, why did I make such a comment? Do I entirely disagree with low level aerobic activity as a means for maintaining overall health and well being?

No, not at all. In fact I believe staying “active” via recreational activities or an occasional walk (for example) is vitally important to maintaining long term mental and physical health. We are simply NOT made to sit on our ass all day and stare at a wall.

However, low level aerobic activity is, in my opinion, not a valid form of exercise.

Before continuing, I would like to forewarn you that what I’m about to tell you can easily stir emotions, and cloud sound judgment. It is the intellectual jump that is no easy feat to make, and in announcing it I take certain readership risks. All that said, take a deep breath, and get ready to make a leap!

Let’s clarify, physical activity does not equal exercise.

Again, let’s repeat that because it is critical for understanding proper exercise- (random) physical activity does not equal exercise.

Exercise is a physical activity, yes, but the inverse of that is not true.

Proper exercise follows principles that apply to everyone (they are universal to our species).

It usually isn’t fun. It is severely uncomfortable and requires discipline.

However it is safe, sustainable, and almost everyone has the ability to reap tremendous benefits from it- including your kid sister, and your grandparents.

Below is a comment from a close friend that may help accelerate understanding of what I’m saying.

I love how people are cool with recommending something to a 25 year old, but not a 65 year old (after all..how many 65 year olds are doing clean and jerks?)….don’t they realize the 25 year old will have to work with the same body 40 years later?

Back on point, I made that comment because this is where things get hazy- this is where things like CrossFit and Primal Fitness lose their edge- at least for someone with similar interests to my own concerning health, fitness, physique, functional ability, flexibility, and so on.

Crossfit, primal fitness, and related training modalities look to the past for guidance concerning exercise- the same way we (in my opinion, should) look to the past for guidance concerning nutrition.

After all, it’s pretty damn hard to argue with 2 million years of evolution concerning dietary habits.

Much like this commenter on Mark’s blog pointed out

Hi Anthony

Perhaps you can give us a one liner about these revelations ?

I find it hard to imagine a valid argument against doing what we have been selected (through evolution) to do.

Considering this, we should probably follow the same path for exercise…right?

Hmm, perhaps in some areas, but not precisely.

True, our bodies are primarily built for brief, intense, infrequent exercise.

But the problem- well one of them- lies in wear and tear issues and the fact that ancient man usually didn’t live past his 40’s.

But that’s because he got mauled by a bear or fell off a cliff, caught a disease, or something!

You’re exactly right, but that doesn’t change the fact that when he died at that old (middle?) age he often died “crippled by osteoarthritis and other wear-and-tear issues”.

A quote from Body by Science that is supported by- my count- nearly half a dozen independent peer reviewed studies from sources such as The Scottish Medical Journal, The American Journal of Physical Anthropology, and the Annual Review of Anthropology. If anyone is so inclined I can cite the same references, however I think you owe it to yourself to at least give the book a look next time you walk into a Barnes and Noble (these citations are present in the back of the book right before the index).

Now, keyword, often.

Does this mean every single person who mimics ancient mans physical activity as closely as possible will have those same problems? Probably not. But as a friend recently said…

Some people can exercise excessively year after year with no problem, whereas others will have tons of issues. The problem is it’s kind of a gamble…kind of like smoking…you may live to 105 smoking two packs a day, but do you want to take that calculated risk?

I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell don’t want to significantly risk having crippling bone and joint problems when I’m forty- not to mention old age. I wanna be running around like a maniac when I’m 70 =), not walker bound.

Statistical (genetic?) gambles aside, let’s look at the same issue with basic logic.

In doing so however, try to let go of any preconceived notions you may have about exercise. Right, wrong, questionable, back by science, whatever, just let go and have a blank slate for a moment. In particular, forget all of the benefits that have been strongly associated with only aerobic- free radical releasing- exercise.

…

Imagine you were born in the woods, raised in the-exposed to the elements- wild, and then lived your entire adult life (a few decades) hunting dangerous animals, gathering random food (while probably starving half the time), fighting others (perhaps to the death protecting your family and friends), running from predators, and all the while trying to avoid traumatic injury (that would probably prove fatal) barefoot.

Anyone here want to hunt down a wooly mammoth on a weekly basis with me the rest of their life? With nothing more than a few sharp sticks and our wits, of course.

Apparently we didn’t as a species. Over the course of history we used our brains and decided to stop doing these kinds of dangerous and internally damaging activities (well, most of us anyway, there are still isolated tribes in remote regions of the world from my understanding).

Does this mean we should stop eating wild game (or modern day equivalents) and other foods that are within our natural food matrix?

No, I don’t believe so, and neither do many other people including Mark Sisson (and from my understanding many CrossFit enthusiasts). It just means we should listen to our ancestors and limit these kinds of activities for purposes other than exercise.

But how does hunting relate to primal fitness and CrossFit?

Romanticizing those activities and turning a blind eye to the inherent risks involved.

Think for a moment about what the primary result of proper exercise should be.

In my opinion- and the opinion of many others- it is strength gains. From these gains nearly all other benefits (of which, there are tons!) stem.

Or in other words, (safe) strength training should be the foundation of your physical activity pyramid- a term I borrowed with permission from 7 year Central Florida personal trainer Patrick Diver.

It should not replace it, but be the basis to ensure maximum benefits for all activities above it.

The reality is your body has little (conceptual?) understanding of mechanical work. You impose demands, it does it’s best to adapt in the most efficient way possible (which is different from activity to activity).

The “missing link” is that properly conducted strength training will support all activites that are adapted for in different ways (some of which can be negative adaptations such as muscle deteroration from notions like “chronic cardio” as Mark Sisson discusses).

The same can not be said for “cross” training movements, and attempts to mimic all the random physical activity our ancestors engaged in. It may seem that way, but often times this is a confusion between improvements in motor skill (think: running) and physical adaptaions by the body- whether it be in muscle or cardiovascular system.

These movements are often of high force, possibly unsafe for many individuals, and are rarely sustainable in old age.

And yes I understand guys like Clarence Bass and Art Devany perform sprints, but how many of us will really be sprinting around at 70-80 years old? Count me out, healthy joints or not.

While these activities can result in some degree of muscular hypertrophy (just like properly conducted strength training, which is in accordance with our evolutionary background), it will rarely- if ever- result in the same improvements over a broad population of people .

As a friend recently commented to me, a lot of people promoting these types of training are the “survivors”, or perhaps outliers- not unlike those found in the field of body building.

Take Arnold Schwarzenegger for example- a champion and widely recognized body building legend.

What many people overlook is that Arnold is a genetic anomaly. His training protocols- while obviously working well for him in terms of immediate results during his youth- are not sustainable (look at him now).

Nor do they accommodate for the average person’s genetic recovery ability- which can be proportional to one’s genetic potential (last I checked it was impossible for my bicep to ever get as big as Arnold’s, no matter how hard I train, or how many drugs I take, it is a physical impossibility).

…

Back on point, the repetitive nature of these high impact movements may come with a hefty price to pay. Many professional athletes, held in high esteem during their prime of their career for their physical prowess, later become spokesmen for anti-inflammatory medications and surgical procedures.

So what’s the solution, to completely disregard our ancestors evolution for brief, intense, and infrequent activity?

No. As previously stated, the solution (in my humble opinion) is to improve upon that and amplify what produces positive adaptations.

How do we improve upon those activities?

Simple, identify the movements that work with normal joint function, do them in a carefully controlled manner, infrequently, and with an intensity that will produce adaptations.

Modern technology, the “future” as I’ve not so accurately called it in the title of this post- because people have been strength training with barbell type devices for hundreds if not thousands of years- is the answer for exercise.

Why does this work?

Again, your body has little understanding of what it’s doing, it just responds to the demands imposed upon it.

Most people respond well (in the short term) to interval sprint training- and perhaps in some cases in the long term as well (barring trauma related injuries).

The trick is that you can produce the same results, in less time, with substantially less immediate danger and wear-and-tear issues, doing a compound leg movement such as a squat, leg press or dead lift (I prefer the first 2 personally).

Your heart may not adapt exactly the same way, but it does adapt in a way that will promote cardiovascular health equally in relation to sprint training.

If you for some reason need to be an efficient sprinter- for sports, work, and what not- practice sprinting when your legs are recovered from properly conducted strength training.

Try not to confuse exercise with specific skill training and conditioning.

Lay the rock solid foundation with strength training (“proper” exercise as I like to call it), and peform your specific skill training and conditioning after you achieve the added safety and benefit from exercise.

Connect the dots, separate the two, and you will have stronger muscles, in a safer manner, and if necessary, still have the highly adapted skill of (fill in the blank for your sport or career).

…

And yes, I understand this defies conventional wisdom. But in my opinion, there isn’t a lot of leeway. It’s a matter of understanding apples and oranges, and respecting the differences between the two that are set by nature.

This may upset some people- particularly those with vested interests or long histories with combining these 2 separate fields- but try to take emotions out of the equation if they are being brought into play at this moment.

Your health may depend on it, and perhaps more than that if your career depends on your functional ability (think: police officer/fire fighter).

…

Some more personal cases of where high impact activites have caused problems.

1. I have a friend who runs regular “bootcamps” in Orlando whose back is literally falling apart, at the ripe old age of 31 (32 now?).

2. I have a friend (a young girl) who refuses to stop teaching group exercise classes in light of repeated serious traumatic injuries. She has dislocated both kneecaps (one multiple times I believe) at the age of…23. No, that’s not a typo.

3. Most personal of all, my own wrecked knee.

I dislocated it playing high school football- 5 separate times.

This hurts really, really bad by the way. Especially the first time.

It frequently locked up and remained aggravated over the past few years, until I drastically cut the volume of my exercise program and dramatically increased the intensity.

It’s been 6 months since I took unconventional steps to address my obsession (addiciton?) to training, and thus far my knee has never felt better. It’s not perfect, but it rarely bothers me, and when it does the intensity is far reduced from previous levels.

Conclusion

There’s (almost) no out running- no pun intended- bone and joint problems in a long enough time span training with high force and volume protocols.

It’s been said you can’t out train a bad diet. And in my opinion, the inverse is also true.

You can’t out eat a bad training program.

I believe it is almost irrelevant how in alignment your diet is in relation to our ancestors when it comes to these sort of problems. It did not protect them (completely, I’m not saying they have no effect) from over use injuries, and there is little to suggest a proper diet will significantly protect you under the conditions of a high impact life long training protocol.

Does this mean Body by Science and High Intensity Training are the only valid forms of exercise? No, not at all. That would be outright ridiculous and close minded.

But “strength training” is, and anytime you significantly move away from this concept, you unnecessarily endanger your health in the pursuit of fitness.

You can do whatever you please for the purpose of recreation, specific skill training and conditioning, but try to appreciate that they have little to do with exercise specifically, despite having an exercise effect.

Or, in the words of another…

Another popular but wrong opinion implied in her reply is people should base their exercise program on their recreational preferences. Exercise is the application of a physical stressor to stimulate an adaptive response, and should be performed in accordance with how the body handles and responds to stress and using movements based on muscle and joint function, and not in accordance with the conventions or movement patterns of some recreational activity. While a physical recreational activity may have an exercise effect, this is not the same as being effective exercise. - Drew Baye

A Final Note

1. Strength training (lifting heavy things) is as old as the human species. Doing so in accordance with modern technology to increase safety- so as not to endanger our health in pursuit of fitness- makes perfect sense.

2. The past is a useful tool. When it comes to nutrition, it’s hard to argue backwards engineering our ideal diet from long ago. Exercise follows a similar path, but not the exact same. Again, ancient man did not have tools available to isolate the benefits from physical activity and eliminate the negatives- we do, let’s use em!

I hope this article has proved helpful for those looking to enhance their lives through properly conducted exercise and not alienated those passionate about recreational activities that can have exercise effects. Please feel free to comment as this is a complex subject- however narrow we try to make it- and it warrants further (endless?) discussion.

Thanks

-Dream

When I look back at my first few months of HIT I can spot a few mistakes I made- well more than a few, but I think you get the point =).

I’m also frequently working with friends and family and get to see the errors made both during and after the work out. I’ve compiled a short list of the more common beginner mistakes below and detailed each one.

These are not in any particular order, although if one is especially important I will mention so.

1. Fixating on “soreness” and feeling “pumped”

(Coincidentally?) this is one of the most important mistakes to become aware of and came to my mind first when thinking of this list.

Time and time again, I hear people I train with focusing on the soreness resulting from intense exercise. And that’s only what I’m hearing. I’m sure people are even more fixated on this random effect mentally than they are voicing.

I know because I was once suffered from this line of almost obsessive thinking (and when people continually mention this concept it’s a dead give a way).

The fact is no one really understands muscle soreness to a great degree. It seems like a simple concept the “scientists” would figure out, but as far as I know, no one has yet (completely).

The reality is, being sore after a workout- immediately or days afterward- is not mandatory. In fact, from my experience, it is a random effect. It does NOT directly correlate to growth, so using it as a way to measure a “good workout” is an absolutely terrible idea.

For clarification purposes, DO NOT DO THIS, and stop doing it if you currently are. While proper exercise mandates a meaningful intensity, it does not require you to repeatedly tear slow twitch fibers in an attempt to “feel like you had a good workout”.

Exercise is a logical choice (more in a moment), not an emotional/romantic impulse to feed into.

I believe this is (one of) the ultimate fallacies of “cardio”, group exercise classes, “bootcamps”, and anything related. The idea that you have to leave a workout feeling like you moved a continent, instead of a mountain .

2.  Getting emotional during work outs

Exercise needs to be a logical choice, and performed with the most intense focus you can muster. It does NOT need to be emotional, in any sense. Meaning you do not have to get…

• mad
• angry
• frustrated

Or feel any other emotion for that matter, to have a productive workout. In fact it’s my opinion that the exact opposite is true for the best long- and even short- term results.

“The world is a tragedy for those that feel, and a comedy for those that think”-??

Using your emotions to exercise (a logical choice) will result in getting “burnt out” before you can make certain connections in your mind concerning training, and results.

It takes time to unravel years of misinformation regarding exercise, and doing what “feels right” instead of what produces measurable results will almost certainly prevent those positive mental connections.

For the short term, take a look at this video.

This is a friend I trained with not long ago. He’s an actor and a very emotional person. Even more so in the workout following the one filmed.

The result? Grimacing, valsalva (breath holding), and literally less intensity overall. How is that so when emotions come into the equation? (It seems the opposite would be true).

Focus.

Mental focus builds in time as you perform your workouts, week by week, workout by workout. Getting angry and emotional during a workout short circuits this adaptation as you (should) begin to understand that reaching “utter failure” is a major key to building muscle (and requires every ounce of effort you can put forth).

It short circuits it by a temporary spike in intensity, followed by an even lower drop in intensity for the following exercises.

Basically you can have that ferocious intensity for the entire workout if you remain mentally calm and extremely focused on the task at hand, or you can have that intensity for one- maybe two- exercises and then be burnt out on the rest. It’s your choice, but I highly recommend the former for best results, and your own mental health.

3. Not breathing (and ignoring the importance of rapid breathing)

There isn’t a whole lot to be said on this subject- your muscles need oxygen to work. The more you give before failure, the deeper the inroad. Breathe deeply the first few reps, and more rapidly as the need arises. Think “breathing makes it go” as you perform any exercise.

So it’s known, holding your breath helps you move a weight- it’s called valsalva. You should not be exercising to lug weights around though- which is a sport, not proper exercise- you should be exercising to inroad your muscles and induce them to grow.

That’s (primarily) it.

4. Grimacing

Grimacing takes focus away from the intended muscle group (and promotes breath holding). Not grimacing comes when you remove your emotions from exercise- or perhaps it helps in that regard…

Either way, don’t do it. At the very least it’s horrible to stretch the skin on your face like that. No one cares how cool you look in a gym- in fact it’s often times those who don’t grimace who are experiencing the most pain (a result of increased focus and intensity in the exercise).

5. Caring what other people think

This has to do with both of the above mistakes. Make no mistake about it, in a crowded gym, people will look at you funny when you breathe rapidly- or more often, become uncomfortable around you (almost timid, it’s weird).

Remember you are in the gym exercising (primarily) for a specific purpose- muscular hypertrophy. You are not there to impress anyone. Do not care what anyone else in the gym thinks or has (negative) to say about your training.

“Ignore what doesn’t help you”

And make no mistake about it, when people see you exercising in a high intensity fashion, they will want to tell you every little thing you are doing “wrong”. Politely excuse yourself, or just flat out ignore them if they continue to bother you.

And yes, this includes 99% of personal trainers in large commercial gyms. In fact given any breathing room they are probably worse than your average BodyBuilding.com t-shirt fanatic.

6. Being Overconfident in your recovery ability

Fast twitch fibers take anywhere from 4-10 days (or even longer) to fully recover. No matter how well you eat, sleep, or stare at the sky, this will not (naturally) change. In fact, it’s only when eating and sleeping right that it takes this little time to recover from an intense work out.

Do not become arrogant with your recovery ability, or ignore it in the first place and try to get in some “extra work” or god forbid “cardio”.

If you do some type of activity that even makes you question your recovery from your previous workout, take an extra day off. Remember that your muscles not only need to recover from the damage (yes, damage) done during the previous workout, but they need to grow.

Interrupting this process is downright counter productive, point blank period.

7. Taking less recovery days instead of more when the choice arises

This goes with the previous mistake, taking less days off instead of more when the choice arises (initially at least, you should be trying an array of recovery intervals in the long run).

Again, if you do some type of activity that makes you question your recovery, take an extra day off. This would include playing a game of football, moving into a new apartment/house, or even a long day on the boat fishing/tubing and what not.

Also, if you can not work out on the day you scheduled due to some unforeseen circumstance, do not work out the day before. The day after would be a much better option (more often than not). Although again, be willing to try a shorter interval, at the very least you will see a drop in strength first hand (because of course, you are recording everything religiously), which will help eliminate any remaining training angst.

8. Trying to convince all your friends to do it

This goes for any field or subject you find that goes against the conventional wisdom. Do not expect your friends and family to follow suit no matter how persuasive you are.

Focus on what YOU are doing and let them ask questions later after you’ve allowed your own results to happen- and I assure you, they will ask questions.

Furthermore, for people to be helped, they have to want help. Much like you are reading this very blog to increase your knowledge. Some people just haven’t cultivated this desire (which is for the most part, something you have no influence over).

9. Not working with a qualified trainer (if possible)

Even with the latest book on high intensity training, Body by Science, it’s no easy feat to get the ball rolling.

I highly recommend finding a qualified trainer in your area to start out or at least make sure you are doing everything correctly. At the very least, film one of your workouts and post it online for someone to critique what you are doing.

Also, check out Patrick Diver’s recent comment on the HIT: On Duration post regarding professional training.

10. Beating yourself up mentally after a set and considering re-doing it

Ha, I was the worst with this. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you reading this fall into the same mental trap- having ridiculously high standards.

You get done working out and your TUL (time under load) is 3 seconds- self timed- shorter for a given exercise.

DANG IT (insert profanity)!!!!

When in reality it was probably almost the exact same time- or something to that effect.

Or perhaps you get done, have a good workout (improved), but don’t “feel” pumped, or sore (as we already discussed).

Maybe I chickened out on some of the exercises, maybe I could have done more, maybe I should workout again tomorrow to “make sure” I have a good workout.

Yeah, you definitely shouldn’t.

You get one shot, one workout at a time. Make it count, and learn to let go of the training angst that’s (probably) held you back for so long. If you really did mess up, so what, be sure to give it your all next time, NOT prematurely.

______________________

And that’s it. I’m usually not a fan of “top 10″ lists, but hey ten is what I produced. Obviously the list could go on and on, but these are the ones that really stood out in my mind.

Have any questions about starting out on a BBS style workout? Feel free to ask here, or of course right on their blog.

Happy Monday

-Dream

One of the most remarkable things about High Intensity Training is the absolutely minimal time invested.

On one hand this is a great thing- you spend less time working out and have more time to live your life however you choose (instead of being a gym addict).

This is an excellent trait of the training since the number one reason people don’t exercise is a lack of time- the “lack” being profound because the mainstream fitness and health industry has lead people to believe that exercising for massive amounts of time is not only beneficial but necessary- when in fact the exact opposite is true.

At the same time, the short duration, relative infrequency, and safety of the training prevents joint problems down the road- unlike typical “cross” and “functional” training programs that actually promote these problems.

On the other hand, my hunch is that a lot of people simply scoff at the required time as if it’s a joke or scam of some sort. I’ve seen a number of people do this with my own eyes so the hunch is based off of those experiences (the hunch being that this is more common than is seen visually).

Which is probably the saddest thing of all since again, the exact opposite of what most people believe about exercise is true. You need to invest a very tiny amount of time to get the best results from your genetic potential.

But why is this? Let’s examine the typical questions to find out.

Q- How could a minimum amount of time be needed when I need to burn lots of calories?

A- Burning calories through exercise should never be the reason you exercise. Intentionally trying to burn lots of calories off- which is far harder than you think when you take your resting metabolism out of the equation- is downright counterproductive.

If you do manage to burn off more calories through exercise than you can eat back in a single large bite of food, you will have destroyed a significant amount of pre-existing muscle or stunted additional growth from proper exercise- muscle that would have burnt more calories doing nothing than you just actively tried to.

Combine that with the fact that exercise WILL make you hungry, and you begin to see why burning calories through physical activity is a horrible idea. Not to mention all of the wear and tear issues from typical modalities of exercise such as group exercise, half marathons, or any form of “cardio” for that matter.

Q- So high intensity training doesn’t burn a lot of calories?

A- I hesitate saying this because if you’re still fixated on burning calories you’re missing the point, but HIT actually burns a ton of calories for the time invested. Both in the short- but intense- time spent exercising, and the hours following the workout as a result of lactic acid build up (your aerobic system is cranking).

The muscle built from high intensity training also burns anywhere from 17-100 calories per pound per day- as opposed to fat’s measly 2.

Q- I still don’t understand, why exactly do the workouts need to be so short? Can you clarify?

A- Most people hear “work harder”, and do the exact opposite by working longer (but less intensely). With the advent of “aerobics” and the blind notion of modern day generic “cardio”, this has been compounded to unprecedented levels.

Benefits achieved directly from exercise will always and only come when a meaningful level of intensity is present. Nothing else is even possible.

The best way to achieve this- to the furthest extent of my knowledge- is 1 set per exercise to the point of utter failure. Failure must be achieved at a minimum of about 50 seconds, and a maximum of about 2 minutes (which is pretty damn long, I personally don’t recommend using a resistance that allows failure to happen past 90 seconds).

Momentum must also be eliminated to further increase the intensity.

Does this mean intensity is the only factor in muscular hypertrophy? Hardly, but it’s one of the big ones

Another is working out intelligently- meaning you avoid reworking the same muscle if possible .

Doing so will drain recovery resources from the very muscle you are trying to grow. Hence multiple sets are never done, and you should not be performing too many similar movements during the same workout- which means either do a leg press or a barbell squat for your compound leg movement in a workout, not both.

And finally, as Doug Mcguff has said time and time again, you simply can’t stand more than a little bit of proper exercise.

There is no putting this into words, only a well performed high intensity workout can get the point across. At the 12 minute mark, most people- and I’m talking people who have already been in the gym for years- are physically and mentally exhausted. At 15, most people are ready to keel over (if they’ve been giving 100% of their effort with each movement).

Q- Okay it’s starting to make sense. But are the workouts really THAT short?

A- Yes, they are, almost without exception.

Most often exercises are done back to back with no rest, resulting in workouts as short as 6 or 7 minutes. On the long side of things, perhaps 12 minutes. 15 or more usually only comes into play if there are other people using the equipment, the equipment is spaced far apart, or you are intentionally resting between exercises and not focusing on metabolic condition.

Q- Final question just to be sure, am I taking care of my cardiovascular system only working out this briefly? Be honest with me.

A- Yes, you are, by leaps and bounds.

In fact I would go so far as to say that your “cardio” will be infinitely better than it ever was performing steady state activities for multiple hours per week.

Think of it this way, your cardiovascular system responds to the quality of the activity performed (intensity). Doing a lot of low quality work- cardio- will not provide meaningful benefits.

In fact excessive amounts of it can cause a plethora of problems. Even minimal sessions of it can be counter productive in terms of recovery from proper exercise (among other downsides).

Q-Does this mean I can never ride a bike or play a sport again?

A- No, of course not, just understand there is a difference between exercise and recreation, and respect the differences (don’t confuse one with the other).

• Exercise is only fun for those with a few screws loose (myself included), recreation should always be fun.
• Exercise is a logical choice, recreation is an emotional choice (for the most part).
  
• Proper exercise respects fundamental principles that work across the board, recreation is specific to each individual.

Read this article if these concepts interest you (or even upset you).

Recreation has it’s benefits, but again, it needs to be a separate activity. It is not one in the same with exercise.

In Summary

Often times when you hear something that’s “too good to be true”, it is. In the case of high intensity weight training however, the opposite is the case. Not only do ~10 minute workouts at a maximum intensity work, they are often times the most you can be doing, period, for the best results possible.

I’ll do a piece on the next piece of heresy that HIT subscribes to, once or twice a week frequency, oh no! =)

-Dream