Arthur Jones and H.I.T.

[rjgrigaitis]

I just picked up Starting Strength from the post office on Saturday. I haven't had time to read much from it yet, but the introduction really got my attention.

Around 15 years ago, I fell into the cult of Arthur Jones and his evangelist, Mike Mentzer. I remained in this cult around 8 or 10 years until I fell into the cult of Pavel Tsatsouline (I'm out of the Cult of Pavel now, although I still practice a lot of what he teaches).

I thought Arthur Jones was a genius. I was reading all sorts of HIT literature. I even began going to a gym every second workout that was half an hour away from where I lived because it had Nautilus equipment. At the time, there was two gyms 5 minutes away from where I lived, and another one 10 minutes away.

When I was lost in this cult, I thought I was an expert on weight training, even though I was stuck at a 405 lb. deadlift (something I only broke recently) for years.

Rip (I call him that now because that's what he calls himself in the book) doesn't mention how useless HIT is (at least not yet), but his description of how useless Nautilus equipment is, and all the equipment that came after it, really struck a cord in me. I wish I knew this 15 years ago.

From what I've read so far, Starting Strength is a really good book.

As well, I've watched a little bit of the Starting Strength DVD. I was very disappointed as I started the section on bench press because Rip didn't describe all aspects of proper technique. However, I soon realize that he was just slowly revealing proper technique so as not to overwhelm the viewer. By the time I got to the end of the section on bench press, I was satisfied with what was presented, and I even learned a couple of things.

I'm not going to fall into the Cult of Mark Rippetoe, but I think I have a lot to learn from him.

[veryhrm]

SS is the best i've seen at describing the major exercises and a decent assortment of acessory exercises in a serious and detailed way. The "novice" program is also eye opening.

However, if your DL is already over 4 plates, SS itself is not going to do much for you in terms of programming. You may kick yourself because it took you n years to get there the other way whereas it may have only taken 1 or 2 years with SS (don't know how big you are). "Practical Programming" lays out Rip's interpretation of the GAS and translates it into some programs and may be more valuable for your current "intermediate" workouts.

[Carlos Daniel]

I was reading some newsletters from Arthur Jones from back in the day... I was fairly surprised at how non-stupid it was. Pretty common-sense stuff and mostly good, sensible advice.

[Rusi]

H.I.T. fucking rocks. But is not for pussies.

[rjgrigaitis]

H.I.T. fucking rocks. But is not for pussies.

I admit that HIT is a real rush. It's a real blast to collapse on the floor after a workout; however, it's a bigger rush to break PRs every time you're in the gym. After a couple of years, all gains with HIT stop. All top athletes that used HIT gained almost all their muscle mass before using HIT, including Casey Viator, Sergio Oliva, Dorian Yates, and even Mike Mentzer himself.

It's also comforting (when not using HIT) to walk back to your car with the confidence that your legs will actually get you to your car.

Training to failure is training for failure.

[Carlos Daniel]

H.I.T. fucking rocks. But is not for pussies.

You seem to be oblivious that pretty much no one does well on HIT, which is unsurprising due to the fact that it is a pretty dumb way to train.