Intensifiers and HIIT cardio... do you do them?

[Josefein421]

Like the subject line says... do you do HIIT cardio and use intensifiers in your training?

HIIT seems to go in and out of vogue. It works well for me when dieting though I absolutely hate it. I have seen @d4ve mention recently that he does 10min HIIT every day pwo and hes a shw. I dont know many shw that are doing HIIT like that. I struggle to get my HR up doing LISS. Low 100s even at a steep incline like 5.5incl/3.5 speed. HIIT gets it up there and I am thinking perhaps I need to bite the bullet and include it regularly in off season if only bc it is better for health for me than LISS

As for intensifiers I have started to experiment the same training with straight sets vs rest pause. For a long time straight sets were it. Then DC came around and rest pause was big. Mountain Dog brought drop sets and partials into popularity. Dr Scott brought about muscle rounds. Now it goes full circle and a guy like JP is against any intensifier use. I remember someone on here likened rest pause to an engine. Hitting failure is red lining. Doing 2 rest pauses after that is like pressing your body's accelerator when already at red line. How long before you blow an engine? Anecdotal evidence shows intensifiers work well. Science says they are necessary. What do you say?

 

[massephase]

As for intensifiers I have started to experiment the same training with straight sets vs rest pause. For a long time straight sets were it. Then DC came around and rest pause was big. Mountain Dog brought drop sets and partials into popularity. Dr Scott brought about muscle rounds. Now it goes full circle and a guy like JP is against any intensifier use. I remember someone on here likened rest pause to an engine. Hitting failure is red lining. Doing 2 rest pauses after that is like pressing your body's accelerator when already at red line. How long before you blow an engine? Anecdotal evidence shows intensifiers work well. Science says they are necessary. What do you say?

I try not to use any as my most productive periods are just boring straight sets to 0RIR ... basically the Jordan philosophy. BUT ... I am a sucker for those things so I let them creep in. You probably know how it goes, you do a set, aren't satisfied with it, or you feel particularly good on a day and tack on a rest pause or a drop set. Or a rest pause and a quadruple drop set at the end ... Bad habits, but probably the preffered problem as opposed to not training intensively enough.

It just seems to impair recovery with little benefit in my opinion. I would rather do just enough with straight sets to 1-0 RIR and then come back a day earlier to progress the lift.

 

[specter]

HIIT nope never liked it..

Intensifiers fuckin love em ! Drop set, mini set, Bands, Chains etc if its a way to burn the ever living fuck out of my muscles and make me pass out due to lack of oxygen i love it !!!

 

[madg]

Hiit no but i do sparing rounds

Drop set and RP my faves

 

[Sectør]

I enjoy doing the stairmaster atleast 3x a week at a level 7-8 for 40 mins Guess that would maybe be above liss but on the Lower end of hiit? Heart rate usually stays in zone 3 for 70%+ of the workout




I like walking on the treadmill too but I’d consider that “steps“ more than actual cardio. Heart rate is lucky to get over 100 on my incline treadmill walks, it’s just not the same as stairs. Stairs are S tier cardio

As for the training intensifiers, I might incorporate a drop set on my last working set of some movements, but it’s not every workout or every movement—just more of a feel based thing where I want to burn out the muscle and get a good pump

 

[buck]

I throw some HIIT i 1-2 times a week depending on energy as it seems to have good long term health/cardio benifits. But mostly i do LISS.
I have done many types of intensifiers with weights. Can't say it did anything more then failure. When i add in intensifiers i need to cut back on sets or something else to manage the load to still recover.

 

[KyleSmith1985]

Yup HIIT 3x/week. Sprints, air bike, ski erg, kettlebells, fast pace jump rope are my go-tos.

LISS everyday.

Intensifiers, not a ton. I’ll do a drop set here and there or myoreps. I do push one set of each exercise to failure so a bunch of intensifiers seems like overkill.

 

[Cerberus777]

Hiit cardio 2x week. DC rest pause one exercise per body part. I like down the rack Laterals.

 

[Josefein421]

Got caught up today and just getting back here.

Seems mixed views. Great point about step mill. That DEFINITELY gets the heart rate up. I think I will keep it in religiously twice a week for health. I hate it but I feel incredible after.

Another great point about intensifiers being a slippery slope I have fallen down. I get a better pump from drop sets but like the last objective measure of rest pause for progressive overload. Pressing movements are hard to RP sometimes on machines you have to start at the bottom and drive up to start. I’ve found I like them better in the 20-30RP range. Straight sets if I want to go heavy in the 4-10 range.

 

[Spiro]

I like rest pause sets on last exercise and last set of a body part. But im training a muscle 1x per week, if training with more frequency i wouldnt do it.

 

[hawkmoon]

HIIT cardio - no, only LISS.

Intensifiers, hell yes - RP almost always, with full extension partials after that when I feel like an extra kick in the pants.

 

[jackedsanta]

HITT right now @ 3X week on my off (cardio days) i like the ski erg best, assault bike if i have to. This is in addition to 10k-15k steps daily.

I follow a lot of John Meadows programs and programing style so bands, supersets, drop sets, partials etc

 

[qbkilla]

I like them. I think it's hard to discuss them in isolation as you have to keep programming in mind. On a high volume bro split, hit a part 1x a week, you can go to town. A dude doing full body 3x a week can also do them, but would probably have to limit overall volume.

At the end of the day I view them as a time saving techique...or what we might call density training where you try and fit as much stimulus in a shorter period of time...rp..dropsets...super sets...static holds. You also have myo reps but I find it hard to call them an intensity technique because typically the mini sets aren't taken to failure...I don't get it...but some people view failure as too fatiguing...since these techniques are typically done on isolation movements...I find that a bit comical.

I guess pre exhaust would also be one...seems like it's not very popular these days and labeled "bro science."

Essentially straight sets is allowing the muscle to rest for better performance on the next set where intensity techniques your just adding more stimulus to the muscle in a fatigued state imo.

 

[Josefein421]

HIIT cardio - no, only LISS.

Intensifiers, hell yes - RP almost always, with full extension partials after that when I feel like an extra kick in the pants.

Interesting you love intensifiers. Youre a little older than me and obviously if you couldnt recover from them you wouldnt be doing them. Part of my little experiment was effectiveness but the other was just out of curiosity how I recover at 43 years old compared to 25.

HITT right now @ 3X week on my off (cardio days) i like the ski erg best, assault bike if i have to. This is in addition to 10k-15k steps daily.

I follow a lot of John Meadows programs and programing style so bands, supersets, drop sets, partials etc

Honestly I either do RP when I use DC training or the full gamut like you do with Mountain Dog. I favor the progressive overload based training because progress is more measurable especially with an objective single number like an RP. But nothing gives a sicker pump or burn than drop sets and they were a JM favorite. Both are "beyond failure" but I wonder if one is more effective or impedes recovery more than the other. Probably a minute difference if any at all...

I like them. I think it's hard to discuss them in isolation as you have to keep programming in mind. On a high volume bro split, hit a part 1x a week, you can go to town. A dude doing full body 3x a week can also do them, but would probably have to limit overall volume.

At the end of the day I view them as a time saving techique...or what we might call density training where you try and fit as much stimulus in a shorter period of time...rp..dropsets...super sets...static holds. You also have myo reps but I find it hard to call them an intensity technique because typically the mini sets aren't taken to failure...I don't get it...but some people view failure as too fatiguing...since these techniques are typically done on isolation movements...I find that a bit comical.

I guess pre exhaust would also be one...seems like it's not very popular these days and labeled "bro science."

Essentially straight sets is allowing the muscle to rest for better performance on the next set where intensity techniques your just adding more stimulus to the muscle in a fatigued state imo.

Definitely a good point about the context of the overall program as the balance of intensity, frequency and volume definitely make a difference. Bro spill definitely more conducive to bombing away on the muscle of the day and recovering in time. Upper/Lower, etc being vastly different. I count an RP set as 3 sets when factoring in volume. I think all the intensifiers are fallen out of favor with the Paul Carter type science guys.

 

[Josefein421]

Those that do HIIT cardio... especially off season... are you doing it for fat loss/mitigation primarily or cardiovascular health?

Those that dont do HIIT... why not?

 

[hawkmoon]

Interesting you love intensifiers. Youre a little older than me and obviously if you couldnt recover from them you wouldnt be doing them. Part of my little experiment was effectiveness but the other was just out of curiosity how I recover at 43 years old compared to 25.

Honestly I either do RP when I use DC training or the full gamut like you do with Mountain Dog. I favor the progressive overload based training because progress is more measurable especially with an objective single number like an RP. But nothing gives a sicker pump or burn than drop sets and they were a JM favorite. Both are "beyond failure" but I wonder if one is more effective or impedes recovery more than the other. Probably a minute difference if any at all...

Definitely a good point about the context of the overall program as the balance of intensity, frequency and volume definitely make a difference. Bro spill definitely more conducive to bombing away on the muscle of the day and recovering in time. Upper/Lower, etc being vastly different. I count an RP set as 3 sets when factoring in volume. I think all the intensifiers are fallen out of favor with the Paul Carter type science guys.

If I trained more than 3x a week (MWF) I don't think I could recover properly.

This model has me hitting the gym hard - muscles getting hit twice within every 8 days - and getting out and attending to life with a good balance.

It has served me well, allowing me to compete while working a high pressure job, have time for myself and family, and I think help avoid burnout after all these years.

 

[tommyguns2]

Those that do HIIT cardio... especially off season... are you doing it for fat loss/mitigation primarily or cardiovascular health?

Those that dont do HIIT... why not?

While I haven't been employing HIIT lately, I do think in an off season it is primarily done for cardiovascular health, but the effect on preventing undue fat gain is certainly a plus. I just think that most people are addressing the fat gain issue by being more deliberate/careful with their caloric surplus.

 

[qbkilla]

Interesting you love intensifiers. Youre a little older than me and obviously if you couldnt recover from them you wouldnt be doing them. Part of my little experiment was effectiveness but the other was just out of curiosity how I recover at 43 years old compared to 25.

Honestly I either do RP when I use DC training or the full gamut like you do with Mountain Dog. I favor the progressive overload based training because progress is more measurable especially with an objective single number like an RP. But nothing gives a sicker pump or burn than drop sets and they were a JM favorite. Both are "beyond failure" but I wonder if one is more effective or impedes recovery more than the other. Probably a minute difference if any at all...

Definitely a good point about the context of the overall program as the balance of intensity, frequency and volume definitely make a difference. Bro spill definitely more conducive to bombing away on the muscle of the day and recovering in time. Upper/Lower, etc being vastly different. I count an RP set as 3 sets when factoring in volume. I think all the intensifiers are fallen out of favor with the Paul Carter type science guys.

Love your training threads BTW!

I also count rp as 3 sets. I find it fascinating that rp is so affective at increasing strength...because it is the complete opposite of 5x5 , where you hit the same movement more frequently but not to failure. Both are linear progression and work well. Perhaps the reason rp works so well isn't rp itself but the overall structure of dc training where you rotate lifts and hit every major muscle 1.5x a week (2 way split) with relatively low volume and brutal intensity?

Another one id like to hear people's thoughts on is giant sets (milos)

Guy a
3 sets ohp
3 sets upright rows
3 sets side lateral raises
3 sets cable y raises

Guy b
Ohp )upright row) lateral raise) y raise
4 exercise one after another minimal rest, wait 2 minutes then do 2 more rounds

Both dudes do same volume, 12 sets, same exercises...who grows more? Guy A will probably progression faster in weight used. Guy b will get it done quicker probably get a better pump, maybe more sarcoplasmic hypertrophy if you believe it happens.

Guy b has the advantage of getting done those 12 sets quicker so can probably do 2 more exercises before Guy A finishes with his 12 sets so he can jack up volume.

 

[luki7788]

Right now I almost don’t use them at all. Maybe sometimes in a few exercises that I tolerate well, like leg curl or leg extension, but generally I prefer to just do one extra simple, classic set close to failure.

Intensifiers are good, but when you get older, they often don’t bring anything positive. They just make recovery longer, because they hit the nervous system hard, and they can also beat up your tendons and ligaments. And for me this is key now, because I’m much older.
I really use intensifiers only when I travel, when I can’t do a normal workout. Like in a hotel gym with limited equipment, and I need to train faster. Then I use supersets, combo sets, drop sets, and anything that comes to my mind.

One thing I still use sometimes is rest-pause. For example on leg press: I do a heavy set for 8–10 reps. I’m at rep 8 and I feel I have maybe 1–2 reps left, but if I push them straight, my form and tempo will break. So I prefer rest-pause: I rest around 20 seconds, do 2 more reps, rest 10–20 seconds, and do 1–2 more reps again.
This way, instead of doing 9 sloppy reps, I do 11–12 reps with much better quality, and all of them are very close to failure.

About intervals I never do them. I only do LISS. I do a lot of steps, very low heart rate work, and it works great for me. I really regret not doing this when I was competing.

 

[d4ve]

Those that do HIIT cardio... especially off season... are you doing it for fat loss/mitigation primarily or cardiovascular health?

Those that dont do HIIT... why not?

CV health is the main reason- I think it’s a major part of why I’m healthy at SHW size.

Also conditioning for leg and back training- i never get gassed before my quads, lats, etc actually fail.

Definitely feel a body comp and nutrient partitioning benefit. Ie body comp is better with HIIT and a bit more food than if I just dropped both.