High Intensity Training (HIT)

Naturally big

The founder of high intensity training (HIT), Arthur Jones, came up with the system while watching his 200kg pet gorilla do a one arm pull-up as if it weighed as much as a marmoset monkey (we have no idea what he's doing with a gorilla as a pet, but that's beside the point).

The reason behind this incredible strength was because gorillas in the wild do almost no physical activity. But when they do work, they go at it with 100% intensity. The activity is hard, brief and infrequent. But if you exercised a male lion or gorilla as much as most bodybuilders do you'd probably kill them – and it's certainly obvious they don't need that much training to get so big. Neither do you. The truth is you don't need to slog it out for hours in the gym to get alpha male muscles. Just stick to these principles to maximise the gains from your efforts.


Working with 80% of your 1 rep max you should manage 8-12 repetitions which means each sets should last no more than 120 seconds. Always aim to do more repetitions on each exercise in your next workout than you did in your previous workout. When you get to 12, add more weight.


Lift and lower the weight smoothly taking 4 seconds to raise it and another 4 to lower it. Work through a full range of movement with all reps.


Performing one set to muscle failure with a weight that's 80% of your one rep max you may find, mid-set, that you can do an extra rep – go for it then try for one more until you've got nothing left.


You'll need about 25 minutes to perform the routine, if you take longer than 40 minutes to complete then you're being lazy and doing something wrong.


Do no more than three workouts a week leaving at least a day between each one, this is to let your muscles recover properly. Training stimulates growth but only full recovery permits that growth to actually occur.


Don't rest between sets. The time it takes you to put away the weight you've just used and rack up the next set is all you need to recover.

The routine

Do only exercises 1 to 8 for the first week and focus on doing them with perfect form. On Monday of the second week, add exercises 9 and 10 then on Wednesday add exercises 11 and 12. On Friday of the second week, crank up the resistance and your intensity, but still don't go all out on all 12 exercises. At the beginning of the third week you should be prepared to go to failure in good form. Do this for another 2 weeks then reduce your training load to 5 session in the following 2 weeks.

1. Bicep curl

Works: biceps
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a bar-bell with an underhand grip. Keep your upper arms tucked against your sides, and your shoulder blades pulled together.

Bend you elbows to curl the weight up until the bar reaches your shoulders. Contract your biceps, then reverse the motion and slowly return to the starting position.

2. Stiff legged deadlift

Works: hamstrings, lower back
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place a dumb-bell on either side of each foot. Keep only a slight bend on your knees.

Bend at your knees and hips to grab the dumb-bells with an overhand grip. Push your thighs forward to raise the weights so your legs become fully extended to the start position. Lower the weights to the floor by bending at your hips while keeping your knees locked. Return the start position along the same path.

3. Leg extensions

Works: quads
Sit at a leg extension machine with your ankles tucked under the footpads, back and buttocks flush against the seat.

Slowly extend your legs up and forward until they are straight in front of you, but keep your knees unlocked. Pause, then slowly bend your knees until your legs are lowered back down.

4. Squat

Works: quads, glutes
Place a bar-bell on a squat rack at about upper chest level. Grab the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, duck underneath it, and rest the bar across the backs of your shoulders.

Lift the bar off the rack and step back. Tense your abs and keep your back straight. Slowly bend your knees until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Pause then press yourself back up into a standing position.

5. Pull-over

Works: lats, chest, triceps, serratus anterior
Lie with your upper back perpendicular to a bench. Push your hips slightly upwards. Hold a dumb-bell from behind or from side with both hands under inner plate of the weight. Position the weight over your chest and keep a 30° arc in your elbows throughout exercise.

Lower dumb-bell over and beyond your head until your upper arms are parallel to your torso. Pull the weight to the start position along the same path.

6. Bar-bell bench press

Works: chest triceps
Lie on a bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grab the bar-bell with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you), your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Remove the bar from the uprights and position it above your chest with your arms straight.

Bend your elbows to slowly lower the bar to your chest, just below your nipples. Straighten your elbows to press the weight back up until your arms are straight but not locked. Don't arch your back off the bench.

7. Bar-bell bent over row

Works: lats, biceps, traps, rear deltoid
Stand holding a bar-bell with an overhand grip with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back flat, bend forward at the hips until your back is at a 45 degree angle to the floor. You should have a slight bend in your knees with your straight arms beneath your shoulders.

Bend your elbows to bring the bar to point that's just below your chest. Pause then slowly lower the weight to the start position. Breath in when you pull the bar and exhale when you return it to the start. Never round your back during this exercise.

8. Shoulder press

Works: shoulders, triceps
Sit on a bench with your feet placed shoulder-width apart on the ground. Rest the bar-bell behind your head just above your neck.

Straighten your arms to press the weight up until your arms are straight but not locked. Lower the weight back to your shoulders along the same path. Don't arch your head forward.

9. Triceps extension

Works: triceps
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumb-bell one each hand.  Extend each your arm directly above your head and let your other arm hang at your side.

Lower your forearm behind your head by bending your elbows completely. Keep your elbows tucked close to your head while you lower the weights. Raise your arms up along the same path you lowered them.

10. Lateral raise

Works: shoulders, traps
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a dumb-bell in each hand at your sides. Keep a slight bend in your elbows with your palms facing each other. Raise your arms straight out to your sides.

Imagine you are holding two jugs of water, so don't tilt your wrists forward. Stop when the weights are even with the tops of your shoulders. Pause, then lower them along the same path.

11. Standing calf raise

Works: calves
Place a raised platform behind you that's about 3 inches high. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart while resting a bar-bell across your shoulders. Lock your knees. Rest your toes on the platform with your heals in the air.

Lower your heels as far down as you can then rise up onto your toes. Hold for a second then repeat. This is muscle is used all day when you walk and is tough to work so don't be afraid to use a heavy weight.

12. Trunk curl on floor

Works: abs
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor and your hands behind your head for support. Hold a weight plate behind your head if you can manage it.

Slowly lift your head and shoulders using your abdominals, curling your trunk about 30 degrees. Now lower your head and shoulders back to the floor. As you are lifting, imagine that you are trying to touch your ribcage to your hip bones, curling your trunk into a flexed position and pressing your belly button down and in.

Words by Dr Ellington Darden author of The New High Intensity Training and Ray Klerck
