What do you think about this "high-intensity" rout

[JustinGrant]

I tried this out for the first time tonight, and although I felt sufficiently winded, it seemed that I recovered a bit quicker than expected and the whole thing only came to 8 minutes, which seems short. Since this is the first time I've tried this routine, I got a few of the weights wrong and I plan on modifying them to more appropriate weights next time around. Anyway, what do you think about the quality of this workout in terms of high-intensity training? My primary goal with this is to lose fat and put on a bit of muscle in the process. I do this one day a week, with a 5x5 routine on a second day and a bodyweight-exercise circuit on a third.

Note: there were no pauses between sets, except for maybe 10-15 seconds while changing stations. All weights are in pounds.

Squats: 95x20 (too easy, but I wanted to make sure my form was clean)
Stiff-legged Deadlift: 165x10 (goal was 12, but I couldn't finish)
Overhead Press: 45x12 (too easy; will increase next time)
Bench Press: 115x10 (goal was 12, but I couldn't finish)
Assisted Pullups: -90x8 (90lb counterweight)
Assisted Dips: -30x8 (normally, I can do a million dips, but I was pretty shot at this point)
Barbell Curl: 45x12 (too easy)
Situps: 30 (wow, I was pretty worn out!)
Treadmill Sprint: 1 minute

Like I said, the whole thing was almost exactly 8 minutes long. I think next time around, I'll increase the weight on a few of these. The intensity was pretty consistent. I might also add one more exercise to the bunch, but I haven't decided on anything yet (suggestions welcome). What do you guys think about the quality of this routine?

[bronco]

To me it looks like it could be an effective workout in relation to the time spent, but I dont think this kind of training is the most effective for building muscle or losing fat.

[deavman]

May be you missed the "repeat "part after the 1 minute sprint...just a thought

[J]

This is like the workout Casey Viator did with Arthur Jones. Actually Jones did this workout with a lot of bbers in the 70's. Station to station, no rest, everything to failure.

If you're mixing it up with other stuff and still sleeping well and having a good appetite then it's probably not a bad thing...

[bronco]

This is like the workout Casey Viator did with Arthur Jones. Actually Jones did this workout with a lot of bbers in the 70's. Station to station, no rest, everything to failure.

I thought the Arthur Jones style involved training beyond failure. Or was that an addition by later HIT-people?

[ninearms]

It was beyond failure, forced reps and heavy negatives. Plus Viator was on steroids and had a load of muscle memory take take advantage of as he'd been in hospital not long before and lost a load of weight.

[deavman]

It was beyond failure, forced reps and heavy negatives. Plus Viator was on steroids and had a load of muscle memory take take advantage of as he'd been in hospital not long before and lost a load of weight.

Thanks for the info....I always wondered about the claims made on Viator's amazing development with HIT. f

[JustinGrant]

Yeah, this routine is only once a week. I've been doing some research on efficient fat loss, and it seems that the best way to go about it is through high-intensity training for a short period of time rather than doing strength training and cardio exclusively. The idea is that, instead of doing cardio in the "fat burning" zone, thus burning calories only while the exercise is being done, you can do high-intensity resistance training, which burns fewer fat calories up front but adjusts your basal metabolic rate, thus burning more calories throughout the day and up to 48 hours after.

My routine is something like this, although I'm actively looking for suggestions on how to improve it!

Monday: 5x5

Deadlift
Squat
(Weighted) Dips
(Assisted) Pullups

Tuesday: Circuit

Jump rope x 30 seconds
Bodyweight squats x 20
Pushups x 10
Situps x 20
Burpees x 5
Jump rope x 30 seconds

Repeat x 5

Thursday: HIRT

As listed above.

Friday: Sprint intervals, misc. practice

Sprint down the sidewalk, walk back, repeat x 5
Practice miscellaneous martial arts-related activities like cartwheels, kip-ups, handsprings, handstands, etc.

Saturday and Sunday: martial arts.

So, looking at the entire week's routine, does this seem well-rounded? Again, I'm no expert and would love to hear some suggestions on improving it. The whole idea is to get a variety of training, improve lean muscle mass, lose body fat, increase flexibility, improve martial arts-related skills, and pave the way for doing heavier lifts once I change the routine again.

[Clem Snide]

Tuesday: Circuit

Jump rope x 30 seconds
Bodyweight squats x 20
Pushups x 10
Situps x 20
Burpees x 5
Jump rope x 30 seconds

Repeat x 5

If you are a strong guy, I'm sure you could increase the pushups and burpees there. I do a pretty similar routine with 25 or 30 pressups and 15 (agonising) burpees - and I don't do any weight training.

Also, if you are able to include pullups in your circuit, that would be good - but it depends where you train I suppose.

The weekly routine looks good to me, (though I don't know anything about the weight training). How into martial arts are you? If they are your priority, I would recommend doing some art-specific training every day. If MA is lower priority, then the routine looks great.

[JustinGrant]

I agree on the MA thing. I'm just really strapped for time and want to have the most diverse training that I can given my limited schedule. Still, you have a point. I could probably incorporate some sort of MA-related activity into my daily schedule. Time to brainstorm!