THT 4.0 HIT Experiment – weeks 8, 9 and 10.

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 I'm not your typical bodybuilder. I'm an "IT guy", a car tuner, a model train enthusiast and a PC gamer. I'm also a classic "hardgainer". Ask away with any questions you might have! Read more from this author

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First off, I’d like to apologize for the delay in adding this last post to the THT 4.0 HIT Experiment collection that I have been logging here on MuscleHacker.com. While I was able to complete the workout cycle to my satisfaction, I was also horribly swamped during the following week with RL stuff. I managed to get in two HIT-style workouts last week just to keep myself “primed” – I managed 3 days off and that’s all I could take, mentally.

However, you’re not here to hear about my self-recriminations about rest periods (well, maybe you are – let’s appeal to both audiences. I’ll return to that later). You’re here for the raw numbers – weights and reps. So, let’s go!

Week #8

Day 1:

• Hack Squats – 400lbs x 7 – still making big gains here. Mentally I was fighting myself to allow myself to press what I could fully.
• Smith machine bench press – 300lbs x 6 – these are to 50-60% of a full bench (down), as mentioned earlier.
• Smith machine incline bench press – 210lbs x 5 – I’ve made good gains here considering I’ve never done inclines like this before.
• Seated cabled row – 2220lbs x 8 – there was a pick-up here as I struggled to find a relevant weight  split between failure and proper form.
• Seated calf  raises – 230lbs x 8. These raises are BRUTAL.
• Seated cabled overhead press – 180lbs x 8 (this was the end of self-started OH presses)
• Cabled crunches – 235lbs x 60 – more alterations, variations – the reps didn’t change except I threw in 5 extra at the end.
• Cabled single-handed bicep curls – 105lbs x 7 – getting up in weight. This week was the “end” for big weight as I was fighting too much to get started.
• Smith machine trap shrugs – 300lbs x 8 – resetting was still the best thing I did for this exercise.
• Double cabled tricep pushdowns – 220lbs x 6 – this exercise set is the “hardest” for me to strike a balance with thus far, but it works.

Day 4:

• Hack Squats – 420lbs x 8 – now we’re getting somewhere! The last two reps here were BRUTAL.
• Smith machine bench press – 310lbs x 5 – what can I say about the mental effect of benching 310lbs? It’s AMAZING. Mental boost > physical effect here for sure.
• Smith machine incline bench press – 220lbs x 5 – now I’m hitting a spot where I’m really working to bang out my reps. Love it.
• Seated cabled row – 240lbs x 5 – there’s that balance issue again. Gains slowed here, so I had finally hit the right spot.
• Standing calf raises – 600lbs @ 8 x 2 – monkey business due to a packed gym and wanting to give my calves a shake-up.
• Seated cabled overhead press – 185 x 6.5 -  a pure “rep to failure” set. It bears noting that at this weight I needed assistance to start, yet can do my presses.
• Cabled crunches – 235lbs x 60 – a medley of kneeling crunches, seated universal crunches and hanging crunches (knees to chest)
• Cabled single-handed bicep curls – 75lbs x 6 – a FULL reboot as my form was getting bad and Range of Motion was suffering. Full, full reps. Loved it.
• Smith machine trap shrugs – 310lbs x 8 – these are my new “thing”. I live for trap shrugs!
• Double cabled tricep pushdowns – 225lbs x 5 – this weight was the highest I’d hit for cabled pushdowns. After this weight, a drop.

Week 8 notes: two muscle groups bear mentioning here – my triceps and my calves. Both suffer the same scenario (how much weight is too much?) and both required retooling. So, this week I DID retool them. I also had an eye to the fact that the experiment was going to be done soon and that even if I eked out slight gains for the remainder, it would be better than remaining static or even losing ground. Always fight for your gains!

Week #9

Day 1:

• Hack Squats – 430lbs x 5 – worked for EVERY LAST REP. Outstanding.
• Smith machine bench press – 310lbs x 6 – lifting heavy is the biological equivalent of rocket fuel for me. I LOVE it. But be careful when lifting heavy!
• Smith machine incline bench press – 220lbs x 6 – now into the “grind every rep” part of the cycle for this one. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
• Seated cabled row – 240lbs x 6.5- when I only get a half rep here at the end, I know I’m at the right weight.
• Seated calf  raises – 600lbs @ 10 x 2 – more monkey business. I opted for a higher rep-range here as I like the workout the standing raise gives me.
• Seated cabled overhead press – 185lbs x 7 – working for every last rep here for sure.
• Cabled crunches – 235lbs x 65 – slowly cranking out more reps. I feel so trashed after these I can hardly stand upright.
• Cabled single-handed bicep curls – 95lbs x 6 – this was where I was finally starting to hit a wall in my biceps training. More on that later.
• Smith machine trap shrugs – 320lbs x 5 – the “King-maker”. When I’m done these reps, I feel invincible.
• Double cabled tricep pushdowns – 225lbs x 6 – the beginning of the end of the big weight. Curse my long arms!

Day 4:

• Hack Squats – 430lbs x 9 – after 8, I had enough juice left for one more rep. If you can, DO IT. Especially if you’re under 12 reps.
• Smith machine bench press – 320lbs x 5  – the icing on my cake for this cycle AND this year. Only a “half rep”, but done with authority.
• Smith machine incline bench press – 230lbs x 6 – this was a surprise. Didn’t think I’d get 6 reps on the opening set for that weight.
• Seated cabled row – 250lbs x 6 – the slow but steady march upward continues. I love rows!
• Seated calf  raises – 240lbs  x 7 – after a week of standing raises, back to seated for a while. Great stuff!
• Seated cabled overhead press – 190lbs x 6 – moved to inside-grip overheads to remove the need for a spotter / starter.
• Cabled crunches – 205lbs x 65 – switched up to seated cabled crunches. The change in sustained rep motion made me want a barf bucket by the end.
• Cabled single-handed bicep curls – 100lbs x 6 – this looks like a re-hash of earlier weeks. And you’re right, it is. It prompted a reboot the next week.
• Smith machine trap shrugs – 320lbs x 8 – if there’s a happy constant to my training, this is it!
• Single cabled tricep pushdowns – 85lbs x 12 – an odd day, was fighting to find a better form and RoM that still hit me hard enough.

Week #9 notes: This was a “realization” week for biceps. I was on “round two” of the same weight but I hit a p-end weight wall at the same level as last time. My prognosis: lifting too heavy. Solution? Rebooted down to 75lbs per hand the next week. It made all the difference in the world. I’m refocusing even more on proper, un-cheated Range of Motion for my biceps. Also, reworking my triceps is tricky because A) I’m fairly strong in my arms and B) my arms are long and this allows me to “out-lift” myself. The solution? While I fought for gains all the way through this experiment,  I was actually looking forward to the THT 4.0 3-day Volume cycle and the expected shake-up of my triceps workout.

Week #10

Day #1:

• Hack Squats – 440lbs x 6 – Big numbers, fun to move and I feel great doing hacks. These are to 90 degrees or a bit under, mind.
• Smith machine bench press – 320lbs x 6 – lots of weight and a real confidence booster. Day 4 will shock you, however.
• Smith machine incline bench press – 230lbs x 7 – if there’s one exercise I didn’t think I’d enjoy, it was this one – but I DO enjoy it!
• Seated cabled row – 250lbs x 7 – ahh, the great pumped feeling knowing you’re rowing like a champ. At least I feel that way at the end!
• Seated calf  raises – 240lbs  x 7.5 – the “end of the road” for me with high weight this cycle. Time to rethink calves!
• Seated cabled overhead press – 190lbs x 7 – more massive weight moved, a real confidence booster. Inside-grip reps.
• Knee raises / straight-leg raises – switched up to bodyweight for a few days, what a difference that makes. More barf bags!
• Cabled single-handed bicep curls – 100lbs x 8 – while moving that weight is a boost, the reduced RoM isn’t. So, it was tossed for a lighter weight (below).
• Cabled trap shrugs – 305lbs  @ 8 x 2 – done on the cabled universal bench press machine (kneeling) due to busyness at the gym. Still felt great though.
• Double-handed tricep pushdowns – 200lbs x 6 – a return to a proper RoM at the expense of some weight.

Day #4:

• Hack Squats – 450lbs x 6 – The unbelievable burn I get at the bottom of each rep as I grind the weight back up – I only hope you all experience this if just to share the burn!
• Smith machine bench press – 270lbs x 7 + 2 – not the shocker ending you were expecting! I’m doing these at 80% depth, as deep as I can manage with my long arms.
• Smith machine incline bench press – 180lbs x 8 – another shocker! I dropped weight here to get my incline bench even lower down. Nice and deep now.
• Seated cabled row – 255lbs x 6 – At this weight, I noticed that I was starting to rock ever so slightly between reps. So, looking forward to the shakeup.
• Standing calf raises – 600lbs @ 8 x 3 – this is NOT an optimal lift. I do like the increased emphasis I can put on the upper part of the rep though. Revamping this cycle.
• Seated cabled overhead press – 195lbs x 6 – inside-grip, LOTS of swearing, not easy to lift by myself. This helped me choose 7-10 reps for the next cycle.
• Ab work – 235lbs x 70 – a mix of kneeling crunches, seated weighted crunches and bodyweight leg lifts. In other words, BRUTAL.
• Cabled single-handed bicep curls – 75lbs  x 8 – true, proper Range of Motion. The burn from these being done right is incredible.
• Smith machine trap shrugs – 330lbs x 7 – here, I felt I was finally starting to outrun my progress. So, another change-up is coming.
• Single cabled tricep pushdowns – 205lbs x 6 – I love working this weight, just because it really hits me when I keep the cadence proper.

Week #10 notes: walls were hit, noticeably calves (which still responded well after a bit of a “break” with standing calf raises) and even chest this week. A drop in weight and RoM re-visitation allowed me to see that I was lifting a little heavy (even for my goal of a 50% RoM rep) and that I’d benefit more from lowering the weight and working the entire Range of Motion better. I have no regrets in how I’ve lifted, but I’ve always sworn to be flexible with my training and accommodate any problems / hiccups that arise during training. If I have one “weakness” in my training, it’s that I can develop tunnel vision in wanting to always lift “heavier”. This in turn detracts from my overall goal of “continued, sustainable progress” in all of my exercises / body areas.

Experiment notes and final thoughts:

What can I say? I took a risk. I wasn’t passing judgment that Mark hadn’t properly set-up THT 4.0 HIT at all. Far from it. In fact, I set out to see if I could push my own personal “envelope” – nothing more. Yet, I find I’ve already had plenty of interest from others who want to attempt the same thing as I’ve done here. Let’s not beat around the bush, what I did doesn’t even come close to MuscleHack doctrine, let alone conventional weightlifting wisdom. This was a pure “What would happen if I…” moment, where we were discussing POP one week and I thought to myself, “I’ve had more than a few days on a HIT cycle where I felt I could be right back in the gym the next day. What happens if I do 4 days straight and 3 days off straight per cycle week?”

Well, I’ve answered that question definitively for myself. It works, I feel like a beast after the last 10 weeks and I feel like I’ve definitely slabbed on some more muscle mass. However, I hit a few walls due to the insane training pace and increased physical “output” per week. I had to work to get around those walls each and every time. I would consider this experiment my ultimate “self tune-up” cycle – it seemed to have me firing on all cylinders, slaving away at breaking my personal records for all body parts. Would I do it again? Hah, maybe. It’s really, really intense. It slaughters you. There were days where walking to the car and then driving home and shifting gears was interesting. If you want to really kick your own ass, go ahead and give it a shot. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s not for the faint of heart or those just getting started out with MuscleHacking. I’d call it an “elevated-effort diversion” if you want to try something different.

On that note, I do know that some of you have been waiting for this final report and that you’re looking forward to trying it on your own. I really want to hear your impressions of the setup and about your own progress. Leave your responses here, at the MuscleHack FB Page or even over on my blog.

Thanks for taking the time to read these reports (and my own ramblings) everyone – without your feedback, I’m not entirely sure I would have made it the entire 10 weeks. Oh, and for those that are wondering / don’t know… I’m now sitting at 197lbs, 6’3″ (well, the height hasn’t changed!). I’m up at least a couple of pounds since starting the experiment ten weeks ago. I do also want to take the time to thank Mark McManus for giving all of us the tools we all need to live a healthy, low-body fat lifestyle. We can slab on the muscle without the need to bulk and cut in endless cycles. Thanks Mark! Remember to hit up the “Donate” button at MuscleHack.com and give a little back to the guy who has given us so much for free, folks. It’s only fair.

Lift hard and train smart, MuscleHackers!

Adam

 

PS – let’s see if I can make embedded pics work after all this time.

Related posts:

1. THT 4.0 HIT Experiment Week #6
2. THT 4.0 HIT Experiment Week #7
3. THT 4.0 HIT Experiment Week #3
4. THT 4.0 HIT Experiment Week #4
5. THT 4.0 HIT Experiment Week #5

Tagged as: Targeted Hypertrophy Training, THT 4.0 HIT Experiment