General Guidelines to HIT BRIEF, HARD work done INFREQUENTLY. (part 2)

5. TRAIN FOR NO MORE THAN ONE HOUR PER WORKOUT.
If you are training with a high level of intensity, more than one hour is counterproductive as it increases the probability of overtraining due to a catabolic hormone called cortisol. Overtraining, next to injury, is your worst enemy. Avoid it like the plague. In addition, the faster you can complete your workout, given the same amount of sets performed, the BETTER CONDITIONING obtained.

6. MOVE QUICKLY BETWEEN SETS
The transition time between each set varies with your level of conditioning. You should proceed from one exercise to the next as soon as you catch your breath or feel that you can produce a maximal level of effort. After an initial period of adjustment, you should be able to recover adequately within 1 to 3 minutes. Training with a minimal amount of recovery time between exercises will elicit a metabolic conditioning effect that cannot be approached by traditional multiple set programs.

7. EXERCISE THE MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS FIRST.
The emphasis of your exercises should be your major muscle groups (i.e. your hips, legs and upper torso). You should select any exercises that you prefer in order to train those body parts. It is recommended that lower body work be done first, as it is more taxing. This is not always the case, as a technique for bringing up a lagging body part is to work it first in your routine, but it is a general outline.

8. DO NOT SPLIT YOUR ROUTINE - DO NOT WORK YOUR BODY ON SUCCESSIVE DAYS
Many bodybuilders practice a split routine. The reasoning is that training their upper body on one day and lower body on the next day allows them additional time to work each muscle group "harder". HIT advocates fervently believe that this is NOT the case. First, split routines lead you to believe that *more* exercise is better exercise. Remember HARDER exercise is better. And if you train harder you MUST train briefer, not longer. You cannot train hard for a long period of time. Thus, out of physiologic necessity, people who use a split routine have to reduce the intensity of their exercise which leads to less growth stimulation.

9. GET AMPLE REST AFTER EACH TRAINING SESSION
Believe it or not, your muscles DON'T get stronger while you work out. Your muscles get stronger while you RECOVER from your workout. After high intensity training your muscle tissue is broken down (although that's a very basic way of describing it) and the recovery process allows your muscle time to rebuild itself.

10. AS YOU GET STRONGER DECREASE THE FREQUENCY OF WORKOUTS AND/OR AMOUNT OF SETS
Exercise physiologists have found that your strength increases disproportionately to your recovery ability. Thus the stronger you get the LESS high intensity exercise you can tolerate. Some authorities, such as Dr. Ellington Darden, mention a "300/50%" ratio of strength to recovery ability potential. Thus in theory, the average trainee has the potential to increase his untrained strength by a factor of 4, but his recovery ability will only increase by a factor of 1.5.