# HIT Vs Volume Training



## d2r2ddd (Jan 3, 2014)

*Abstract fm the article :*
.....Ectomorphs tend to respond better to VT better than HIT. Ectomorphs are thin, light-framed and sometimes have long limbs. For these guys, it takes longer to gain muscle than for your average mesomorph, who usually has a more rectangular frame with more muscle mass. A lot of ectomorphs really need the longer workouts and higher reps to stimulate muscle growth. Conversely, for most mesomorphs, a HIT routine is usually going to result in greater gains......

High Intensity Training Versus Volume Training | Muscle & Strength


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## tri-terror (Jan 3, 2014)

I've said this before and I'll say it again I'm sure...
I don't care who you are, you will gain muscle at the fastest rate your genetics and hormones allow doing HIT...


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## Magnus82 (Jan 3, 2014)

I think at some point,  both camps would benefit from the others.   That being said,  I do better doing hit about 80% of the time and volume 20%. VT at my age get to be a little to much.


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## tri-terror (Jan 3, 2014)

Magnus82 said:


> I think at some point,  both camps would benefit from the others.   That being said,  I do better doing hit about 80% of the time and volume 20%. VT at my age get to be a little to much.



And that really is the truth/key right there.  You have to take breaks, cruises or whatever to keep yourself together, but the muscle building is taking place IMO at the times when you are blasting doing HIT.


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## chicken_hawk (Jan 5, 2014)

Having now moved to power lifting and examining various templates and philosophies I will say the battle of intensity vs volume is off base in that it should be ultimately about frequency. There are benefits of training balls out for periods of time and true it may be that leaner guys respond well, but is it due to the repeated bouts or how much effort? One certainly can not go all out for long periods of time...if they can they do not know what "all out" training is. 

Cycling intensity, volume and frequency should be part of any smart bber's plan just as it is a powerlifters yearly scheme. Hit it hard then back off for periods of recovery and conditioning (work capacity).

I used to say volume is king, now I believe ultimately frequency is KING!

Hawk


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## AtomAnt (Jan 7, 2014)

Chicken Hawk and I have made several posts on here regarding HIT and volume and from what I gather we tend to share a similar belief... it is balancing act.  We each have a genetic blueprint and a given muscle fiber composition and these determine which training will better suit our goals... it isn't just HIT vs Volume, but a spectrum or training programs going from one extreme to the other. 

An individual needs to find a training program that is intense enough to induce sufficient muscular damage to create a growth stimulus, generate enough metabolic stress to provide a hormonal response and have sufficient mechanical tension to stimulate the maximal amount of muscle fibers... AND allow the individual to recover and make consistent progress...  HIT programs have very high mechanical tension and create a lot of muscular damage but because they have less volume they do not create as much metabolic stress.  On the other hand, a volume approaches can all vary depending on how one performs sets... Just because Mountain Dog training is high volume, does not means that the sets are not crazy intense... they are definitely going to create a lot of muscular damage... However, the balancing act come in with recovery.  If one has a great recovery ability they may be able to training very intense with slightly higher volume and also train quite frequently, while others may have poor recovery and volume beats them to piss and they can only train once a weak.  But say this person can really train like an animal, well then maybe they need an HIT program with limited volume so they get what they to induce hypertrophy but can still recover fast enough to keep coming back and making progress.  

Saying one is better than the other is really a poorly reasoned statement and you need to look at the bigger picture.


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## chicken_hawk (Jan 8, 2014)

AtomAnt said:


> Chicken Hawk and I have made several posts on here regarding HIT and volume and from what I gather we tend to share a similar belief... it is balancing act.  We each have a genetic blueprint and a given muscle fiber composition and these determine which training will better suit our goals... it isn't just HIT vs Volume, but a spectrum or training programs going from one extreme to the other.
> 
> An individual needs to find a training program that is intense enough to induce sufficient muscular damage to create a growth stimulus, generate enough metabolic stress to provide a hormonal response and have sufficient mechanical tension to stimulate the maximal amount of muscle fibers... AND allow the individual to recover and make consistent progress...  HIT programs have very high mechanical tension and create a lot of muscular damage but because they have less volume they do not create as much metabolic stress.  On the other hand, a volume approaches can all vary depending on how one performs sets... Just because Mountain Dog training is high volume, does not means that the sets are not crazy intense... they are definitely going to create a lot of muscular damage... However, the balancing act come in with recovery.  If one has a great recovery ability they may be able to training very intense with slightly higher volume and also train quite frequently, while others may have poor recovery and volume beats them to piss and they can only train once a weak.  But say this person can really train like an animal, well then maybe they need an HIT program with limited volume so they get what they to induce hypertrophy but can still recover fast enough to keep coming back and making progress.
> 
> Saying one is better than the other is really a poorly reasoned statement and you need to look at the bigger picture.



And then on top of that one needs to take into account all the individual variables. Experience, age, grit, Rx, diet and goals. And one of the biggest things is personality. Some people like the long haul and don't have the train till you puke attitude and others prefer to leave nothing on the floor, but burn through gas first. 

I do think there are some poor programs out there, but I believe the best one is the one that brings you back to the gym.

Hawk


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