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Most would say a Yates type of routine, forced reps, negatives, taking a set to the absolute limit. I guess it all depends on what you mean by hard work. I've did about every type of routine there is to do over 40+ years of training.
So here's my take - if we're talking hard work, as in the hardest you can muster in an "acute" instance, as in that one set, for only brief sets total, then I will go with the Yates gig. HOWEVER, if we're talking hard work in a "chronic" sense, as slightly less hard work for a 30 set workout, then I will change my decision.
The example I will give of the latter above, the "chronic" gig per se, and the actual reason I am even making this post is this: I recently watched a Jay Cutler back workout in prepping for the 2005 Olympia. Holy fukk! I always knew Jay was a volume guy, but didn't realize a man could use such heavy weights for sooo many damn sets. He did wide grip pulldowns (4 sets working up to stack + 1 plate), bb rows (4 sets up to 405), t-bars (4 sets up to 10 plates), deads (4 sets up to 6 plates), db rows (3 sets 160's - heaviest gym had), seated cable rows ( 3 sets - stack + 1 plate), close grip pull downs (3 sets - stack), straight arm cable pulldowns/pullovers ( 3 sets - didn't see the weight), machine rows (3 sets - didn't see weight), db pullovers (3 sets -120-160 db). Fukk me I got tired just watching him half way thru the workout. And what's worse, Jay rests very short rest periods - usually 45 secs to 1 minute between sets.
I've did both types of workouts, and I can tell you while you gotta dig deep to go beyond failure for brief amount of sets, you REALLY gotta dig deep to do some shit like Jay does. I've used HIT most of my life, with a bit more volume - like 2 work-sets per exercise instead of one like Yates does. When I do, I am not totally wrecked when I leave the gym. I almost feel a lil guilty for not doing "more". But when I have done a Jay-type of routine, I am so friggin' wrecked and exhausted when I leave the gym, I ain't worth a fukk the rest of the day. To me, I feel severely over-trained doing such. And yet, I didn't see any better results doing the heavy/high volume gig vs the HIT gig.
Keep in mind I am not just talking about a normal volume routine, as most do. Most guys who do even anything close to that type of volume that Jay does, use moderate weights, nothing really heavy. But to do what he did, banging 405 x 10 on rows, 10 plates x 8 on t-bars, etc etc, that shit is crazy. I got a new found respect for Jay just from watching that one work out alone!
Lastly, I don't want to misconstrue this thread to be a "which is better", as we all know, BOTH styles can work. But I will say, and this may sound like a paradox given HIT is deemed the hardest training style ever, I know I damn sure don't want to have to do a Jay type of routine for a freaky back, when I can "get away" with doing a Yates type of routine for back and have similar results. I'll take doing 6 sets to failure any friggin' day of the week vs doing 30 sets of going 90-95% of failure (as Jay appears to do on most sets - no doubt, he is grinding).
Anyways, just my take.
So here's my take - if we're talking hard work, as in the hardest you can muster in an "acute" instance, as in that one set, for only brief sets total, then I will go with the Yates gig. HOWEVER, if we're talking hard work in a "chronic" sense, as slightly less hard work for a 30 set workout, then I will change my decision.
The example I will give of the latter above, the "chronic" gig per se, and the actual reason I am even making this post is this: I recently watched a Jay Cutler back workout in prepping for the 2005 Olympia. Holy fukk! I always knew Jay was a volume guy, but didn't realize a man could use such heavy weights for sooo many damn sets. He did wide grip pulldowns (4 sets working up to stack + 1 plate), bb rows (4 sets up to 405), t-bars (4 sets up to 10 plates), deads (4 sets up to 6 plates), db rows (3 sets 160's - heaviest gym had), seated cable rows ( 3 sets - stack + 1 plate), close grip pull downs (3 sets - stack), straight arm cable pulldowns/pullovers ( 3 sets - didn't see the weight), machine rows (3 sets - didn't see weight), db pullovers (3 sets -120-160 db). Fukk me I got tired just watching him half way thru the workout. And what's worse, Jay rests very short rest periods - usually 45 secs to 1 minute between sets.
I've did both types of workouts, and I can tell you while you gotta dig deep to go beyond failure for brief amount of sets, you REALLY gotta dig deep to do some shit like Jay does. I've used HIT most of my life, with a bit more volume - like 2 work-sets per exercise instead of one like Yates does. When I do, I am not totally wrecked when I leave the gym. I almost feel a lil guilty for not doing "more". But when I have done a Jay-type of routine, I am so friggin' wrecked and exhausted when I leave the gym, I ain't worth a fukk the rest of the day. To me, I feel severely over-trained doing such. And yet, I didn't see any better results doing the heavy/high volume gig vs the HIT gig.
Keep in mind I am not just talking about a normal volume routine, as most do. Most guys who do even anything close to that type of volume that Jay does, use moderate weights, nothing really heavy. But to do what he did, banging 405 x 10 on rows, 10 plates x 8 on t-bars, etc etc, that shit is crazy. I got a new found respect for Jay just from watching that one work out alone!
Lastly, I don't want to misconstrue this thread to be a "which is better", as we all know, BOTH styles can work. But I will say, and this may sound like a paradox given HIT is deemed the hardest training style ever, I know I damn sure don't want to have to do a Jay type of routine for a freaky back, when I can "get away" with doing a Yates type of routine for back and have similar results. I'll take doing 6 sets to failure any friggin' day of the week vs doing 30 sets of going 90-95% of failure (as Jay appears to do on most sets - no doubt, he is grinding).
Anyways, just my take.
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