**Marcus's HIT Dungeon**

[austinite]

I'm back, redesigned my workout for shoulder and chest which I will post soon.

My strength is nearly back, intensity is going through the roof and my shoulder feels about 95% recovered

Its time to really turn the heat up in the kitchen, muscle is on the menu

Good to hear marcus!

[marcus300]

Great, great news !! Its on !!!

Im with you also, feels good doing a full work out, even jumped on a little something to help the muscle memory............remember lol.

Lets enjoy our journey mate

I know you have your own style of training marcus and what you know what works for u, but whats your thoughts on someone like CT fletcher where over training is a must, and working out till failure and training same body parts back to back if its needed?

My style is HIT, I adapt HIT to how my body reacts and grows but the basis is HIT.

It would be impossible to train to failure and train the same bodypart next day with the same intensity and expect it to grow, bull shit imho and probably is to increase youtube subscribers. The way muscle is built never has changed, stimulate, feed and rest...........

Holy ****, I'd hate to be your body with the last line. Love to go training man with ya I'd say no one would keep up

I'm back!! I can feel it and did chest today and felt good with a fair amount of weight so its ready to go

Is it ever not?

[marcus300]

Good to hear marcus!

Thanks

[DCI]

I'm back!! I can feel it and did chest today and felt good with a fair amount of weight so its ready to go

That is great to hear. Now, lets read some of those posts you are famous for been too quiet round here without yourself going at it.

[kelkel]

Ever have one of those days where you just can't eat enough. Today is one for me.

[GirlyGymRat]

Good to hear marcus!

Always nice to hear of food recoveries.

[GirlyGymRat]

Always nice to hear of food recoveries.

*good. Dang phone. Lol

[DCI]

Ever have one of those days where you just can't eat enough. Today is one for me.

Yep and you feel satisfied and just craving food but you don't know what kind of food?

[marcus300]

Ever have one of those days where you just can't eat enough. Today is one for me.

Eat what ever you fancy even if its a total cheat meal, that's what I do when I dont fancy eating chicken, fish, rice, eggs all day long...

[marcus300]

All chest and shoulder movements are done now with pre exhaust, this will warm up the shoulders more so I have a better chance of really hitting my fibres instead of causing more damage to my front delt and I can drop the weight down on the compound movements but still get the same stimulation due to the pre exhaust.

Training is going great, did shoulders today and got myself to failure, not true positive failure but it was further along with some decent weight. I knew I could of drop setted or done some forced and negs but thought I would just tickle around the failure mark. Shoulders blow up and had zero pain in my front delt the only time I felt something was on front raises so kept them light and went with high rep burns which set my delts on fire. I think next week I can start really going to positive failure and maybe a alittle beyond.

Diet is going good, been eating clean and running a rough 3-4 day low carb 1 day high carb ratio which has really made my muscle pop and dropped some bf, my cardio is going well. Dropped some weight but I think I am going to stabilize now at around this stage and see if I can lean bulk from here but this will depend on how far I can push my body into the serious growth zone because that's the only way I grow at my size, everything else is just maintenance.

So its just pe exhausted on chest and shoulders but still HIT which will involve going to positive failure and beyond. All other body part will be the same as usual which is warm up and hit them hard with some serious overload.

Emotionally I am good, my mind is in a good place which helps a lot when your training where I take myself. My food is nearly 100% having the odd day off to cheat but only day after depletion so no big worries anyway. Going to work on using a pre NO sup which Aust has helped me with which I am really looking forward to because I can take myself into the pain zone easy with my mentality so cant wait for some pre stimulation flowing through my veins. I am expecting great things and hopefully some kind of response from my old fragile body...

[DCI]

Savage to read and interesting to see how you adapt it to how you feel. This is something I am only beginning to learn on the new journey that I am on.

The next thing I must do is carb cycle and really learn what times and quantites I need to do. I have been too worried to try it and I think over complicating it in my head.

[kelkel]

Eat what ever you fancy even if its a total cheat meal, that's what I do when I do fancy eating chicken, fish, rice, eggs all day long...

I did. Rode the Harley to my favorite little dock bar and devoured an entire brick oven pizza while watching the boats and bikini's. Felt good. Maybe it's a growth spurt like my 11 yr old is going through? Here's hoping!

[DCI]

Lol speaking of pizza had some on sat night too. Buddy makes his dough etc really thin pizzas lovely to eat hadn't had a pizza in 6 months I'd say. Can I rob the growth spurt excuse too lol

What ya get on the pizza?

[kelkel]

Just pepperoni. Nothing fancy.

Steal away!

[DCI]

Nice, gotta be done.

Tonight was a light night. As been really hard at it the last 8 weeks so going to do light work to let the CNS recover.

Started with incline bench with db at a medium weight and stayed at it did 3 sets of high reps 10-15 range then two dropsets

Then decline with db's for the same as above

Then hammersmith bench for the same with really light weight on it.

Decline flies, and cable crossovers

Then very intense cardio.

Have to say was a great session

[marcus300]

I feel really good, when your injured it makes me feel so down because I cant do what I normally do and have been doing for years and it sends bad thoughts through my head and I really struggle settling myself down. My training releases a lot of tension inside me from many things and if I cant train to an inch of my life or even lift a women DB it really does my head in. BUT................time is changing and I am feeling really good, my workouts are getting stronger my form is so strict now because I am so scared of injuring my shoulder again my style as even gone more strict and my reps are doen very slowly these days until I feel my delt is fully healed.

I am shifting some serious weight again when pressing, but I haven't done any DB work due to the stabilizing the DB could put added strain on my delt so ive just stuck with smith machine and hammer strength shoulder press/ incline press. Ive been pe exhausting all my pressing movements which has been really productive, I can see things happening again and my muscles are getting fuller again. I don't really have any serious pain at all in the front delt just slight less power when pressing and I can tell its still recovering but it seems to be repairing very fast indeed.

Been hitting back hard and heavy without any issues and also legs, the only parts what have been affected are chest and shoulders but I am seeing huge improvements in these areas with every workout. I know my body so well it like saying feed me HIT to failure or otherwise I am not coming out to play, its like a game but this week we are both out playing and things are getting back to normal. I am so close to going to true failure and beyond but still going tohold off until next week and then going to try some methods to see how hard this guy wants to play lol...........time will tell

[DCI]

Great to hear you are progressing at an obscene rate and also to hear the battles that go on within. I think we all have those battles but very rarely let them out.

As always great read and it is inspiring to us all

[blummy]

Marcus, would you mind posting a workout you would do using pre exhausting for your pressing movements for shoulders and chest?
Just for people out there (myself at the moment) that might have some shoulder issues. This way they can have an idea how a good per exhausting set should be.
Even if its just a quick run down of the exercises you use.

Thanks!

[marcus300]

Marcus, would you mind posting a workout you would do using pre exhausting for your pressing movements for shoulders and chest?
Just for people out there (myself at the moment) that might have some shoulder issues. This way they can have an idea how a good per exhausting set should be.
Even if its just a quick run down of the exercises you use.

Thanks!

When your doing a pre exhaust routine you start with an isolation exercise and then once your fully warmed up and hit the area directly with an isolation movement you can move onto the compound movements.

My last shoulder routine went like this

Seated DB side laterals
4 sets - weight increased each set and went to failure on the last 2 sets

seated front raises
4 sets -same as above

Bent over laterals
4 sets -as above

Smith machine shoulder press
3 sets all to failure

Shrugs
2 feel sets
1 working set with triple drop set

I will continue to do pre exhaust for all shoulder and chest movements but from next week I will start with my usually way of training which will involve either using forced and negatives, rest pause or drop setting on isolation/compound movements . I will fully warm up and do a couple of feel sets then one working set consisting of any of the beyond failure protocols ive just mentioned.

By implementing the pre exhaust on all my pressing movements my main compound building exercise which usually is done with some serious weight will change, the weight I normally use will come down but the intensity will stay and hopefully the stimulation will still be high. I will continue to do this and slowly increase the overload which will help my front delt injury and should shock my body into some new growth seeing that I normally hit compound movements first previously.

I have no pain except only when I stretch my arm beyond the back of my head and I can feel the tightness in the front delt which with massage and stretching should help with mobility. I feel I am 99% ready so next week will be a tester or even this week I may try go to true positive failure and see how my should responds.

Nothing will change once I am back to normal except I will just pre exhaust chest and shoulder, my way of HIT will stay the exact same because that's how I build and maintain the only difference will be pre exhaust to my pressing movements ie chest and shoulders.

[DCI]

Tonight is shoulders for me. I mau try the above just as a change and report back later

[marcus300]

Tonight is shoulders for me. I mau try the above just as a change and report back later

Don't hold back on failure and beyond protocols if you pre exhaust, same principles apply. The above wasn't my usual style due to injury so no wimping out now DCI I want to hear the pain in your words

[DCI]

This week has been a light week need a rest week with light weights as really been pushing myself hard over this summer. So thats why I was going to try the above and get a massive pump, my back and chest are sore even tho its been light which is good imo.

Next week, I will try and write a workout like you and kel do

[DCI]

So tonight, did what the monster posted and by christ were my shoulders pumping from rhe isolation work.

By the end of it I was so driven that I would smashed through anything the feeling of blood pouring into my shoulders was crazy. Even with the relatively light weight, I know tomorrow I will have sore shoulders. I added light db shrigs as I love the pain and the challenge of holding them on the last rep as long as you possibly can till you think your muscles are going to errupt from the pain.

Anybody who thinks they have trained before and not tried this training you havent and as Yates says to one of the american lads he is showing hoe to do tensioned deads, "put some fcking weight on the bar and now try it" which is something that rattles around in my head when I think I can't go anymore or the pain is searing around me I just think of that quote being roared at you to push me on for one more rep or even half rep or even that little extra inch

[blummy]

When your doing a pre exhaust routine you start with an isolation exercise and then once your fully warmed up and hit the area directly with an isolation movement you can move onto the compound movements.

My last shoulder routine went like this

Seated DB side laterals
4 sets - weight increased each set and went to failure on the last 2 sets

seated front raises
4 sets -same as above

Bent over laterals
4 sets -as above

Smith machine shoulder press
3 sets all to failure

Shrugs
2 feel sets
1 working set with triple drop set

I will continue to do pre exhaust for all shoulder and chest movements but from next week I will start with my usually way of training which will involve either using forced and negatives, rest pause or drop setting on isolation/compound movements . I will fully warm up and do a couple of feel sets then one working set consisting of any of the beyond failure protocols ive just mentioned.

By implementing the pre exhaust on all my pressing movements my main compound building exercise which usually is done with some serious weight will change, the weight I normally use will come down but the intensity will stay and hopefully the stimulation will still be high. I will continue to do this and slowly increase the overload which will help my front delt injury and should shock my body into some new growth seeing that I normally hit compound movements first previously.

I have no pain except only when I stretch my arm beyond the back of my head and I can feel the tightness in the front delt which with massage and stretching should help with mobility. I feel I am 99% ready so next week will be a tester or even this week I may try go to true positive failure and see how my should responds.

Nothing will change once I am back to normal except I will just pre exhaust chest and shoulder, my way of HIT will stay the exact same because that's how I build and maintain the only difference will be pre exhaust to my pressing movements ie chest and shoulders.

Thanks Marcus and how would you pre exhaust for your chest? Shoulders I figured you'd isolate, but with chest? What exercises do you use?

[kelkel]

Legs today guys. I know, my routines are boring as my equipment is limited but it is what it is. Felt really good today going to the dungeon and that always worries me. Warmed up with high rep body weight squats and light extensions.

Started with squats and got to my normal weight and started. After 4-5 reps I racked it. Felt good so I treated it as a warm-up and threw on another 50lbs. Did the set and got a good 10 and racked it. Still feeling good got rid of the quarters and put on 45's (plus 2.5's) as I have to have that even number. Old habits die hard right? Got under it and did a solid eight reps. Thinking If I would have done less on the way up I could have gotten several more. Really felt good to push heavier weight for a change.

Finished with Verticals with a double drop, extensions, curls and calves as usual.

Look forward to the next couple days to see how they feel!

[marcus300]

Thanks Marcus and how would you pre exhaust for your chest? Shoulders I figured you'd isolate, but with chest? What exercises do you use?

Like ive mentioned you would use isolation exercises first doing chest before any compound movements, ie DB flyes, cables, pec dec etc then pressing movements. Your pre exhausting your chest

[marcus300]

Legs today guys. I know, my routines are boring as my equipment is limited but it is what it is. Felt really good today going to the dungeon and that always worries me. Warmed up with high rep body weight squats and light extensions.

Started with squats and got to my normal weight and started. After 4-5 reps I racked it. Felt good so I treated it as a warm-up and threw on another 50lbs. Did the set and got a good 10 and racked it. Still feeling good got rid of the quarters and put on 45's (plus 2.5's) as I have to have that even number. Old habits die hard right? Got under it and did a solid eight reps. Thinking If I would have done less on the way up I could have gotten several more. Really felt good to push heavier weight for a change.

Finished with Verticals with a double drop, extensions, curls and calves as usual.

Look forward to the next couple day to see how they feel!

Sounds good big guy,

[marcus300]

Excellent chest today, pre exhaust all compound movements with basic 3 sets pyramid style. Shoulder felt good, power down and creeping back up and the power is down due to pre exhausting so hard to judge really but really did some damage. Did some abs after but that was it, fast heavy and hard

[-KJ-]

Excellent chest today, pre exhaust all compound movements with basic 3 sets pyramid style. Shoulder felt good, power down and creeping back up and the power is down due to pre exhausting so hard to judge really but really did some damage. Did some abs after but that was it, fast heavy and hard

Sounds like a gruelling workout marcus...

quick question: I prefer working out alone but can be a downside to this with no spot. To take myself past failure on some exercises especially towards the end of my workout are dropsets my best option?

I do enjoy failing on the positive and then trying to fail on the negative (we are strongest on negative) afterwards but this cant "safely" be done IMO.

[kelkel]

Rest pause is probably more suitable for you. I train alone as well. Rest pause means simply take your set to ultimate failure. Rack it. Wait a set period of time or breaths. Then go again with it. Repeat if necessary. I tend to wait about 8-10 breaths. You can still do drop sets yourself, it just take more time between sets. The point is though you are still exhausting the muscle beyond the norm.

I'll even combine the two. I'll do a RP after my initial set then drop some weight and hit it again. Whatever works. Try it all and see.

[-KJ-]

Cheers Kel.. Appreciate the advice will let you kno how i get on

[Giggle]

Thanks Kel - I never thought to add rest pause to the dropsets. That's a good idea!

Rest pause is probably more suitable for you. I train alone as well. Rest pause means simply take your set to ultimate failure. Rack it. Wait a set period of time or breaths. Then go again with it. Repeat if necessary. I tend to wait about 8-10 breaths. You can still do drop sets yourself, it just take more time between sets. The point is though you are still exhausting the muscle beyond the norm.

I'll even combine the two. I'll do a RP after my initial set then drop some weight and hit it again. Whatever works. Try it all and see.

[DCI]

Rest pause is probably more suitable for you. I train alone as well. Rest pause means simply take your set to ultimate failure. Rack it. Wait a set period of time or breaths. Then go again with it. Repeat if necessary. I tend to wait about 8-10 breaths. You can still do drop sets yourself, it just take more time between sets. The point is though you are still exhausting the muscle beyond the norm.

I'll even combine the two. I'll do a RP after my initial set then drop some weight and hit it again. Whatever works. Try it all and see.

Thats been my adaption of it from the start. Tonight was legs they are still burning.

Like marcus has been doing I pre exhausted them with light weight and upping the rep scale and really worked well tonight which was amazing as normally to get a buzz from legs I have to go heavy etc

[marcus300]

Sounds like a gruelling workout marcus...

quick question: I prefer working out alone but can be a downside to this with no spot. To take myself past failure on some exercises especially towards the end of my workout are dropsets my best option?

I do enjoy failing on the positive and then trying to fail on the negative (we are strongest on negative) afterwards but this cant "safely" be done IMO.

Kel hit it

rest pause or drop sets if you don't have a spotter or a combination of both. Just try and concentrate on taking yourself to true positive failure it will be easier with DB's because you can come down to halfs and quarters and then drop them and you wont be stuck under the bar etc, then rest pause or drop set

[sawyer86]

Training like marcus and kel will give you a feeling like never before! Started monday hit each bodyprt once, been in agony all week feel like ive had a good hiding! Used drop sets mainly with rest pause on legs. The pain im in must of stimulated some growth!

[marcus300]

Training like marcus and kel will give you a feeling like never before! Started monday hit each bodyprt once, been in agony all week feel like ive had a good hiding! Used drop sets mainly with rest pause on legs. The pain im in must of stimulated some growth!

Here we go, we got someone on the same journey. Welcome and lets us all know each week how things are going

[DCI]

This journey is a hard but rewarding and mind altering one but it's worth every ounce of sweat and pain, swearing, fatigue when you get the results

[RipOwens]

I've never much felt destroyed from a shoulder workout but recently I've really started to incorporate forced negatives, and man, what a difference! I've heard it so much in this thread and the forum in general so thanks to all.

[DCI]

Excellent we are recruiting more and more soldiers to this training I did arms and abs today was great tbh. Late in the day which is unusual for me.

Was going to do cardio but had no interest in it so left it out as sometimes better to leave it out I think.

[marcus300]

Delts and triceps


Seated DB side laterals
3 warm up sets
1 working set with triple drop set going right down to halfs/quarters

smith machine shoulder press
2 feel sets
2 working sets with double dropset right down to halfs

BB shrugs
2 feel sets
1 working set with triple dropset

rear laterals machine
3 working sets to failure

Triceps

lying DB overhead extention ( easier on the elbows rather than ez bar)
2 feel sets
1 working set with 2 rest pause to failure

kickbacks
2 feel sets
1 working set with 2 rest pause to failure

straight bar pushdowns
2 feel sets
1 working set with triple drop set


No serious pain in my injury but felt it was still there, but my shoulder and tri's were pumped to the max. Felt really good shifting some weight again and also the pore exhaust is giving me another burst and twist on things which feels great.

Ive had Austin to make me up a pre workout NO which should be all arriving wed so cant wait for that and also going to start looking at pushing my body further as my injury heals, not done drops or rest pause since my injury and it feels good so all I have to do now is just keep increasing the load and intensity and when I am fully healed get myself back into the hell hole I crawled out of.

The seated side laterals with a triple dropset to halfs and quarters was really tasking, my side delts went numb and the pain was tremendous, I went right down to were I couldn't even lift the db from my side it was that painful. I also had an audience which always helps you get those kind of reps out