Mr Pain

 If you lift heavy weights regularly chances are you have been training with some sort of joint pain at some time. If you are over 40 and still hoisting big numbers in the compound movements there's little doubt that joint pain is your constant companion or at the very least comes and goes as it pleases.

  Being at the ripe old age of 47 i can tell you that I have had my share of training injuries over the years, although, knock on wood, nothing to serious. I also know the value of lifting heavy weights in the basic movements if you intend on gaining any real strength or size. 

  If like me your over 40, or are having trouble with training injuries such as sore shoulders, knees etc, then this training protocol could be just the one for you. It is one of the only rehabilitation protocols that i have used that can actually add muscular bulk while rehabilitating. I use it when, after a period of time on the big weights i start to feel aches and pains in various joint, mostly for me in the shoulders from bench pressing.

  This routine can be used to help maintain, and as i have experienced actually increase in muscular size during those periods when Mr Pain comes a knocking or when you simply need a change in you routine. Long term use of this protocol will stagnate and may slowly reduce overall strength due to not lifting maximal weights in the basic exercises. I wouldn't recommend using this routine for more than 6 weeks at a time if your worried about your outright strength in exercises. However if you have too much pain to lift big in the basic exercises then you wont  have much of a choice, just make sure that you log the weights used and slowly each session increase either reps or weight, this is very important when using any protocol over a period of time. The only, and i mean only thing that will give any meaningfully results in weight training is if you are progressive in your lifting this applies to rehabilitation as well.

 H.I.T

  Although H.I.T (high intensity training) may seem even worse for the joints, it's not. H.I.T requires that the weight being lifted is lifted under complete control over a much longer TUT (time under tension) usually a 10 second rep, 6 seconds on the positive phase and 4 on the negative. Exept for when i am rehabilatating a more serious injury i use a 6 second rep, 3 in the positive and 3 in the negative, on the isolation exercises and a 4 second rep on the compound exercise. 

  H.I.T also requires that the weight being lifted is taken past the normal range of exhaustion. Working through the burn and beyond, unlike regular lifting. Pushing past the burn seems almost impossible, but with the slower speed used and the use of partial, forced and negative reps when a full rep can no longer be performed it's amazing just how much you can push through into the burn. This results in an incredible pump and flushing sensation of the targeted muscle and seem to have a almost therapeutic effect on sore joints.

   When using H.I.T there is initially a decrease in the amount of weight that you can lift. This is due to the fact that there is zero momentum used in the lift because of the more controlled, slower lifting time used. The fact is that it is this momentum and jolting force of the normal style of lifting that causes most joint soreness and injuries. The more explosive the lifting the more possibilities of injuries through the ballistic type nature of the movements. Yes you can lift more weight this way but there is always a price to pay some were down the line, usually when you hit 40!

 Pre-Exhaust

    The idea of pre-exhausting a muscle by using an isolation exercise then a compound exercise has been around for many decades. Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus machines used it with great success during the 70's on many famous bodybuilders of that era. The combination of H.I.T and pre-exhaustion lead to the ultimitate in H.I.T training.

   Pre-exhaustion is one of the more safer protocols that i have used to gain muscular bulk and combined with the slower H.I.T lifting speed makes for a very intense yet safe way to train.

  The idea is simply, first use an isolation exercise such as a pec dec then with no rest move onto the bench press. Because the bench press is done when the pecs are already fatigued from the pec dec the weight used is much lower than normal, yet feels heavy. This takes the stress off the shoulders because your not lifting overly heavy in the bench although the actual intensity on the muscle is somewhat greater. This is because of the longer TUT and also the ability of the arms to help push the chest even further into fatigue. This is the key to pre-fatigue, keeping the arms out of the movement in the first exercise so they can aid in the second.

 H.I.T Pre-Exhaust Routine

   For each large muscle group such as chest, back and legs you will use 4 sets, small muscle groups such as arms and shoulders use 3 sets all done as pre-fatigue. Rest no more than 15 seconds between sets and don't worry if the reps decrease as you go, thats a good thing, it means that you are fatiguing the targeted muscle. After 3 sets you will probably be down to 3 to 4 reps on the compound exercise, this is what you want just don't decrease the weight for more reps as this will lessen the intensity. The exercises below have been chosen because they are the ones that have given the best results and work well together but feel free to use what best suit you.

• CHEST...Dumbell Flies and Bench Press.. Load the bench press with a weight that you can do for 15 reps. Start of with fly  i like a slight decline (100mm under the end of the bench) chose a set of dumbbells that you can do around  12 reps with. Pump out 12 on the first set of dumbbells nice and slow, then jump straight onto the bench press. Try and choose a weight that you can lift for 10 reps. Repeat 4 times non stop!
• BACK.....Stiff Arm Pulldowns, Dumbbell Pullovers and Pulldowns..Do 10 reps on S/A/Pulldowns then move onto dumbell pullovers for 8 reps on a  flat bench and then onto pulldowns (use close underhand or palms facing you grip) for around 8 reps. repeat 4 times 15 seconds rest only between sets.
• SHOULDERS..Side Lateral Raises, Upright Rows, Reverse flies...Start with the laterals for 10 reps HIT style, move onto   upright rows and then do reverse flies with cable. (if you dont have a cable machine use dumbell shrugs)  Run through 3 times with 15 secs max between sets.
• BICEPS... Seated Incline Dumbell Curls and Ezy Curls...YOU KNOW THE GIG BY NOW...3 sets
• TRICEPS...Press downs and Close Grip Bench Press....Same as above 
• LEGS.......Leg Extensions, Squats and lunges....Start with extensions and do 8 to 10 hard slow reps to start with then move straight into squats. Youll only need half the weight your use to in this exercise and that may even be to much!. Pump out 10 to 12 then straight onto lunges. Alternate legs for as many reps as you can stand (usually about 8 to 10) with or without weight.Repete 4 times!!

  Wrap up

   This routine works really well in conjunction with the Working Mans Routine. I have used it often for a period of 4 to 5 weeks when i have had either an injury or feel a bit stagnated from heavy training. In essence it is a compressed volume type of training and therefore should be used as per the above. Taking long rests between sets nullifies any real results on this routine because the nuts and bolts of it all is the intensity that comes from having little to no rest.

   Choosing the correct weight to use in the compound exercise will take a couple of workouts, fatigue will reduce the weight significantly, however it will make it much safer.

  Move slow in the isolation exercises and a little faster in the compound exercises. Remember the compound exercises are used to push the targeted muscle even more with the help of assisting muscles that have not been used in the isolation move. Pumping the reps out a little faster (not fast!!) will push them even more into fatigue.

       Like this article? sent feedback to colin@fitterfasterstronger.com.au  Got a training question? Putting together a FAQ soon. Email any you have and we'll put it in the FAQ article.