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High Intensity Resistance Training: HIRT for home workouts
To keep your workouts exciting and impactful, it's crucial to dial up the intensity regularly: let's see how we can do that more effectively.
WHAT IS HIRT?
But exercise intensity isn’t just important: it’s popular, too. We’ve all heard of HIIT (high intensity interval training). But what about HIRT? If you’re not familiar with high intensity resistance training, get ready to learn how this type of workout can boost the results you get from weight training… and you don’t need to be in the gym to do it!
High Intensity Resistance Training might be enjoying a renaissance, but it’s far from new.
The fundamental principle of HIRT is using short, intense periods of resistance training (performed with a lot of effort and focus) plus enough recovery time between sessions. In a HIRT style session, you will do a series of strength exercises without rest, followed by a short recovery between blocks of work. Think circuits or giant sets, but in a more structured style. HIRT jacks up your heart rate and keeps recovery time short, leading to superior calorie burn, muscle stimulation, and fitness adaptations.
HIRT TODAY
Today’s version of HIRT stays true to the original principles of intensity of effort, but has spread further than the gym environment, thanks to some amazing bits of home fitness kit. You no longer need to go to the gym to use high intensity resistance training and get the fitness and fat loss benefits of HIRT.
Today’s HIRT workouts use dumbbells, free weights, cables, suspension trainers, and fixed bars to give you a fast, intense, and effective workout you can do at home or in the gym.
Today’s HIRT workouts use dumbbells, free weights, cables, suspension trainers, and fixed bars to give you a fast, intense, and effective workout you can do at home or in the gym.
9 BENEFITS OF HIGH INTENSITY RESISTANCE TRAINING
- It’s short: perfect if you don’t have long to spend on your weights workouts
- It can be used for full body workouts or for upper/lower or push/pull/legs
- You get a lot of volume into one session without extending the workout time
- You get a cardio benefit as well as muscle stimulation (no need for extra cardio)
- Less recovery time means more calories burned for the workout time
- HIRT keeps you focused and engaged: you won’t have time to be bored!
- You can do HIRT using any kind of resistance training kit available
- If you love intensity, not long workouts, you’ll love the focus of HIRT
- No need for a training partner or spotter, or even a trip to the gym!
ADDING HIRT TO YOUR HOME WORKOUTS
The beauty of HIRT is that you have total freedom in how to design your workout. The only rules are keeping intensity high and rest times short. You can use any resistance training equipment you have to hand: dumbbells, a barbell and weights, fixed bar, cables, Adding HIRT To Your Home Workouts suspension training kit, or cardio conditioning equipment like kettlebells.
HIRT is the ideal workout style for full body sessions or an upper/lower split. So stay away from single body part splits (an entire HIRT session for shoulders would be pretty soul destroying!) HIRT works best when you work hard, so make the most of the opportunity to swap between upper and lower body, push and pull moves, pressing, rowing, and big leg movements.
HIRT is the ideal workout style for full body sessions or an upper/lower split. So stay away from single body part splits (an entire HIRT session for shoulders would be pretty soul destroying!) HIRT works best when you work hard, so make the most of the opportunity to swap between upper and lower body, push and pull moves, pressing, rowing, and big leg movements.
HIRT TIPS
- Have a plan before you head into a HIRT session at home.
- You won’t have time to stop and think about what’s coming next, so make sure your session is written out clearly.
- All you have to do is get it done.
- Choose pairs of exercises to superset, or a series of circuits with 4+ exercises which you will repeat without rest.
- Work in the 8-15 rep range per set - this is the sweet spot between intensity, load, and volume.
- Power through each superset or circuit, and take 60 seconds after each set. Each block of work should be around 10 minutes long, and the entire HIRT workout should be 30-45 minutes.
If you want to take your home gym set up to the next level, look at the Power Personal and rack combo, and the incredible Power Personal Superior. You’ll be able to design an endless series of HIRT workouts at home with the rack, bench, bar, pulleys, and cables.
Try this HIRT workout to get you started: all you need is a set of dumbbells and a bench plus something to do pull ups off.
HIRT WORKOUTS
AT HOME
HOME SET 1
HOME SET 1
- 15 incline dumbbell presses
- 10 goblet squats
- 10 burpees
- 12 bent over dumbbell rows (both arms at the same time)
- 8-10 pull ups
- 12 Romanian deadlifts
- 10 overhead presses
- 20 lunges (total) - either 10 static lunges per leg, or 20 walking lunges
- 12+ close grip pull ups
- 15 press ups
- 20 step ups holding dumbbells (10 each leg)
- 8+ hanging leg raises
AT GYM
GYM SET 1
GYM SET 1
- 10 barbell back squats
- 10 barbell Romanian deadlifts
- 10 barbell bent over rows
- 12 incline dumbbell press
- 12 + 12 single arm dumbbell row
- 12 seated dumbbell overhead press
- 15 lat pull down
- 12+ 12 Bulgarian split squats or static barbell lunge
- 10 hanging leg raises
- 15+ kettlebell swings
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