Over the past several months I've been putting my own advice back into practice with absolute consistency—high-intensity training, proper nutrition, recovery, and patience. The before-and-after picture I'm posting here isn't about perfection. It's simply proof that the principles still work. At 56 years old, I'm still a student of this game, and one thing remains true: the body will respond when you provide the right stimulus and respect recovery. I know there are a lot of experienced HIT guys in this community, so I'd love to hear how everyone's training has been going lately and what kind of results you've been seeing. I've also been putting out a lot of new content on my YouTube channel discussing High-Intensity Training, recovery, training after 40 and 50, and my experiences training alongside Mike Mentzer. YouTube: https://youtube.com/@highintensitycoach Mostly, I just wanted to check in, share some progress, and say hello to some fellow HIT enthusiasts. Hope everyone's doing well and still training hard. — Markus Reinhardt

Requested by Lawrence. This is the program I used for the majority of last year which helped me put on decent size while maintaining decent condition. Hope it helps people on here out. If you have any questions, post them here and I'll do my best to get back to everyone. Dorian Yates Inspired Routine. 3x per week. Monday, Thursday, Saturday. Legs, To save time I did everything as tri set. Maybe a minute in between sets and as much time as felt I needed after the 3 sets. Each exercise was one set till failure. I would have liked more time between sets but I rarely had the time I'd like to train. Leg Extension Machine Calf Raise Seated Leg Curl Leg Press Seated Calf Raise Prone or standing leg curl Hack Squat or Squat variation Donkey Calf Raise Stiff Legged Deadlift Would normally do some neck work after. (Time pending) Day 2 Back and Shoulders - I could do a set of back, then a set of shoulders back to back. Break after every 2 sets. Pullover (always Nautilus) Shoulder Press Chin up or Pulldown Machine lateral raise Machine Row Cable lateral raise Different row (I had a few scapular retraction movements I liked. Something like a kelso shrug) Low Back machine. Day 3, Chest and Arms. (Also known as the day you look forward too!) Chest Press - spent sometime on my smith machine because it was new for me. Machine Bicep Curl Machine chest press - Normally converging because my first chest press didn't. Cable Bicep Curl Fly machine Preferred Tricep extension DB curls Dip machine I didn't do much triceps and kept it at the end because I didn't want it to take away from pressing and there was some overlap with shoulder pressing. Diet as discussed was Dr. Mauro Pasquale's Anabolic Diet/Metabolic Diet. Results according to Inbody. 229lbs, 117.5 SMM Bodyfat percentage was 11.4%. I think the inbody rates me a bit too low but that's what it reads. This is the program that took me to my new best.

Quick insight for everyone here who trains HIT and cares about longevity, productivity, and real progress. If you’re over 40—and especially if you train to true muscular failure—traditional squats won’t let you get there safely. Your lower back gives out long before your legs hit real failure, and that kills both intensity and progress. The belt squat solves the entire problem. No compression. No lumbar fight. Just pure leg work and the ability to drive the muscle to failure the way HIT requires. You can use a cable setup, landmine, or hip-belt variation. As long as the weight hangs from your hips, you can train hard without paying a spine tax. This is a core part of my newest eBook, Stronger 40. It’s a full high-intensity system built specifically for lifters over 40 who still want real muscle growth, real intensity, and training that supports their life—not drains it. Inside the book you get: - The complete over-40 HIT framework - Spine-safe programming - Movements designed for longevity - Recovery strategies that actually work after 40 - Leg training built around the belt squat advantage - A system that lets you keep pushing without breaking down - Presale is open now: Stronger 40 Presale: https://pay.highintensitycoach.com/stronger40pre If you want to train hard and stay strong for the long haul, this is the blueprint. Markus Reinhardt www.highintensitycoach.com

I’ve been around this game long enough to see one pattern repeat. Everyone talks about intensity, but very few actually understand it. Real intensity isn’t about screaming through a set or chasing exhaustion. It’s control. It’s thought. It’s applying logic to effort. Mentzer used to tell me, “You can’t outwork poor logic.” That stuck with me for life because it applies to everything. Training, recovery, even business. Every rep, every session, every move you make has to serve a purpose. Otherwise you’re just burning energy and calling it progress. When was the last time you truly trained with full focus — no noise, no momentum, just control?

Over the years working with clients, I have noticed something interesting. Most of them understand the idea of training hard, but very few truly understand the context of that effort. The body is not a machine that simply obeys force. It is an adaptive system that reacts to stress, mechanical, chemical, and neurological, and then needs time to reorganize itself before it can improve. When I started experimenting with true high intensity work, I saw firsthand what Arthur Jones meant by quantifying fatigue. The magic was never in the machines. It was in learning how to isolate a muscle, drive it into deep fatigue, and then step back long enough for the body to do what it is built to do — adapt, grow stronger, and become more muscular in the process. What really changed my perspective was seeing how often even experienced lifters chase failure for its own sake. They confuse effort with progress. What I have come to realize is that stimulus is only half of the growth equation. Recovery is not passive rest. It is the active rebuilding phase that determines whether your training was productive or just exhausting. Intensity lights the fuse. Recovery is what makes it explode. — Markus Reinhardt