HICT: A "Secret" and Powerful Method of Aerobic Training

Watch the video below to discover a very powerful, yet unconventional, method of developing the aerobic system: (Note: If video is not your thing, I wrote down the bullet points from the video down below.) 

This method is referred to as High Intensity Continuous Training, or HICT.

  • Great for military folks, wrestlers, fighters, endurance athletes, or anyone that needs to be able to produce a reasonable power output for an extended period of time.
  • Start with one, 10-minute set, and gradually work you're way up to two, 20-minute sets (be warned, twenty minutes is a loonggg set).
  • It is both high intensity and high volume, which is what makes it so different than other forms of aerobic training.
  • The intensity is based on resistance, rather than speed, which is why it allows for such a high volume of stimulus. Most high intensity aerobic intervals are based on speed, ex. a 15-60 second sprint, so you can only maintain that level of effort for so long before you fatigue and have to slow down.
  • Your heart rate should stay in the 150s or low 160s during these, which is under most people's anaerobic threshold (for example, mine is about 174bpm).
  • Because the heart rate remains under the anaerobic threshold, there is adequate oxygen supply (and thus it's possible to enhance the aerobic abilities of your fast twitch fibers).
  • If you're doing step-ups, as I am in the video, the preferred method of loading would be a weight vest. I'm using a backpack in the video because, at the time, I didn't have access to a vest. Don't use a barbell (trust me, I tried it).
  • If the weighted step-ups isn't a viable option, you could use a high quality spin bike. Just crank of the resistance on that thing so you're at 20-30rpm (this is very slow). You should literally be coming off the seat a bit on each push of the pedal.

It was 10:15pm - past my preferred bed time - when I filmed this, so forgive me for my tired expression and somewhat scattered thought process in the video.

HICT is an extremely powerful tool when used appropriately.