Deteriorating Energy Levels During HIT Exercise

Deteriorating Energy Levels During HIT Exercise

By Joe Mullen
Fitness Scientist


It is obvious that one subtracts from one's fitness level as the exercise program continues; therefore, certain muscles are not properly exercised on a visit to visit basis. Following the same exercise sequence every visit is the least effective way to enhance total performance.

We know this approach goes against popular opinion. Popular opinion is wrong.

Years ago, we conducted research proving this conclusion. Here's a simple way to think about it: Let's say you have just returned from a restful vacation. You did nothing physical, had no mental stress, got plenty of sleep and followed a proper diet. You return home completely rested, healthy and looking forward to your workout.

The first thing you notice is that your workout performance is better than during the visit prior to vacation. Even though no workouts are performed during your vacation. You expected your performance would suffer, didn't you?

You performed all your exercises in the usual sequence, and then leave the fitness facility. Next visit, you do the same sequence and notice you do not feel as good as the last workout and, your performance does not match the last visit. Know why?

You have not fully recuperated between visits. Now, you needed a longer rest time between visits. Not as long as your vacation, but longer than the time between recent visits. Don't be afraid to learn something about exercise and that is: you need a lot less exercise than you might suppose and more rest than you think.

Physically, this is true. Mentally, you'll often feel as you should stick to your old schedule and exercise more often. Like most people, you'll probably give into your feelings and get back into the same old rut, even though you learned recuperation improves one's ability to exercise.

We recommend exercising only once every fourth day. This applies to strength training, standard exercise programs, as well as physical therapy programs. Unfortunately, every four days may not fit into your lifestyle.

Now, let us analyze your individual exercise program, to explain why using the same sequence is not as beneficial as mixing up a sequence. We'll take the best case scenario, the one in which you had just returned from vacation. You walk into the facility and start your exercise sequence. For this illustration, we'll say the program includes 10 exercises.

You do the first exercise. Naturally, since exercise damages the system by making certain biochemical and structural changes, you are no longer as fit as you where before you performed the first exercise. For the sake of easy math, let's say that you damaged your system by 10 percent.

Now, you are going into your second exercise, starting at 90 percent of your best fitness level and you rack up another 10 percent in damages. Going into your third exercise, you are functioning with 80 percent of the initial 100 percent level. So it goes throughout your total workout.

Since we are making believe that each exercise subtracts 10 percent from your fitness level, by the time you finish the last exercise, number 10, you have depleted 100 percent of your best level.
Because you follow the same sequence during your next visit, you will deplete your reserves in the same manner, for each exercise.

Next visit, by the time you get to exercise #5, you will have depleted 50 percent of your training ability, just as in the last visit. Change the sequence of each exercise, each visit, it allows you to perform different exercises, at a higher level, each visit.


That is to say: if you start with a leg extension on one visit, you apply 100 percent of your ability. If then, you move to the leg curl, you apply 90 percent, etc. If you reversed the order next visit, then you'd be applying 100 percent on the leg curl and 90 percent on the leg extension, etc.

It's obvious, when one changes a sequence each time, one can exercise some muscles' groups at a higher level than a previous workout. We recommend mixing exercises every visit, to assure maximum progress.

Work weaker muscle group's first, when energy levels are at a higher peak. By nature, most of us prefer to work our best developed, strongest areas. It makes us feel good, and we usually get favorable comments about our best areas. For maximum progress, we should leave our best areas for later in the program.

This is especially important during physical therapy and functional ability programs. Injured people usually have some associated pain along with the injury. This pain, however slight can reduce one's energy level.

It's best to work the non-dominant or the injured area first in a program, before depleting the energy level. Think of the energy level in two ways:

1. The individual body segment energy level. The energy depleted during an exercise of a muscle group. This energy level is somewhat replenished very quickly but not 100 percent. Some depletion takes hours and requires total body sleep to replenish to the 100 percent level.

2. The total body energy. This is the energy that is depleted during exercise of individual body parts. While each body part may replenish itself to a certain level rather quickly, the small percentage not replenished must be rebuilt as indicated in paragraph #1 above.

The apparently small percentages of body segments, energy depletion, total significantly higher that it would appear. That is where total rest is required.

Many times, total recuperation takes several days. The rest days required will vary with the intensity of the exercise program as well as the other stresses of our activities of daily living and work.

The historic exercise treatments of physical disabilities, which ranged from several treatments per day to treatments on a daily basis, have over looked the most important factor of all productive exercise: Rest.

We strongly recommend that you consider approaching strength training, physical therapy, and exercise, from the point of view that rest and the exercise schedule are of equal importance.


For Maximum Results in Minimum Time, combine adequate rest with the following:

(1) Goal directed sequence of exercise.

(2) The muscle strength relationships related to deteriorating energy levels.

(3) Consideration of the age factor.

(4) The role of genetics relating to bodily proportions.

And so it is!


Joe Mullen
Fitness Scientist
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