When I was 15, I was introduced to weight training. Then it transformed my life and continues to do so now. He really didn’t know what he was doing then. I read a lot of magazines and did exercises that made sense. In an era of college football with most weight rooms under a thousand square feet or just non-existent, I was one of the few players who took weight training seriously. As I write this article today in 2015, I can proudly say that as a college gamer 50 years ago my bench was 405, my squat was 505, and my deadlift was 605. I never took steroids, and my only vice was protein shakes.
I have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Kinesiology. My master’s thesis was on strength training. I was a head coach of soccer and swimming in high school before becoming a clinical and sports psychologist 30 years ago. I never stopped exercising. In fact, when we expanded our home, my wife allowed me to convert our old master bedroom into a weight room complete with bench, squat rack, lat machine, leg extension and curl machine, sitting board, treadmill, 550 lbs. free weights and dumbbells from 10 to 70. Our house was the hangout for all of our son’s teammates. Okay, enough background.
In my ignorant youth I exercised 3 times a week for about 2½-3 hours, which included all parts of the body. Of course, we now know it’s overtraining, but no one told me. I just knew that I liked the results. Over the years, I have tried a lot of reps, super sets, and all the usual workouts. For the most part, they all work if you are consistent. What I can tell you is that at my current age of 68, I can still put up with much younger men in the weight room. We all now know that sarcopenia (loss of muscle due to aging) is inevitable, but it can certainly be slowed down and delayed with proper training even in the absence of large amounts of testosterone, as long as protein requirements are met (1.2 -1 , 5 grams / kilo of body weight for men and slightly less for women). I stopped lifting heavy weights years ago, but what I lift now is considered heavy by many. Even my teammates from 50 years ago made that comment recently.
High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, has been shown to be the most effective and efficient means of achieving good cardiovascular exercise. So, after almost a year of experimentation, I combined HIIT with weights. Please understand that Y44 is an exercise method. You can still do the exercises you want, split your workouts, etc. The beauty of Y44 is that you only have to do a series of exercises to get great results. In fact, doing more is overtraining. I can almost hear the skeptics now, but keep an open mind. I have turned many skeptics into believers. People are very satisfied with the Y44 method.
If you are an older adult or significantly out of weight training shape, consult your doctor and get his or her approval before trying the Y44 (I always strongly recommend that you have a complete physical exam before embarking on any new training regimen). Yes, it is that intense. This is NOT a beginner workout. You also need to make sure your kidneys are working properly in order to handle protein.
The best results from weight training are when you take a muscle to complete exhaustion. Be aware of protein requirements, otherwise this won’t work. Again, keep in mind that you can do almost any exercise using the Y44 principle. I say almost because some like the flat bar bench or free bar squats, they cannot be done this way. If you want to bench or squat with the Y44 method, a machine is the best option.
In order to explain the Y44 method, I will use the dumbbell bench as an example. Again, this is a method. You can continue with the exercises you want in combination as long as you allow at least 72 hours between exercising a specific part of the body. Okay, let’s do this.
Take whatever weight you can do 8 reps with and cut it in half. As an example, I can comfortably do 8 reps with 100 pounds. dumbbells, so my Y44 set will be 50. I set my timer for 4 minutes. I lie down and do as many reps as I can until I can’t move, usually between 21-25, then I sit down. I breathe exactly 4 times, go back down and repeat the process. Usually I can do 7-8 reps. I sit down and take another 4 breaths, and go down again, this time maybe doing 3-4 reps. I repeat this process until the timer goes off. 4 minutes, 4 breaths equal Y44. This constitutes a set, and that is all that is needed.
It seems too simple, especially for those who think you need 5-8 sets. Keep in mind that this is weight training, not bodybuilding. This is more on the order of body sculpting. Oh yeah, and if you think this doesn’t involve cardio, check your pulse during your workout. Y44 is a hybrid HIIT. As with all weight training, make sure your form is excellent to avoid injury.
I’m not a researcher, so no, there are no studies versus a control group to point to, and at this point in my career and personal life, I’m excited to get results and share them. I am happy to let my experience speak for itself. I’ll let a graduate assistant or PhD candidate set it up, record the results, and do all the statistical analysis. I’d like to help.
Just remember that it will take about a month to get in shape to really attack the Y44 method. As the old legal disclaimer says, “Results may vary.” Of course, email me and tell me I’m crazy. I love hearing all the wonderful results from a crazy fellow.