Hi! It's Sunday morning and I just read Herk's log from Friday Aug 18. I really like Herk's positive attitude; I'm on my way out the door for a run and I feel psyched up just from reading his words of encouragement. Great column!
Dave S (Toronto, Ontario)
Dear Editor:
Thanks very, very much for posting Robert "Herk" Sparkman's online lifting diary. His workouts are as interesting to study as his positive attitude is infectious!!!
Cheers!
Gregg Heinrichs
Great timing! I'm 47 years old and have been lifting HIT style since Jan of 98 and have been a Cyberpump fan since Feb 96. Just this past week, I emailed Fred Fornicola for some nutritional info and mixed in with his advice were words about dropping back in weight/increasing reps to lesson the chance for injury at my age and staying injury free for a long time to come. Although I am about 2 months away from breaking the magical 405 lb deadlift and 100 lb dip, I heeded his words. No, it wasn't easy to reduce the weight and increase the reps but based on a few other words he wrote, it dawned on me that when I look around in the gym, there are precious few other guys my age who aren't re-habbing one thing or another or who are lifting consistently. Then along comes Doug's article about "Getting up in Years". Drove the point home! I would love to read more article's geared toward us ol'dawgs to the likes of what Doug wrote. Maybe even a few post's on routines/nutrition. We all know pretty much what to do/eat when you're in your twenties and a raging ball of hormones but what about the nuances when everything starts slowing down?
Again, great timing with Doug's story. Thanks for the reinforcement.
Yeah I was sucked into the Flex hype, u know the 20 set workout shit. Found ur website 2 mths ago & rate it nuff. I'm from Jamaica and all the guys here do it for the looks, I go for the strength. Since reading the info on ur site objectively and chosing the relevant info, I added 60lbs to my bench, I now SQUAT. Keep up the work an nuh watch nuh face. Bless.
..oh hail up DAN and GUNNAR. Put on 12lbs in 3wks. Most fibre
CHINAMAN
I AM 51 YEARS OLD AND HAVE BEEN LIFTING SINCE I WAS 14. OF ALL THE READING I'VE DONE ABOUT BODYBUILDING/LIFTING DURING THE PAST 37 YEARS HERK DOES THE BEST JOB OF CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF WHY I STILL LOVE LIFTING TODAY AS MUCH AS I DID AS A TEENAGER. THE CHALLENGE OF LIFTING HEAVY WEIGHTS, THE EXCITEMENT OF MEETING GOALS, THE MENTAL PROCESS WHEN LIFTING ARE ALL CAPTURED BY HERK STRAIGHT FROM HIS HEART. I LOOK FORWARD TO EACH POSTING.
HERK'S LOG IS THE BEST THING YOU HAVE GOING.
I want to thank you for having the new Herk's Log added to your site. Herk is a real inspiration. No fancy mumbo jumbo crap! He trains hard, eats big, rest sufficiently, and reaps the rewards. Simple but effective. Many of your readers would do themselves a favor by doing things this way instead of obsessing over details.
Herk's a throw back to the basics. Some might even say primitive. In my opinion this shows that focus, persistency, and a love for what you do far out way any other alternative.
Dr. Dave L.
THE SITE IS GREAT. I NEVER FOUND ONE QUITE LIKE IT ONE . EVERY ONE ELSE IS TRYING TO SELL SOMETHING. YOU GUYS ARE REALLY LIKE PEOPLE LIKE US THAT DON'T HAVE MILLION$ TO SPEND ON EQUIPMENT.
THANKS
ROB
Great stuff! Real inspiring. This guy (Herk) is a credit to HITdom.
Yehoshua Zohar
I wanted to share my training experience and success with all of those who maintain and contribute to Cyberpump, plus new visitors who may be reading things here for the first time.
I started lifting in September of 1998. I hadn't lifted weights at all before then. At the time I was 19 years old, 5 foot 9, 160 pounds at 10% bodyfat or so. I just threw together a routine of about 12 exercises that I could do at home with some free weights I had. I can't say I really knew what I was doing, but I started at it. I lifted 3 times a week for about 6 months this way. In that period of time I think I lost a couple of pounds of bodyfat and put on a couple of pounds of muscle....nothing special (same bodyweight, 8-9% bf). Around March of 1999 I really began searching for information on the web about training. I went through Yahoo's list and visited almost every site over the period of a month or so. I read and read and read everything I could find. Eventually, I came to Cyberpump in the list and decided to check it out. The first thing I read was the HIT FAQ, and it just spoke to me. I felt everything click in my head, as if I'd known these ideas all along but never acknowledged them. I knew this was the truth I had been searching for.
In April of 1999, I started training in a HIT style with my workout. I did the same exercises for one set each, but I did them a little slower and to positive muscular failure (as I knew it at that point). After my first workout, I knew I had stumbled across something incredible. I religiously poured through the material on Cyberpump, absorbing all I could find. By the middle of June, I had already put on 5 pounds of muscle in a 10 week period. I felt this was astonishing, since I previously believed one had to train at LEAST 6 months to see any results. I continued to churn through the pages of knowledge and experience available on Cyberpump, even going so far as to read all the back issues of the HIT digest. I was committed to learning as much as possible and applying it.
Well, now it's the beginning of August, 2000. At this point, I've probably read everything on Cyberpump twice and some things many more times over. My initial training of 3 times a week for 45-60 minutes (full body, 12 exercises, one set each) at home has gradually reduced in volume to my current level, which is 3 times every 2 weeks for 30 minutes (full body, 4-5 exercises, one set each) a session at a local gym. Most of my training was twice a week for 30-45 minutes since I started though. I've greatly increased my ability to push myself harder to where failure is for me.
My reason for sending this feedback is the fact that I reached one of my initial milestones. A few months into training, I set a goal of making a bodyweight of 200 pounds. I've now reached that, weighing in at 200 pounds on the same scale I've used since I started keeping track. I'm at about 10% bodyfat..a little bit more than when I started HIT but far from obese and not a significant change. I figure I added 32-35 pounds (out of the 40 total) of muscle to my body in a period of 16 months (April 1999 to August 2000). I've added about an inch and a half to my upper arms, an inch to my forearms, 2-3 inches to my chest/back, 3-4 inches to my thighs, and an inch to my calves. These numbers are based on regular measurements I take in these areas of my body.
I remember when I once thought that adding 10 pounds to my frame would be an amazing feat. Now I see that so much more is possible, and I don't believe I would have found some direction without this site. I still visit Cyberpump every day and I still voraciously scan for new information, experiences, and perspectives. I realize that HIT and fitness are not things one pursues for a summer. I've made HIT a part of my life, and I hope I never lose it. For all of this, I cannot thank all of you enough.
Ryan Tobin
To Herk,
I just wanted to tell Herk what a absolutley fantastic column he writes. It's got nothing but positive and encouraging things in it. It's been a huge inspiration to me even in the short time it's been on Cyberpump. Herk sounds like one of very few people who has fully developed as a complete person (Mind, Body Spirit). It's nice to read a column about hard work, not just another person trying to push one "absolute only" way to train. Herk does it the right way, HARD! He doesn't have an agenda, it's just an inspiring column about hard training and developing your life in every area, not just lifting. I wish there were more truly sincere people out there like Herk. My congradulations and thanks goes out to him for such an uplifting and insping column, and thank you Cyberpump for printing it!
Sincerely,
Brandon Schultz
I just wanted to give you my thanks for the informative website you've created. I just started ligting wieghts a couple of months ago in the hopes of gaining some muscle. (I'm in pretty good shape now, but I've always had a thin build.) I started out 148lbs at six feet tall, using a mass-building routine I'd gleaned from a book picked up at my local library. The routine called for four to six pyramid sets on most exercises. After a month of following the program, I had a hunch that I was wasting alot of time and getting minimal results (I'd gained three pounds, though my muscles did seem "harder"). I hopped on the internet and found your page, printed up the HIT FAQ, and have just read it. The information I read confirmed my suspicions and makes good sense. I am looking forward to changing my exercise and nutrition rountine (I learned that I need to eat much more), though I know the HIT method will be extremely demanding. Thank-you very much. I am a student and I just didn't know how I was going to fit those two-hour workouts into my schedule once the fall semester started.
God bless,
Anthony King
I have to give the editor and all others who are responsible major, mega kudos for bringing Herk and "Herk's Log" onto the website. This man is absolutely INCREDIBLE! I am really being motivated by reading through his log each week. Plus seeing the pix of his lifts are just awesome!
The "Thank You" with which Herk closes out his log needs to be turned around with a big "right back at ya Herk!" Thank YOU for sharing your insight with us. I suppose my only request would be... GIVE US MORE!
Eddie Johnson
Texas Panhandle HITter
Great reading!!
Please pass on my regards to Herk, I tried partial deads today, for the first time ever, WOW!! my back was alive. Great fun!! (although it wasn't at the time hehe).
Keep the logs coming!
Alex Britton
I would like to personally thank all of the contributors to Cyberpump! I am 25 yrs old, 6'1" and after trying HIT for six weeks I have went from 170 lbs to 185 lbs, and decreased mt body fat from 13% to 11.5%. I look and feel great and am even enjoying the grueling workouts at the gym because I know it is working. Thank you so much for providing this free information. I plan on supporting your sponsors because I believe in what you are doing so much!
This site has influenced me more than any other! I've been looking at it for about a year now and have finally started to adapt my workouts to incorporate HIT methods. I still take protein (don't get enough in my diet), but I've quit using creatine and andros. I never got into that plyometrics nonsense, but my workouts would end up being something like 3 sets each of bench, incline bench, decline bench and cable flies. Then I'd try and do the same to my back in the same session. What a waste of time!!
About two months ago I started increasing my intensity and reducing the number of exercises and sets. What a difference! In those two months I increased my arm size by a full inch! This morning I changed my leg workout: decrease the weight on the sled, go for full ROM and do 15 slow reps. After the second (and final) work set, I was about two reps away from puking. The sick thing is, three hours later I wish I had done the last two reps!
I've got a way to go before I can call my self a true HIT trainee, but I've started the process. After experiencing this kind of intensity and these results, I can't imagine stopping now!
Thank you and keep up the great work.
How does one get in touch with Herk? I enjoy reading his column. Just wanted to let you guys know, that you're doing a great job with this site. Keep up the good work.
John
Hi:
Love "Herk's Log", please include more!
As usual, more Dr. Ken would be great.
Keep it up.
Thanks,
Rich
Hey, my name is John. Your site is awesome. Its got all the imformation about weight training I want. An idea for it would be that you could put up a chart of what muscles look like in certain stages. Like you'd have 10 pictures. Picture 1 would be the muscle in it's weakest stage and 10 would be the muscle at it's strongest. That would help people track where they are just by how the muscle looks. It would also be good if you could let people set up account at your site and under the account have a custom list fo exercises and let people put in how many they did of that every day, so they could track their progress. Thanks for your time.
I've been checking cyberpump almost daily for the last year and I have just one word WOW!. I am addicted to this site. Herk's log is awesome. Keep up the good work.
Hello,
I'm 15 years old and I discovered your site a few days ago and it turns out that this site has proved me wrong in so many ways I can't even count. I'm soo lucky I found this site before I did all my workouts the wrong way for years to come....who knows. This site is jam packed with information and is a real godsend. Keep up the good work, thank you.
Dale
Hey Fellas,
I was delighted to see the new "Herk's Log" series. Get more of his stuff ASAP. It is very refreshing. Have him talk more about his background in strength training. Also make sure to include his overall philosophy on working out, eating and whatever else.
I want you to know how much I appreciate your efforts and accomplishments involving Cyberpump. Keep up the unequalled excellance. Your site is the "Super Squats" of web resources, all others are half hearted concentration curls in comparison!
I just wanted to say I really liked the editor's commentary at the end of the new "Herk's Log" installment. The guy does his thing drug-free and balls-out, does it well, and enjoys it. Some people who are always out to criticize just don't get what it's really all about. Your proactive statement was right on the money.
-Stack
Hi Editor,
After reading the feedback you got from the Dr. Ken squats clip, and the message you put on the bottom of "Herk's" Training page, It seems like all you ever get is bad press from the HIT zealot squad.
Anyway I thought I'd give you the opinion of a regular 'hard training' guy who lifts at home, leaves his metronome with his musical instruments and thinks Cyberpump is a damn good site.
Here's a couple of things I want to thank you on.
1. Dr Ken's Squats clip: Thanks for putting this on your site. This was so cool to watch. Being in Australia I didn't get a chance to order the tape so it was great to watch the 407x23 set via your site.
If you have any more segments of Dr. Ken training please put them on the site (tell the HIT zealots to go somewhere else). I loved the 'Come on mother f.....' at the start of his set, that was hilarious. Also, it was cool of Dr. Ken to let you use the clip. He's a classy guy....
I can't beleive people carried on about his rep speed, what else can I say?
2. Matt Brycki Round table interview: Another cool feature. Thanks for that.
3. Herk's Training log: You wrote "You won't read here that Herk used
Androsol and it "felt like deca" or some other bullshit." I'm still
laughing at that. Cyberpump telling it like it is as always :)
4. One last thing. I got interested in hard training via your site almost a year ago. At that time I remember reading an article by Stuart McRobert in a muscle comic about 'regular guys who use conventional bb'ing methods are the lifters who can't 20-rep squat with their bodyweight equivelent'. (I think it was a Beyond Brawn excerpt).
Anyway not to bore you with the details but I made it a goal to squat bodyweight x20 and I did that a couple of weeks ago (im now squatting even heavier!). If it hadn't been for down to earth, honest info from your site(and the related ones like naturalstrength and hardgainer), I'd still be doing 3 x 10 sets of squats with about 50 pounds. And of course I've added weight to all my other exercises as well!
Ok thats it! Thanks for reading editor, you run a cool site.
You certainly are churnin' out the good stuff these days ;)
Regards,
Dan
Hello, I've been reading your site and have changed over to a HIT style of lifting. I have really enjoyed the fact that there are people who really just want to help others lift better, and don't have a financial benefit to gain. Anyway, besides wanting to commend/thank you, I had a suggestion for your site. You should add a dictionary of weightlifting terms. For example, I am often confused when if comes to grips, i.e. supinate, neutral, etc. I'm sure there are tons of things that you put in there, and it would be very useful. Hope that helps. Thanks again.
Happy lifting,
Chris
That was an excellent article by Jim Bryan. I'm glad you printed it. If nothing else, it will make some stop and think about what the HIT training is, can be, or should be; at least for them. Most still do not understand what "hard work" entails. Never have and never will. I was able to do it right once. Gained 40lbs in two months. Used a very abbreviated routine from the great John McCallum. Basic 20 rep squats. Three days a week. Couple of warmup sets of presses. O well. Thanks. Keep up the good work.
Respectfully;
Mick
I would like to take this time to tell you that I have been an advocate and practician of HIT for over 7 years now & your site is phenominal! The information in your website is what I have been preaching to everyone (sometimes to deaf ears) for what seems like forever! I have always been a Mike Mentzer junkee & I think that the message of HIT will eventually become the universally recognized, scientifically correct approach to total fitness not just for hardcore bodybuilders but the masses of people who are just lookng to "get in shape" or "lose weight", or "fat" as I like to call it. Please never go away and keep up the good work.
I am currently putting together a book / manual about my philosophy and when I had read some of the articles on your site, I could not believe how exact my ideas were to yours, especially in regards to aerobics! Most everyday people think I'm nuts when I tell them not to do aerobics. Thank you, thank you very much for the references!
Joe Lostritto
I just read Jim Bryans "do you want cheese with that whine" I couldn't agree more! I am a 33 yr old male who tried in vain for 12 years to achieve the kind of muscularity that would make people notice! Now I am by no means geneticly gifted, it's just the opposite, in fact most girls I've dated have all had a bone structure similar to mine (I could wear their watch if I wanted!!). I spent about about 12 years trying to break that mold of "fragile" that my father had placed on me as a kid(his reason for NEVER letting me play ANY sports in school)I wanted to be strong and muscular more than anything!!! At 20 yrs old I read every single "muscle comic" I could get my hands on, and consumed every suppliment these jokers recommended. If Lee Haney, and Lee Labrada could work-out three hrs each day, then so should I!! If 6 hrs wasn't enough, I'd do more, if 15 sets of 25 reps per muscle wouldn't make me grow, perhaps I needed more! I've NEVER admited this to ANYONE, but I even fell into the steroid trap! I found some sleaze ball in the gym to sell me some syringes of an oily mystery substance, and I carelessly stabbed it into my ass every couple of days for about a month (all I got was sick) I am still amazed I never did any PERMANENT damage!! When I was 30 yrs old I was in even worse shape! I was drinking, chewing tobacco, eating like s@#t and "mushy" One day out of frustration I began to study for a personal trainer cert. thinking this would be my last push to get some muscles and become a "MAN" (just goes to prove that anyone who can memerize can get certified to be a personal trainer). At 30 yrs old and a soft 175-180 pounds with small arms I began to INTELIGENTLY train my body for the kind of muscle I always wanted. I purchased Mike Mentzers (heavy duty I&II) while studying for my test which made it tough to remember all of the CRAP that my study material wanted me to learn! (I took my test and passed...blah, blah, blah) most importantly I found Mikes books, and Cyberpump about the same time, and began to train the HIT way (after all I've tried every other way) Let me say what some HITters are hesitant to say...(and it's not a bad thing)...I am LAZY!!! I loved the HIT way, (work-out twice a week, and sleep a lot!!) I used my anger and frustration to fuel my infrequent work-outs...to the point of collapse on several occasions! (to the dismay of the gym owner). I was fortunate to find a gym that had just suffered a fire, and they actually let people train there while it was still in ruins, and covered with soot! At $8.00 per month this was just what I needed, it mirrored my intensity!
Well, it's to late to make a long story short but, fast forward to today, and I am a succesful fitness trainer training the HIT way regardless of the client or their fitness level! I have trained skinny guys into thicker more muscular individuals, and I have trained morbidly obese women into tight little "hotties"...I knew I was finaly succesful at building my own physique when one night I was out on the town and a guy that I tho't was pretty muscular commented to some of his buddies that "now THOSE are the kind of arms that I'd like to have"...I could've kissed him!
My progress was by no means easy, but it WAS worth it! No miracle powders, no "roids", just infrequent INTENSE HEAVY compound movements!! I used to do thousands of curls with no progress, now I never do them, I just do pull-ups, deads, military, squats etc!....It's nice to finaly be able to fill the sleeves of an XL t-shirt....thanx guys!!
Don