Bonus High Intensity Interview: Drew Baye
This month we are fortunate to have a very special Bonus Interview guest with us-the one and only Drew Baye.
Drew is a well respected High Intensity Training expert, and a personal trainer in the Orlando, Florida area. Over his career he has learned from some of the best-including Mike Mentzer, Arthur Jones, Ellington Darden, Greg Anderson, Ken Hutchins and Jim Flanagan, just to name a few-and has taken all that knowledge, combined it with his own thinking and experience, and turned himself into one of the top High Intensity trainers in the world.
Listen in as Drew reveals:
- Why he got fired from his bartending job over diet advice
- The fascinating way he motivates himself for his workouts
- His ingenius “dynamic exercise order” technique (I took notes on this one)
- The unique way he incorporates “rest-pause” training into his routines
- Why he had to leave and come back during the interview-twice (hilarious)
- What exciting training breakthroughs he’s working on at the moment
- And much, much more!
To hear the Drew Baye interview, just click on the play arrow (the little triangle on the left) below:
Make sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of Drew’s interview!
P.S. Here are the pictures Drew is referring to in his comment below:
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Great interview with Drew. I also utilize rest-pause frequently in my version of progressive weight lifting. For example, say I reach my target of 5 reps on the squat, without using rest-pause. For my next squat workout, the weight on the bar is increased to an amount that requires me to use at least 3 rest-pause reps to complete the target 5 reps. Overtime, I will eventually not need to use rest-pause to complete the target 5 reps. I then increase the weight on the bar for the next squat workout so that I need to use 3 rest-pause reps again, and so on. Also, I agree with the use of what Drew calls “dynamic exercise order”. I don’t have a name for this (I like Drew’s), but I do this all the time by alternating the order of my compound exercises (e.g. squat and deadlift) on subsequent workouts. It really does work.
Thanks again Dave for the spot on interviews!
Max
Hey Dave,
I enjoyed talking with you and I hope your readers like the interview! I’ll e-mail you an image with photos of me before and after I started doing high intensity training earlier in college, since I’m sure the 30 pound figure will raise a few eyebrows.
I think rest-pause is a goer as well; I get wicked post-workout pain when I make extensive use of it – I take this as an indication that I’ve worked out more completely and effectively than normal.
Awesome Interview! – let me know more about the HIT certification program. I would love to be part of it as one of the certifying instructors on your team or experts. Drew def knows his (S)HIT! – MR
I learned the concept of dynamic exercise order from Joe Mullen, but I do not recall if he has his own term for it. In a nutshell, the general guidelines I use for exercise order are:
1. Compound (multi-joint) movements first.
2. Simple (single-joint) movements last.
3. Within each category (compound and simple) exercises are performed in order of either priority or previous performance. If you are trying to bring up a lagging body part, it should be worked earlier. If everything is pretty well balanced, which ever exercise you made the least improvement on the last time you performed the workout is done earliest in the group.
4. Neck exercises are an exception. Starting with neck flexion, extension, and lateral flexion will not detract from your ability to perform any compound movements, and I like to do them first when my focus is best.
5. Forearm and grip exercises should always be performed at the end of the workout so your grip is not compromised during other exercises.
6. Try to avoid performing two exercises in sequence involving direct work for the same muscle groups unless intentionally pre-exhausting. Alternating between muscle groups allows a heavier weight to be used or more reps to be performed on each.
My workout charts have a small box in the upper right corner of the weight/reps box to record the sequence. For every exercise I do, I write the weight used, the repetitions performed (as well as any additional forced reps, negatives, etc.) and the sequence of the exercises for later comparison.
While some would argue this makes progress harder to objectively evaluate (did you get stronger, or did you just get more reps because you did the exercise earlier in the workout?), as long as you’re steadily going up over time on each exercise you can be certain you’re getting stronger, since over time each of the exercises will have rotated to an earlier position in the workout.
Comment I got on Facebook today:
“awesome info. The dynamic ordering was something I was already kind of doing, and like drew i never would put a isolation move before a compound move, unless i intended to pre exhaust, which i don’t do alot.”
hey…took some time for that interview…was good stuff,havent heard drew actually speak before,besides a telephone call or two in the past; i have a few specific comments to share; i respectfully submit that, although its all very solid and constructive and educational information,…I am an inventor and strength machine engineer working on some next generation weightstack concepts,and i am pretty damn sure that the ONE aspect of strength training that i NEVER hear about,is machine design.You wont find too many folks (who strength train) to consider- for more than 2 1/2 seconds- how weightstack machine designs are extremely limited in what they can do. You put the pin in your weight and it stays the SAME throughout the set unless you (come to rest,then) change the pin; the cam is, in reality, a basically irrelevant device that does not accomplish much. Most of us, who use very high intensity training techniques, know intuitively (whether they realize or not), that a person is strongest on their first rep (so can lift more weight) and weakest on their last rep. Lifting the same weight on every rep in a set is basically NOT very efficient. Logic would tell most of us, that its a no brainer that current weightstack machine designs are yesterday’s news. and it seems to me, that that same scientific philosophy can be applied to most strength training. The trouble is, that you will find FEW, if any people, in today’s fitness industry, who either care about, or grasp, those facts,and that is why the industry can not get out of its own way on the new ideas front. While things like exercise order,intensity, volume, frequency and percentage of RM are all good things to know,…its ultimately machine design and engineering that can help make a big difference…but trying to have a conversation about having more control of the resistance during the exercise,seems to just fly over the head of a lot of people.
I have a huge respect for Drew and consider him an intelligent well spoken person. I just think that a lot of topics brought up in a typical conversation these days on strength training, sound a lot like the ones i heard many years ago- and despite the manufacturing process having gotten better, the actual equipment has really not changed much, though science HAS (much less ridiculous 6 to 8+ set thinking).
Again…was nice to listen…sry for the lengthy comment..
thanks for your time,
scott naidus
Scott,
How a person trains is much more important than what equipment is being used. One can achieve an appropriate load, level of fatigue and progress without any machine; frankly, without any strength training equipment. So, it would make sense that things like Drew is discussing would be discussed. A technique that may help someone continue progressing is relevant and people want to hear about it.
I completely disagree that machine design and engineering is, or ever will be, the thing that makes the biggest difference. Intelligence, intuitiveness, experimentation, discovery, adapatation and the will to work hard trumps any machine, any day of the week. IMO.
Joe