Heh! I have NO DOUBT that I'm a hard-gainer. I amazed the people in my police academy by making only moderate gains in muscular strength even though I was *obviously* training just as hard (or harder) as everyone else (I mean...PT is supervised. Duh. And if you slacked you got called on it big time. I never slacked. Better to die a thousand deaths than drop out). And yeah, I'm sure I'm nowhere near a normal plateau level. Thus my search for a tweaked routine.
I just read the HIT FAQ and it does sound interesting. It is more of a philosophy than a routine, and elements of it are present in my current routine (work to volitional failure, etc) but some of it is new.
As to gym membership: I'm a phenominal tightwad about some things, this being one of them.
Our department, alas, does not give free memberships, and I'd much rather make an investment in stuff and do it at home as opposed to tossing money out every month for a membership. Naturally, this means I have to do my homework and make sure I am doing the right thing and have the right gear. Again, hence my questions.
Thanks again for all the replies.
Mike
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"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -Robert Heinlein