No. The roots of this workout philosophy started in Deland, Florida, in the early 1970's with Nautilus exercise machine inventor, Arthur Jones. Jones had a life long interest in exercise and his frequent columns in Ironman Magazine were favorites among the small bodybuilding subculture of the time. His training philosophies have subsequently been proven by countless scientific papers, as well as the real world experiences of thousands of trainees. In fact, Jones' training tomes Nautilus Bulletin #1 and #2 have stood the test of time, and are still highly relevant and informed reading nearly four decades later.

In the 1980's former Mr. America Mike Mentzer popularized his spin on HIT with his Heavy Duty series of books. At about the same time, Ken Hutchins was supervising a Nautilus sponsored osteoporosis study at the University of Florida in Gainesville when he made an astute observation: subjects that slowed their strength training movement speeds increased their results. Hutchins would later go on to create and trademark the concept of Superslow® training.

Other trainers, researchers, and authors came along in subsequent years including Ellington Darden, PhD., Adam Zickerman, Fredrick Hahn, and Doug McGuff, M.D.

McGuff's latest contribution, 2009 McGraw-Hill publication, Body by Science, includes an exhaustive review of the latest clinical research papers supporting the tenets of high intensity training. It is highly recommended reading.

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