One question before i consider doing HST

D

DeMello

New Member
Ive been researching for days, reading stickies, skimming threads and have not found the anwser to this question...do i go pass my set rep number (ie 15, 10, or 5) for that block if i feel i can?

to break it down, ill use ez bar curl as an example. lets say my 15 rep max is 80lbs
day 1 - 55
day 2 - 60
day 3 - 65
day 4 - 70
day 5 - 75
day 6 - 80

now this means on day 1 im only going to do 2 sets of 55LBsx15? even though ill have MUCH more left in me? it kind of sounds like a pointless time in the gym to do such a ligth workout

and at day 6 if i get to my 15th rep with 80 pounds and feel i can keep going do i hit 16+ reps or just stop?

thanks in advance
 
Hi DeMello..

In a nutshell... One of the main principles of HST is that of progressive load. In order to increase the load each workout, you will clearly need to start at a weight well below your rep max. The increase should be roughly between 10% & 20% per w/o.
Therefore, you first couple of w/o's are naturally gonna be light. Thats the point...
if you start at your rep max, you will not be increasing the weight for the next 5 days.

Some people do suggest doubling up the weights, if you're embarassed lifting very light weights in the gym... ie;
day 1 - 60
day 2 - 60
day 3 - 70
day 4 - 70
day 5 - 80
day 6 - 80


Personally, I dont use exercises where the weight is that light anyway - leg presses, dips, chins etc... so my ego isnt dented! Also, 2 sets of 15 reps will still fatigue you, even with light weights, if your muscles arent used to that?

It is ok to do an extra rep or two on Day 6, if you feel you can. That is the w/o where you are aiming for your rep max anyway, so hitting failure, or close too, is ideal.
That is when you increase your Day 6 rep max on the next cycle.

Hope this answers your question. All this information is all over the forum, particularly the introduction on the front page, and the FAQ I think. Sometimes there is a lot of reading to do... but it is always easier to just ask the question on here anyway?

Good luck

Brix
 
thanks alot brixtonianhttp://thinkmuscle.com/forum/member.php?33927-Brixtonian, that was the kind of anwser i was looking for!
luckily for me all my lifting happens at my house tho so the ego factor isnt an issue lol

you stated that the 2 sets of 15 would probly still be a workout since im not use to it but in my case i am already. latley ive been lifting with the "muscle power burn" approach but ill definitly being giving this a try in a few weeks after an SD

one other question, instead of doing 80% 80% 90% 90% 100% 100% would results still come if you cylced 3 or 4 weeks at a time instead of 6?

maybe something like 15,10,5,2, SD, repeat?

sometimes i have an issue sticking with something the same for over a month lol
 
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DeMello said:
sometimes i have an issue sticking with something the same for over a month lol
Click to expand...

No offence intended, but if you want to make real progress, then get over that issue. You need to become accustomed to looking at things in a much longer term than just one month. I and most of the people here I know have make a lot of progress over the years all set goals in the order of months at the minimum. Some of us set goals for the year. We don't look at just one month. To know if something is going to work for you takes a lot longer than a month. When most of us try something out that is different, we give it at least a few months to see if it is doing anything.

Now, the reason you do not rep out completely with a weight is due to recovery. You want to be feeling strong when you get to the day where you are doing your RM for that rep range. If you are all worn out from going all out every session, you probably won't be able to do all your RMs in one session.

The other reason not to rep out each workout is because you don't need to. You think you need to, but you don't. Why do it if it is unnecessary? One of the goals of HST is to do enough work to illicit growth, not too much work though because that compromises recovery and limits your ability to progress. Remember, progression is the most important thing here. Just because you feel like it is a pointless workout, doesn't mean it is. You don't have to be limpiing out of the gym when you are done with a workout for it to make you grow.
 
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no offense taken, i completely agree with your statements

IM competing at a NAGA tournment in 2 weeks so i guess now would be a good time to take a week to find my RMs and then do an SD (since rite b4 i compete i wont be lifting anyways)

for my workouts im thinking...
bench
ez bar curl
shoulder press with dumbells
tricep pulldown on a machine
Lat pulldown on a machine
deadlift
leg press
seated calf raise
situps with weight added?

any other suggustions?
and i guess this turned out to be more then one question lol
 
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One other little thing to remember is that 15s are beneficial in another way: inducing hypoxic/oxidative stress creates an environment that promotes joint and tendon health. So you need to get a burn going during the 15s to prep your joints etc. for the heavier stuff to come. Because I don't like doing slow reps, I tend to do more reps when the loads are at their lightest. I might get to within a couple of reps of failure in order to get a really good burn; that might take 25 reps with the lightest loads!
 
Lol said:
One other little thing to remember is that 15s are beneficial in another way: inducing hypoxic/oxidative stress creates an environment that promotes joint and tendon health. So you need to get a burn going during the 15s to prep your joints etc. for the heavier stuff to come. Because I don't like doing slow reps, I tend to do more reps when the loads are at their lightest. I might get to within a couple of reps of failure in order to get a really good burn; that might take 25 reps with the lightest loads!
Click to expand...

i do the same as lol,i usualy get to about 20 reps.
 
Thanks guys i've been looking for a thread like this one for a while and now i've found Land Insurance it's given me the best ideas for amending my workout slightly to gain better results.
 
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banders said:
Thanks guys i've been looking for a thread like this one for a while and now i've found it it's given me the best ideas for amending my workout slightly to gain better results.
Click to expand...
Agreed, thanks all for the info. This definitely clears up my question about the 15s.
 
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