Recent content by Kate

:D Hi, cyclonus and welcome! Yes, you can split it into one workout for six days, if that works better for your schedule. You have the right idea on the compounds. It refers to the number of joints in motion. Compound exercise for chest would be a press, isolation would be fly, for example...

For the most part my husband likes the results of my lifting, but he has a little trouble with the skinned shins and the (as he calls them) squat hickies. Actually, I've never considered hair removal as a benefit of DLs. The things you learn at this site! :D

Hhhmmmmm I wonder.... Might be neurological issues of some sort, balance perhaps? Maybe the trap bar somehow forced you into a stronger form, which is now ingrained and translated nicely to lifting the straight bar. I have no idea really That was the wildest guess I could come up with...

:D Hi, donnie and welcome! Deconditioning is a very important part of this program. The shortest recommended SD is 9 days and many of our experienced lifters do far more. However, as a novice, you will get decent results from just about any kind of lifting (as long as it doesn't mess up that...

On some of the machines at my gym I am able to place a 3 pound DB on either side of the (whatever you call that pole the weights slide up and down on). so I go up 6 pounds one workout, four on the next. Close enough, I think. Whatever you do in adding weights, try to keep it centered on the...

Okay, so just "thinking out loud" here.... I may not even need to worry about testing the second exercise of a given superset. If I add said exercise in the tens as a stretch point isolation exercise, the stretch will be more important than the load or the number of reps. I may be...

Jules! Seems I always find a diamond in your posts. Today there were two. I seem to forget to factor in the effect on the nervous system at times... The light bulb really came on with the elbow angles, so in case this might help someone else: If you focus on grip widths, you are thinking...

Prior to HST, I preferred supersets as part of my training. Some of my favorites: incline presses and flyes, close grip presses and nose crushers, leg extensions and walking lunges. Supersets are efficient, feel great (to me at least ), are good for keeping joints mobile, and have a nice...

Ian! Cortisol does not help you grow, no matter what system you are using. (You worry too much) You have commited to a cycle of HST. Can you hang in there for six more weeks and watch what happens? In the meanwhile, a few things to keep in mind: 1. "Feel" does not build muscle...

Hi, Ryan! :D Max testing is best done before you SD. I'd say guesstimating for the early workouts may be best. You don't want to waste that beautiful 2 month SD dinking around with minor weight adjustments. I'd take the program as you set it up in January, and simply drop back a weight...

Hhhmmmmm a trend. I wonder if it is a mild, full-body inflammatory response... I wouldn't dare weigh myself that often... I'd be nuts(er)! Ian check this out: I found this doing a quick search. I didn't have time to check it out. Seems to be a retail-type website but may have the info you...

 Right!  And Ian is not used to this high rep work so he is working with a bunch of new muscle fibers.  I'm thinking there may be a mild inflammatory response as a result.   Drinking more water than usual may help (if you can spare the additional trips to the loo).   ;)   It should calm down as...

Yep! If you're doing them for hammies, the low back should be locked tight, and all the motion should happen at the hips. Fatigue as a result of this isometric contraction is pretty normal, although my back is more apt to complain from the higher rep work.

:D Ian! I didn't mean to be insulting... sorry! I have a tendency to lecture in general for anyone who might use the info. Don't get into the over thinking trap and definitely don't focus so much on what you aren't doing. If you follow the basic plan and you eat properly, HST should work for...

Lots of good advice here... to me this is the bottom line. I train abs separately once or twice a week as part of my "keeping the old joints up and running" workout. I don't have the stomach for quite as many reps as O&G, but do keep them in the 12 to 15 range. My "ab&quot...