Do I need SD for this cycle ?

S

scopestuff

New Member
I've been training for 5+ months. Made reasonable gains on a 2 day split done twice weekly (M/T and Th/Fri)

I've used up the EZ nubie gains and now would like to give HST a shot.

Here is where I could use some guidance:

2/9 - 2/19: I took 10 days off from 2/9 - 2/19 nursing a back injury. It still nagging but I seem to be able to work around it.
2/20 - 2/26: I did M/W/F whole body workout using 20rep routine described in 'Ripped' by C.Bass. I've decided against that routine in favor or HST.
2/27 - 3/5: This week I'm doing a M/W/F full-body (exact workout described in the Dummies thread) to establish 15/10/5 rep maxes respectively.

Given the above, the fact that I very recently took 10 days off and have really mixed up the routine since then - leaving me feeling very 'deconditioned', do I really need to do the SD or can I just jump into the 15's next week ? ?

Thank you in advance !
 
Every new person asks this and every time people tell them that they will likely get better results if they SD beforehand... but you know what? If you don't want to, then don't. The 15s could serve as a deloading phase in this case, and you should be somewhat deconditioned by the time you hit the 10s. Yes, you should SD but if you aren't going to, then you aren't going to. It won't make a huge difference in results, assuming you know how to eat enough.
 
Thank you for the quick reply.

I think I've got the diet pretty well dialed in.

I pay close attention to pre/post workout nutrition, marcos and calories have been tracked so I know maintenance cals, typically eat 7 meals/day with attention to carbs early in the day and always a fat/protein bedtime snack ( eg cottage cheese/almond butter), Flax and Olive-oil supplements, etc, etc. Then I keep an eye on the mirror. I tend to run lean, so when see I'm loosing a bit of definition, I just dial back the cals a tad for a week or so.

Thing is I like my time in the gym as much as I like the results. Another 10-day layoff is not something that I'd find enjoyable.

Thank you again for the quick reply !
 
<div>
(Totentanz @ Mar. 01 2006,17:06)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Every new person asks this and every time people tell them that they will likely get better results if they SD beforehand... but you know what? If you don't want to, then don't. The 15s could serve as a deloading phase in this case, and you should be somewhat deconditioned by the time you hit the 10s. Yes, you should SD but if you aren't going to, then you aren't going to. It won't make a huge difference in results, assuming you know how to eat enough.</div>
Not a bad way to look at it being that it is different than the standard advice that is given (must SD for a noobie) One week SD wouldn't hurt though.
 
Scopestuff

Although I agree with Tot, I'd stiall say if you spend a good week getting all your maxes right, you could indeed phase in a nice week's SD.

However it is not that important for now, remeber to use it though in the future as it should be!

Enjoy!
 
Like the guys said, you will get better results from an SD. I don't want you to think I'm saying that you should never SD. If you don't SD this time, you should definitely do it after this cycle... not just to decondition, but also to heal up. For me, after heavy 5s and post5s for so long, I need the rest to recuperate. I'm fairly young, but even I start to get some significant joint pain near the end - that's usually the sign it's time to take some time off... SD is still very important in this game.
 
I think that SDing is a big part of the size-gains seen with HST.  I am currently working with 5x5 and thus I don't SD, but rather reduce my weights back by four weeks once I can no longer increase the weights.  This zig-zag scheme has continued to provide good strength gains, but size gains have slowed as compared with HST.

With that said, it is still useful to remember that gaining size is not a black &amp; white issue (at least, I don't think so).  I think you'll experience size gains with or without the SD, but you may gain more by doing the SD.  So, I think whatever you have been doing up until now is a factor.  After doing many weeks of 5x5, I will definitely SD before starting a new HST cycle.  But if I was using my 20RM weights for two weeks, I don't think I'd bother SDing until after the HST cycle.  It's really something that you have to weigh out for yourself.

On the other hand, a serious attempt at SDing may be a good idea for healing up that back injury of yours.
sad.gif
 
Thank you for all the repsonses !

The week of testing 15/10/5 rep maxes were all great workouts. I no longer feel 'deconditioned'. That, and the advice given by all of you, have led me to decide a 1-week SD is probably a good idea.

So, next question is what are nutrition goals during SD ?

I started a thread in the nutrition area rather than having this thread go off-topic. I appreciate any additional guidance.

What are Nutrition Goals during SD ?
 
What? Creatine doesn't need to be cycled if that is what you are asking. Just keep taking a maintenance amount each day, or stop taking it during SD if you want. Doesn't matter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top