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Honestly, I think that early on pretty much anything works. You just have to be eating enough to get the growth. But doing HST was surely better than pulling a random routine out of a muscle magazine like I was doing before I found HST. I do think that vanilla HST is a good setup for people...

Are you starting with a roughly 12 RM load? I find that I usually get 11-15 reps the first initial set, then it usually drops by 2-3 reps for each dropset, but it varies depending on the day. But... I'm probably getting at least 10 seconds of rest before starting again, because I have to swap...

Honestly... I don't really remember that well. I do know I made some pretty massive gains over the course of the first two or three years. I think I went from ~140 lbs to ~200 lbs, obviously not super lean at 200 though. I think I stopped doing regular HST cycles once I stopped making...

Thanks. I did do vanilla HST for a while back in 2004-2006. I'm not entirely sure how long. I used to have all my logs and stuff from back then but lost the data at some point. I've strayed a few times but always come back to HST principles to base my routines on, regardless of the...

This is actually the sort of situation where I think specialization becomes important. Once you've reached a certain level, if you keep hammering away at the full body, you can end up spinning your wheels. Or in the quest of greatness, piling on more and more volume til you burn out. I find...

Good to see you around, Mikey. Congrats on the degrees, that's quite an accomplishment. I've tried exploring outside the bounds of HST in my years of training but like you, I always seem to come back to those core HST principles. It just makes sense. I'd definitely be interested to hear your...

Yeah... I get too hot in the summers over here, and especially when heavier. I was toying with the idea of just cutting down to a lean 100kg and not bulking up again, but you know how that goes. Hoping to hit a bodyweight of ~265 lbs/120kg this winter. Might intersperse a few shorter cuts in...

Site seems to be running properly now. It was almost inaccessible for a bit there. Not sure why this site gets targeted so much, maybe the forum software has some vulnerabilities that needed to be patched? You're right, non-lifting injuries suck. Seems like daily life is more hazardous than...

Alright, so here's the plan. Just for fun, just to see what this dropset protocol can do. Going to run a quad/pec specialization next block. Upper/lower split lifting 4 times a week. On lower day, I'll do squats for my main quad movement (probably alternating with leg press so I don't have...

I'm actually doing exactly as they did in the study. Pushdowns twice a week. I can't progress the weight because I start with the full stack, but doing it after main lifts that also tax triceps seems to be more than enough. It's worth noting that I am progressing the volume at least. I didn't...

I don't think it would be the worst thing imaginable to not 'officially' train your quads and just do some light work now and then to see how the pelvic area is doing. Does your bench have a leg extension apparatus on the end of it? Might be an option, as it pretty much limits you to just knee...

My arms have always been my worst muscle group and I long struggled to get out of the 16 inch range. So hitting a solid 17 without any kind of pump was a bit of a milestone for me. Only difference was that I started doing his drop set protocol. The difference in my triceps is quite...

Modified... basically I focus on one or two muscle groups per cycle with increased volume, while dropping volume back on everything else. For the high volume stuff, I do 25-30 reps of heavier work, then 25-30 reps of lighter work. For example, when I focus on pecs and quads, I would do barbell...

Still doing HST, still growing. That arm measurement was cold, after a few days off from lifting. Post-workout is a different story.

The important thing with approaching your sets this way is to make sure to regulate your volume on a per-session basis. Some days you will not be able to do as much, and that's fine. If you go all out the whole week, every week, then you'll probably start to feel like crap after a while...

1.5 grams of protein isn't too crazy. You'll have to supplement with shakes unless your calorie requirements for bulking are still relatively low. But that's not a big deal. Truenutrition.com has some great isolates that have 27 grams of protein, 0 carbs and 0 fats per scoops and blend easily...

Just to second what Browner said - deadlifts are great for rehab if you can handle them. You can do them with pretty much any basic weight set. Just start of slow and take it easy, don't push too hard for new maxes either. I'd add them in as an accessory lift for now and train them with lower...

What are you considering higher frequency? I mean, HST is based on the concept of higher frequency when compared to more traditional routines, so I'd think that Bryan's thoughts on frequency are pretty clear.

As you probably know from reading the articles here on the HST site, it is load over time that needs to increase rather than volume. This is the primary growth stimulus. Sure, you can increase volume over instead, but that will limit the load you can use. Also, consider the fact that volume...

+1 Auto-regulation is essential if you are going to do higher frequency. You can't go balls to the walls every day when you are lifting that often. You have to balance out the hard days with easy days. Lately, I do one higher volume day for lower and one for upper, then an easier day where I...