15 Reps - Extend Max for a week?

[The Long Run]

Well I know its been good for them for this last couple of weeks.

During my last cycle I had a bout of bad tendonitis which actually made me have to cut my 5 rep max period short.

I did nothing for 3 weeks, and started back another cycle with the usual added weights (5-10 lbs, accept for barbell curls). I'm at the end of the 15 reps and BOY did I need it!

My pumps are larger than I've ever had in my life, I have a new body it looks like!!! I know this is mainly just pump and only temporary, yada, yada.

My question is will it hurt my REAL muscle gains for this cycle when I get into the 10s and 5s.......IF.......I continue this 15 rep max period for another week???

I'm afraid of the tendonitis coming back in my forearms and was also not feeling so good in the shoulder area in the bench press during my last cycle.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I am ready to go into another week TOMORROW and it will either be another 15s or go into the 10s!!!

Thanks!!

 

[mikeynov]

Doing another week of 15's is absolutely fine.

I'd so go far as to say that modifying the program over time based on issues like these that come up is what's going to allow you to tailor HST to you as an individual, and thus make it work in perpetuity.

Don't be afraid to listen to your body, for it is wise.

 

[EagleTree]

Since I'm at exactly the same point (will complete my last workout of 15s at 4:00 pm today), I'm curious how you plan to do this. On this last day, my AM workout peaked (mil press failed at about 14.5 reps and just barely finished a 15th cheat rep on my rows, I won't sustain another 5 pound increase and meet reps). I also have leftover tendinitis (the golfer elbow sort) that's going to nail my 10s when I start chins. But due to the schedule planning, there is no room to progress. Are you thinking of holding at your 15RM?

Your comments about pumped size are interesting to me. That's what my previous HST 10s test showed and this 15 cycle has done the same. In both cases I've shown a pumped measurement that dramatically increases and a smaller but measurable resting flexed measurement gain on biceps. In just these two cycles, I'm showing about an inch in pumped flexed size increase and about a 1/4 in resting flexed measurement (can't measure this well with only two consecutive days off each week). If two us are getting such a difference in pumped measurement, I'd like to know what about HST is causing this swelling (not that I'm going to complain too much). To say temporary may be accurate but I've not had this happen with other programs. My biceps frankly have grown almost none as the rest of my body develops, now all of sudden there are measurable changes. I'm wondering if the extreme numbers of sets I was doing before was stopping growth in most groups?

The other thing I'm trying to determine about pumped increases is the validity of what many people think about pumped size. One school of thought is that it's your potential of size at current mass (seems logical). If so, pumped growth would indicate hypertrophy regardless of the fact it's just temporal edema? That is, a workout by workout increase in edema is a metric for bulk gain. Anyone have an idea if this is a valid explanation to what we are experiencing?

 

[TunnelRat]

<div>
(mikeynov @ Aug. 17 2008,2:20)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I'd so go far as to say that modifying the program over time based on issues like these that come up is what's going to allow you to tailor HST to you as an individual, and thus make it work in perpetuity.</div>
Yup, it would seem that a fundamental principle of HST is that you can tweak just about anything...!

 

[The Long Run]

Thanks for the responses guys. That's exactly what I needed to hear. My body is telling me it needs this and I'm going to definitely listen.

Eagletree: I'm going to continue another week of my 15RM. This is what has given me the largest pumps and the most lactic acid burn. I can't say for sure why your pumps on HST are the largest they've been, but I can tell you why mine are.

For me, HST really shocks my muscles. It doesn't know whether its coming or going with all the rep changes and when its been at its max for a while then all of a sudden I'm doing nothing. When it gets used to &quot;nothing&quot; I hit it with high reps at the beginning of another cycle.

My body never ceases to respond to HST it an awesome way. I know eventually that will slow down as I reach closer and closer to my genetic potential but right now I am enjoying the heck out of it !!!

I'm not quite sure I understand what you are saying about the pump and that being potential permanent size?

I can tell you this about my own experiences. Every cycle I get a pump from the 15s which I know is blood and water (I take creatine), etc. Then by the time I've been in my 5 maxes I've actually hit that size with permanent muscle size, no pump.

This is part of the reason these present 15s have been so exciting to me, I know I'm pretty much gonna be this size permanently in a little over a month!!

Don't ask me how it all works, but I think circulation into the muscle is very important to muscle growth and HST allows for this, on top of progressive load building up to high weight low rep hypertrophy training.

OK I will shut up now.