Hey everyone I am currently on my 2nd HST bulk routine and I have had some great results. I am veering towards the end of my 2nd week of 5's and since I train alone, I will most likely just repeat the 5's again for 2 weeks. In my first cycle I continued the same weight that I did on the previous 2 weeks of 5's. I have two questions... Should I try to continue to go up 5-15 pounds for each workout like I did when I started my new cycle? I know this is more of a question of "how you feel" but I was curious on what other people would do in a situation like this. If I finish my 5 blocks of a max squat of lets say 295lbs, should I try to recalculate to max up to 305 for the next routine of 5's? Also, I am getting a little ahead of myself but I plan on doing my first cut after this cycle. I know cutting is for maintenance and not growth so should I use the same weight as my previous bulk cycle for each compound movement? I understand that the calorie deficit is not going to allow me to do the same amount of sets as my bulking cycle but I'm wondering if my body will be able to handle the same weight on a cut. If anyone could help me I would really appreciate it. Thanks
2nd Routine of 5's
- Thread starter amped34
- Start date
I suspect you have not received a lot of replies because everything you proposed is reasonable and subjective. My personal choice would be to continue the post 5's at the same weight and if you can get 6 reps fairly easily, up your weight a small amount and keep going at 5 reps. There is also merit in dropping down to 3 RM's but I find that a bit taxing on my joints after a week or so.
As for cutting. Start with the same weight as your previously cycle realizing that you may have to drop the weight a little bit as you lose bulk. Most people cut using only 5's but I personally recommend cycling between 8's and 5's. The idea is to keep as much strength as possible. SD is not mandatory when cutting unless your joints or CNS start to feel over worked. Diet will be more of a key than the actual number of reps or how close to failure you train. In most cases it is best to bulk slow and cut slow. You do not want to get into a position of hyperplasia of fat cells. Then you are always going to look a little soft now matter your body fat %. 6,000 calorie diets are meant for endurance athletes and super heavy power lifters, not aesthetic lifters.
As for cutting. Start with the same weight as your previously cycle realizing that you may have to drop the weight a little bit as you lose bulk. Most people cut using only 5's but I personally recommend cycling between 8's and 5's. The idea is to keep as much strength as possible. SD is not mandatory when cutting unless your joints or CNS start to feel over worked. Diet will be more of a key than the actual number of reps or how close to failure you train. In most cases it is best to bulk slow and cut slow. You do not want to get into a position of hyperplasia of fat cells. Then you are always going to look a little soft now matter your body fat %. 6,000 calorie diets are meant for endurance athletes and super heavy power lifters, not aesthetic lifters.
Last edited by a moderator:
You can use 10's. I prefer to keep weights heavier when suggesting a cut as keeping strength loss at a minimum is the real key to maintaining as much muscular size as possible. Cutting and doing 15-25 reps constantly will shrink you down real quick but not in a good way. That is a good way to lose weight, especially if you are obese, not to cut body fat and to retain muscle. Seesawing your reps every two weeks is a good way to approach it. You could also do it every other workout as some current research suggest that more frequent periodization may hold some advantages. The jury is still out on that yet as far as I am concerned.
By slow bulk/cut, I mean no more than 500 calories extra or less than maintenance and usually using a 6 month time frame, more or less. However, as you bulk or as you cut, your maintenance level of calories will change so you have to guesstimate that in as well. Should you start yo-yo-ing your diet up and down constantly as some 'experts' recommend, your metabolism does not know what you want it to do and you will not be satisfied with the results.
Also refer to Totz's ebook for some great information about bulking and cutting, reps, etc.
By slow bulk/cut, I mean no more than 500 calories extra or less than maintenance and usually using a 6 month time frame, more or less. However, as you bulk or as you cut, your maintenance level of calories will change so you have to guesstimate that in as well. Should you start yo-yo-ing your diet up and down constantly as some 'experts' recommend, your metabolism does not know what you want it to do and you will not be satisfied with the results.
Also refer to Totz's ebook for some great information about bulking and cutting, reps, etc.
Very well said thank you for that knowledge. Using the formula in the HST book I have been bulking at about 2900 calories. Using formula 1 at 180lbs x 12 my BMR is 2160. For cutting subtracting another 500 would put me at 1660 calories, does this seem a little too low? I was reading a previous topic of a guy bulking at 3000 and Totentanz recommending maybe trying 2000 for his cut.
Yes I did both formulas and they came out similar. I do not work on my feet all day since I am a student so I only accounted for x1.2 for a 3 day HST routine. With the second formula my cutting would be averaging at about 1800 and formula 1 was about 1700.
That makes sense thank you. In your opinion is HIIT or cardio even worth it during a cut?
I will be honest with you... I don't do cardio when I cut. However, I can cut on much higher calories than 1800, so that certainly helps. If you find yourself starving constantly (keep in mind that cutting IS technically starving yourself) and you need to up the calories, add in cardio to compensate. However, lifting is the important thing during a cut. Can you cut without cardio? Yes. I'm not the only one who does it. Martin Berkhan of leangains fame has commented about getting cut without cardio himself. Am I saying not to do it? No. If you have time, then by all means... go ahead. But keep your main focus on lifting. Get the lifting in first. Then if you have time for cardio, do it.
As for HIIT vs steady state, makes not a lot of difference in the long run. I do feel that HIIT compromises your legs for squats and etc on a cut, and so if you must do HIIT, I'd prefer it to be on a rowing machine or something.
As for HIIT vs steady state, makes not a lot of difference in the long run. I do feel that HIIT compromises your legs for squats and etc on a cut, and so if you must do HIIT, I'd prefer it to be on a rowing machine or something.
yes instead of doing negs,to increase my cycle by a couple of weeks i just add 1set a wk up to 6sets.
Makes sense thank you for your input. I just finished my first workout on my cut. (I'm following Tots workout recommendation from his ebook) I have a few more questions if you guys wouldn't mind answering. 1. After researching macros for cutting I have decided to go with a high protein, moderate carb, low fat diet. I have about 150 carbs to play with. How many carbs would you recommend I cycle around my workout? During my bulk I was usually sipping on gatorade or dextrose powder at about 80 grams. 2. On the sets sticky in the HST FAQ section it was recommended that on your 2nd week of 10's and 5's you drop down to just 1 set per exercise. I understand this is more of a preference question, but in your opinion since I am only doing 5-6 compound exercises should I try to stick to 2 sets every workout? 3. What is your preference to creatine monohydrate during cutting? I have found mixed results on different forums. Thanks!
Sci
Well-Known Member
•No, you don't need 6 sets of 5 reps on a cut. •Yes, 6 sets of 5 can be good for HST, but you DON'T use your 5 rep max! You use 75%-100% of your 5 rep max progressing gradually over two or more weeks. That is not set in stone, you could even make it more high-volume tolerable by keeping the loads around 70%-95% of your 5 rep max, so you aren't hitting failure all the time.
Faz, I now understand what you were explaining. After reading Bryan's "How Big Should You Go?" article I see that the greatest anabolic response is obtained when using 30-60 total reps per muscle group per session. I am assuming this should be optimized during a bulk cycle. I was just a little confused because I have been following the ebook and the 2-3 set rule per muscle group. And thank you for the clarification Sci, I just wanted to make sure how many sets were optimal during a cut.