advice for 2nd cycle

mike66

New Member
Ok, I just finished my last day of negs and am about to start my sd. Should I find out my rm's for the next cycle before I sd or after???
Also, I would like some advice for my second cycle. Here is my first cycle and I had alot of gains on this

squats
incline bench
military press
rows
pull ups
dips
shrugs
calf raises
curls
tricep press
abs
low back

any advice would be greatly appreciated..
thanks
mike
 
ill let other comment on the specific exer.

you should know your RM for 15,10 and 5 since youve done a cycle. if by alot of gains you mean in your lifts then you see how RM can be affected even during the cycle. just take the max wgt you were using for the 15,10,5 last cycle and add @10%. youll know in just a few w/o at each rep range whether you need to adjust that # up or down.

good luck
 
No deadlifts? I would have more than just squats for thighs, stiff-leg deads or regular dead-lifts will help strengthen your hamstrings and lower back, etc.
Dead-lifts always hit my hamstrings hard, I am always sore in the back of my thighs after deadlifts, no matter which style I use.
 
Yeah, you have to have deadlifts.
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For me, I just don't seem to grow as much if I am not deadlifting. Deadlifts permit the greatest overall load and should be a part of every routine.
 
Agree with the guys. Some kind of deadlift is a must. Normal deads are the only exercise where you get to feel like you are pushing everything to the limit. The results are worth it too. Just make sure you work on form before pushing up the poundages. Keep that back flat and get those shoulders moving before the hips!
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(liegelord @ Oct. 27 2006,23:59)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Yeah, you have to have deadlifts.  
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 For me, I just don't seem to grow as much if I am not deadlifting.  Deadlifts permit the greatest overall  load and should be a part of every routine.</div>
I'm about to start my first cycle and I have deads in there, but wasn't planning on doing them until I get to the 10's and 5's. Was just going to do RDL's for the 15's, since higher rep/lower weight conventional deads didn't seem to make as much sense(?) Am I making a mistake by not doing them in the 15's?
 
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(r_graz @ Oct. 28 2006,17:00)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Am I making a mistake by not doing them in the 15's?</div>
No, that's fine. I don't start on normal deads until 5s. Up until then I either do SLDLs or RDLs.
 
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(Lol @ Oct. 28 2006,17:14)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(r_graz @ Oct. 28 2006,17:00)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Am I making a mistake by not doing them in the 15's?</div>
No, that's fine. I don't start on normal deads until 5s. Up until then I either do SLDLs or RDLs.</div>
Why is that LOL? I do them for all rep schemes. Yes, they are exhausting for the 15's but that's OK. So are squats. I use the light weights to check my form as injuries are possible with both lifts.
 
I find that SLDLs are really great for my hammies and I don't wimp on them so they are not easy. I don't use much less weight than I would be using for regular deads but I do feel the extra effect in my hams. Plus I do them right after squats so during 15s I feel like stopping there and going home!  
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It's not that I wouldn't recommend normal deads for the whole cycle. I think they are fantastic, but I'm just trying to get both exercises in each cycle. I'm not so keen on doing SLDLs for 5s with 350lbs just in case I do something silly by mistake and snadger my back. That's why I switch to regular deads during 5s. Plus, I usually start them at 10 reps anyway (even though I'm on 5s) as I start off with a weight not that much heavier than my 10RM for SLDLs (315lbs). They feel a fair bit easier so I get 10 reps without frying my CNS as much.

So far I am enjoying this set-up so I'll stick with it for a while yet as it's working well. If poss, I want to get to 500lbs in my deads by the end of 2007. I have less than 100lbs to go!  
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Sounds like a solid plan LOL. If it ain't broke, don't change it!    
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I don't do SLDL or Good Mornings because of previous back surgery. I use a trap bar for deadlifts as it puts less strain on my lower back, hits my quads and glutes more directly, I can use more weight and I don't scrape my shins. A good thing for hypertrophy but not if you are training for competitive lifting (but I passed that stage way over a quarter century ago). Now I lift mostly to keep my skeleton from collapsing around itself!  
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I don't back squat and deadlift in the same workout, I think it's best to alternate them, Mondays and Friday are back squats and Wed. is deadlift. I'd prefer to drop deadlifts in the 15's though, I did 415x15 and thought I was going to die. But they're worth it. I think they're worse if you don't do any cardio during the SD.
 
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(Old and Grey @ Oct. 28 2006,23:39)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Now I lift mostly to keep my skeleton from collapsing around itself!  
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Yeah!
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That's why I thought I'd better start doing some training! My back was giving me all sorts of bother due to too much sitting around for years. Now it's starting to feel like my strongest bodypart, thanks mainly to deads.

I hear you Liege! I was going to mention that this cycle I felt particularly wasted after squats and SLDLs during 15s (I'm only half way through too). I didn't do any cardio during SD but I also extended the 5s last cycle (although I did superset where possible). Those two things combined seem to have made the 15s seem even harder than usual, but then the loads are heavier this time so what did I expect?!

By the way, I can't even imagine what 415 for 15 reps is like! 
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 At my present strength levels I would surely die just trying for 5 reps!
 
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(liegelord @ Oct. 28 2006,20:11)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I did 415x15.</div>
That's a lot of weight to be moving!
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Yeah, liegelord is pretty much a complete and total bad ass. 415 is what I'm shooting for as my 5 RM soon, and he's doing it in his 15s! Ah, maybe soon...

Does cardio during SD actually make the 15s not so sucky? I'm in the beginning of a new HST cycle, doing the 15s this time and the first couple sessions of 15s sucked so much that I was thinking of just going right into 10s. Yes, I'm a wuss, but my 15 RM for squats is 205, I'm still a few increments away and already hating the high reps... I have a feelng it's going to suck hard on the last day. Seriously, It almost feels like I'm doing depletions from UD2.0 again.
 
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(Totentanz @ Oct. 29 2006,15:13)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Yeah, liegelord is pretty much a complete and total bad ass.  415 is what I'm shooting for as my 5 RM soon, and he's doing it in his 15s!  Ah, maybe soon...

Does cardio during SD actually make the 15s not so sucky?  I'm in the beginning of a new HST cycle, doing the 15s this time and the first couple sessions of 15s sucked so much that I was thinking of just going right into 10s.  Yes, I'm a wuss, but my 15 RM for squats is 205, I'm still a few increments away and already hating the high reps... I have a feelng it's going to suck hard on the last day.  Seriously, It almost feels like I'm doing depletions from UD2.0 again.</div>
this is actually one of the aspects of HST that i like the most. doing 15's can get to be a real cardio w/o especially after a # of cycles and your really dialed into what your 15 RM is so signif strength jumps are rare. but just being able to come back from the heavy stuff (5s) and get the form down again with some hi rep sets feels good to me.

once i do hit my 15 RM i find the next couple w/o in the 10's much easier despite going up in wgt.(espec. with squat and deads). there is just such a big diff. btw 10 reps and 15. the same holds true for 10's to 5's and as long as diet and sleep are in order im usually hitting at least a 5-10lb increase of RM every 2 weeks....pretty good for the motivation over 8-10 weeks.

although, i do 3x a week and only 1 set for the 15s. you guys that do splits or w/o more freq. with more sets may feel very different.
 
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(Old and Grey @ Oct. 28 2006,18:39)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I use a trap bar for deadlifts as it puts less strain on my lower back, hits my quads and glutes more directly, I can use more weight and I don't scrape my shins.</div>
I never thought of that! With my bad L4, I just avoided deads entirely. Do you sort of keep straight up (spinally) doing them this way, or do you still have to bend over? I may try these.
Gotta catch up to Leige.

...yeh, right.
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I have a very slight inclination forward but almost all of the 'bend' itself comes from the knees. You can replicate the same form using dumbells but you are obviously limited by the amount of weight you can use. However, you might want to try it with them first to see if the movement is &quot;back friendly&quot; for you before investing in a trap bar. They are actually quite easy to construct if you can weld.

Keep counting Tot. Only 90 reps left to go this week!    
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