Can HST really replace and improve upon a split

S

Stealth

New Member
Hi guys, been reading from your site for a while now and got to admit the science behind HST does intrigue me. but I have my doubts, probably as most do that consider HST over splits. So my questions are can HST improve upon a split?

I have been trying to improve the current state of my crap body given to me by some unforgiving nob for around 3+yrs. ok I made reasonable gains, both in look and strength. most of my lifts are within the advanced limit you get from charts trying to put some kind of sense to the subject. what I mean by this is I am 80kg and deadlift 170kg+ and the same goes for almost other lifts. they are ok IMO of cause:oage 46 yeah old fart I know:o

I have started the HST cycle. been through the 5's and 10's the wrong way round I may add cos I started 5's first as it fitted in with my old split to work on weight this way. but now the old "grass is greener" is getting into my head along with other people.

so should I start as a basic HST cycle or should I make any adjustments? adding weight to the bar has become some what slow now days but I am still slowly improving probably monthly. my list of exercise is around 8 in total. and as below. I plan a AxBxA all x2 by squats and deads x3 and x 3 on 5's wk.

A routine
squat x3
flat bench
CGBP
Chins or pull ups
OHP
curls of some kind(mixed)
pushdowns bar or rope
Calves calves

B
deadlift
incline bench
CGBP
seated rows
upright rows
face pull
curls
pushdowns
calves

any advice you care to add or give? thx for your input. by the way hello all, its my first post:p
 
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Welcome to the forum. The answer is YES. HST is a set of principles that can be applied to different set ups other than the traditional set 3x week full body set up. To give it the best asessment, just simply run a vanilla cycle or two with the exercises you have listed. Find your 15,10, 5 rep maxes SD for 9-14 days and begin your cycle. The number of sets is solely dependant on your individual recovery abilities. That is something you will have to experiment with and adjust as you go. The biggest thing to monitor will be squats and deads. as the weights get heavier you may find that deadlifting more than once a week may be too much. If thats the case you could do squats day 1 , deads day 2 , squats day 3 each week. Also during the 5's and beyond you may find it better to drop the arm iso's to really concetrate on progressing the weights up on your compounds.Your arms will be getting plenty of stimulation assisting with the heavy weights. Definitely do not skip the 15's for the first cycle. They help to prime you for the heavier work ahead. Hope this answers some of your questions. Good Luck Stealth!
 
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Thx for your reply. my plan is to only deadlift once a wk anyway. I guess I will spend 3 months cycling to see if I manage to increase weight as I did on my splits. if my lifts increase has good or better than before,I will declare HST a success. )

my first impressions is 2 sets isn't enough for back and chest. I may add another set after the full 15 to 5 cycle. but I will stick out the basic plan I have until then.
 
I myself have struggled with the same issue for chest and back. Recently I decided to make incline bench a point of emphasis and supplemented with either flat bench/dips/CGBP and for back I do a vertical and horizontal pull each session. Although on Deadlift day, just a vertical move would be sufficient. I often split the reps even between exercises or do 2 sets for one then 1 of the other. Hope you see the results that your looking for! Good luck
 
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