Dropping 15 rep set question

G

gatesmarch

New Member
Hey guys,

Just starting my second cycle in, and I noticed Bryan says to drop the 15 rep part of the cycle and go directly to the 10 rep part. My question is am I now supposed to replace the 15 reps with 10 reps, therefore doing 10 reps for 1 full month? Or just the normal 2 weeks, then onto the 5's etc. Btw, I have to say, after doing stronglifts and Bill Starr's 5x5 for the past 1 1/2 years...I'm already seeing superior physical improvements after just one cycle. Crazy, just crazy.

Thanks
 
You can choose to skip the 15's if you have no sore joints, tendons, soft tissue pain, etc. but you do not have to. I usually keep one week of 15's just to be safe. If you drop them, they are not replaced with 10's. Your cycle just becomes shorter or you can extend the 5's or negatives. It is not generally particularly useful to extend the 10's since higher rep exercises tend to run into the repeated bout effect more quickly then lower rep exercises.
 
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Great, thanks for the response. I agree with not extending the 10's...after just finishing my first week now, there's no way I could forsee adding an additional two weeks...lol.
 
If I was you and getting good gains off the stock HST program I wouldn't change too much going into the second cycle, infact after 2 full cycles I decided to drop to 1 week of 15's and extend the 10's and 5's by one week. (I personally don't think extending the 10's or 5's by 1 week each will make you hit RBE).

15's are there to help your joints more-so than build muscle, so I wouldn't recommend neglecting them. Prevention and cure and all that.
 
Personally, cutting aside—and assuming you have taken a long enough SD between cycles—I would do at least one week of 15s. I think that because of their known benefits, in the long run, you'll be glad you did them. They're useful for improving form on exercises too (and for getting back in the groove after SD). The lighter loads mean that you will feel more confident experimenting a little without risking injury.
 
Lol said:
Personally, cutting aside—and assuming you have taken a long enough SD between cycles—I would do at least one week of 15s. I think that because of their known benefits, in the long run, you'll be glad you did them. They're useful for improving form on exercises too (and for getting back in the groove after SD). The lighter loads mean that you will feel more confident experimenting a little without risking injury.
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Well I guess I blew it this cycle lol. I'm just so used to sets of heavy 5's, that I figured to go ahead and skip them (15's). I did a 9 day SD, I get depressed very quickly when I don't workout...no joke. I was certainly glad when the 5's were over my last cycle after doing them for a month. I lift alone in my basement, so I really can't do the 3 rep negs. Also I am cutting for the first time since I started lifting over a year and a half ago...my BF is just too high and I'm 39 so it'll take a while to get it off.
 
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gatesmarch said:
Well I guess I blew it this cycle lol. I'm just so used to sets of heavy 5's, that I figured to go ahead and skip them (15's). I did a 9 day SD, I get depressed very quickly when I don't workout...no joke. I was certainly glad when the 5's were over my last cycle after doing them for a month. I lift alone in my basement, so I really can't do the 3 rep negs. Also I am cutting for the first time since I started lifting over a year and a half ago...my BF is just too high and I'm 39 so it'll take a while to get it off.
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As your cutting, skipping 15s is ok because on a caloric deficit your body will be more likely to steal away your hard-earned muscle if the loads you're lifting don't warrant keeping it around. Even then, a week of 15s isn't going to cost much, but there's no sense in risking losing any muscle if your joints are all fine and dandy and you don't have niggling strain injuries.
 
Personally, I never skip the 15's...
I am 43, and I need to be conscience of my joints.
Moreover, I think, and maybe this is just theory, but HST theory, 2 weeks of 15's will still signal your muscles for growth as they are still experiencing progressive loading.
Personally, after a good SD, 15's kick my ass for the first week...id rather prepare my muscles for lifting with 15's rather than 10's...
I want to be sure my strength is up and my muscles are ready for the heavier stuff!
 
Hi

Just my two bit

I am another committed to the benefits of two weeks of 15s. I'm 42 now, and have a few joint and rotator cuff issues, thanks to too much HIT years ago.
Now I regard the 15s as an essential warm up before I start on the heavier weights on the next cycles.

Stick with the HST basics - 2X15, 2X10 2X5 and 2Xnegs (or extend the 5s) for a few cycles to see how it works for you, before you start pimping and tweaking.

And just remember to protect your joints as you get older!

Brix
 
Yeah, like I said I just did one week of 10's, so what I think I'll do is go back to 15's tomorrow for two weeks and then progress from there. I don't see what harm it will do...the physical changes from just the first cycle are damn near miraculous with the 15's lol.
 
I agree...15's do make you look "growing"!
But from what I've been told on here, it's not true hypertrophy.
But still!

On my 3rd week of 5's on my 2nd cycle, and I'm getting the same physical "wow!"
My 1st cycle, my 5's were cut short...so I'm gonna crank this round out as hard as I can!
 
I agree...15's do make you look "growing"!
But from what I've been told on here, it's not true hypertrophy.
But still!

On my 3rd week of 5's on my 2nd cycle, and I'm getting the same physical "wow!"
My 1st cycle, my 5's were cut short...so I'm gonna crank this round out as hard as I can!
 
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