Find Maxes and then do SD?

S

skunker

New Member
Okay folks,
Just need a little clarification:

I am about ready to start HST (my first time, but have trained off and on for some years now) and have already taken 2 weeks off since my last non-HST workout.

I am going to look for my maxes tomorrow and was wondering if I was supposed to take the rest of the week off to recover before starting the first workout of the first cycle?

Thanks for the clarification!
 
You should find your maxes before you take an SD. At this point, I would just estimate the maxes based on your previous strength levels, do a cycle and make a note of what your maxes are while you are doing the HST cycle, keep them in mind for your next cycle.
 
As Totentanz suggested, it would have been better if you had determined your maxes while you were still in "workout" mode, instead of after a healthy SD. Now that you've SD'ed, your maxes will be lower than if you had determined them after being conditioned for a few weeks. If you have an accurate max for your 10RM, you can multiply that by 1.15 to get a good estimate for your 5RM. If you divide your 10RM by 1.2, it will be a fair estimate of your 15RM. These calculations are based on the calcs given in the HST FAQ, where, if you know your 15RM, you can get your 10RM and 5RM as follows:

15RM * 1.2 = 10RM estimate.
10RM * 1.15 = 5RM estimate

I've used these calcs (rounding down to the next multiple of 5 lbs when the estimate was between multiples) and then did the lifts. They're close but I did find on some (not all) lifts that I could go more.

Keep a log of your lifting and recalibrate / adjust your maxes at the end of the cycle to get new maxes for the next cycle.
 
Skunker...dont sweat it too much. If you are not right on the money this cycle dont worry. The main thing is try to stay as close to the prinicpals of hst as possible meaning.

Frequnency of 3 times a week, and progressive load. If you are following just these two types of principals you will be successfull as long as your diet is in check.

The reps are there just to give you a starting foundation, however if you start with a weigth and up th at every workout or every other workout by 5 to 10 pounds you will still have a successful cycle in my opinion.

Remember if you are eating in excess calories and are getting stronger and increasing load most likely you will be growing!
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If you know your 6 rep max, you can find your 5 and 10 easily from there. Search on google, there is a calculator on bodybuilding.com that will give you your 5, 10 and 15 rep max based on whatever number you give them. That should be good enough for this cycle.

But like I said, as you progress through the cycle, make a note of what your RMs are when you reach them and use them for your next cycle.
 
so say i estimated my 15RM at 50lbs but by the time i reach the end of week two, the 15 week, i realize i have underestimated myself; so the question is should i m,ake the 15s week a little longer and reestimate my 10's and 5's better?
 
No, just adjust your 10 and 5 RMs based on this knowledge, make a note of it for your next cycle as well.
 
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