Hey
Since funguy hasn't posted again yet, I'll just say:
By the time you are in the very heavy weights, it probably won't matter if you try to extend the progression a little longer or keep on banging the heavy weights.
(This is, I merely suppose, where the seeming "conflict of opinion" [but only a very minor one] between Dan and Bob started.)
Let's try to qualify what I said:
I said it probably won't matter if you try to extend the progression by the time you are in the very heavy weights already (absolute 5RM or even higher) for two reasons: first, you've gone through a lot of progression already, and second, being very very near to your max, it will generally take much longer before this weight becomes ineffective, thus making progression not so necessary anymore.
It is also important to remember the point (just as Dan -DKM- said) that an HST cycle doesn't end because you finished a pre-determined number of weeks. It finishes when you find you have stopped growing for a couple of workouts straight, or feel unwelcome strain in your joints building up big time.
Given that important point, whether you try to increment continuously by repeating a weight three times before incrementing, or simply using our max until you can increment again due to growth / strength gain or until you have stopped growing, has very little difference.
But there will be a difference if you plan to stop at a predetermined number of weeks. If you plan to stop after a certain week, instead of when you stop growing or gaining anything from the workout, then I would be inclined to say that it would be better to increment as usual then just repeat the max. But if you have no such "time limit", and want to squeeze out as much hypertrophy as possible, then repeat each weight for 3 times before moving on, then repeat your absolute max until you feel you are not growing anymore.
Remember also that each repetition, even though still effective, won't produce the same hypertrophic effect. The heavier the weight, the more hypertrophy it would generally produce. So repeating a lighter weight won't be as effective as repeating a heavier weight, which is why if you have a "time limit" of sorts, I'd say just repeat your max, so you are repeating the heaviest weight. But if you have no such time limit, then you can freely take your time and repeat even the lesser weights.
Regards,
-JV