hst reading

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roguephoenix

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i'm completely new to this whole hst program. in fact i'm still trying to get as much info as i can. i've read the faq's, but most refer to things that i'm supposed to already know, but don't. things like 15s, 10s, 5s and such. i've seen the example workout here, but it bears no resemblance to actual workouts done by people nor to posts they are refering to. can anyone point me in the right direction about where to read? i'm in need of assistance asap. thanks.
 
thanks for the reply. i've actually read those already and those gave me a different picture than what everyone here is talking about.

from the sample workout, it shows that incline bench at 2 sets of 10 reps. however people here are talking 15 reps, then 10 then 5 then having weight increments of 5lbs or 10lbs. where does that come in? wouldn't the workout just require the warmup then the 2 sets of 10? this is where i am confused. i've actually read that excel sheet you gave to someone and i couldn't understand that either. does it mean that every 2 weeks the reps go down by 5 until it's just 5? when does the weight incrementing come in? before the actual 2 sets that i'm supposed to do, like a warmup?
 
Darn, you seem to have missed the whole thing off HST.

Simply put, this is the basic scheme:

- You determine your maxes of 15 10 and 5 reps off the exercises you'll use

- you decondition (read: do nothing stressful on the muscles) for at least a week

- you build up a workout plan using 2 weeks of 15s, followed by 2 weeks of 10s, followed by 2 weeks of 5s, and then followed by one or two weeks of some other intensity sets like drop sets, negatives, ....

- During the two week cycles you build up to the maximum of that rep. For example if you 15 RM is 100, the two weeks of 15s could go as 75 - 80 -85 -90 - 95 - 100. You do the same for the 10s and the 5s, building up to the maxes during those two weeks.

Daxie
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (daxie @ Aug. 16 2005,2:38)]Darn, you seem to have missed the whole thing off HST.
Simply put, this is the basic scheme:
- You determine your maxes of 15 10 and 5 reps off the exercises you'll use
- you decondition (read: do nothing stressful on the muscles) for at least a week
- you build up a workout plan using 2 weeks of 15s, followed by 2 weeks of 10s, followed by 2 weeks of 5s, and then followed by one or two weeks of some other intensity sets like drop sets, negatives, ....
- During the two week cycles you build up to the maximum of that rep. For example if you 15 RM is 100, the two weeks of 15s could go as 75 - 80 -85 -90 - 95 - 100. You do the same for the 10s and the 5s, building up to the maxes during those two weeks.
Daxie
Click to expand...
ah!!!!!
that is it. now it makes sense. he he. thank you for that enlightening post.
so, by what i understand, if my max 15 rep is 100, for day 1 i should do 75 then day 2 i do 80 then day 3 i do 85 then the next week i do the next 3 days as 90, 95 until i finally reach the 100 max that i set on my final day of that 2-week 15rep cycle? then i move on to 10 reps and so on? ah, now it makes sense. it was like i was seeing the end points of the program, but i couldn't see the bridge between them. thank you!

ok, now as far as determining my max rep, is that something calculated, or do i just go out and try and actually lift it?

oh, by the way, as far as the program saying i only need to do 1 set of this or 2 sets of that, do i get to do warmup sets or no? 2 warmup sets is ok before the actual set?
 
Hi roguephoenix

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]ok, now as far as determining my max rep, is that something calculated, or do i just go out and try and actually lift it?
Click to expand...

I have done it the other way round and work down from the 1 rep maximum, sorry we are rather technical but we will try and help as best as we can. You would be better off trying out the rep maxs for all three rep ranges 15's/10's and 5's but you can also just calculate more or less what is your 1 rep max, then you could use my sample worksheet, by putting you rep maxs in the last column, the sheet then calculate sthe rest for you.

The principle here HST is to have a fairly straight load progression, the rep range is diminished to accomodate the higher loads. 15's are mostly used to flush muscles, tendons and surrounding structures with lactic acid so that the muscle is ready to take a higher load (a kind of injury protection procedure) the rest is to accomodate load, 5's and 5's with negatives is where the loads get real heavy, towards the 1 to 3 rep maximum, but carried out for 5 reps, therefore the name negatives (a partner is required in oredr for the trainee to execute only the negative portion of the exercise), the other way to do this is to either do the two full weeks with the same loading after the 5's or increment slowly using a safety cage.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]oh, by the way, as far as the program saying i only need to do 1 set of this or 2 sets of that, do i get to do warmup sets or no? 2 warmup sets is ok before the actual set?
Click to expand...

Warmup sets are by default, they do not count as actual sets, it is importnat though at thehigher load ranges to not use the warmup extensively to the point of tiring that muscle group, but rather to condition it, before the maximum load.

Hope we have clarified things for you! :)

Daxie thanks for the help
thumbs-up.gif
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Warmup sets are by default, they do not count as actual sets, it is importnat though at thehigher load ranges to not use the warmup extensively to the point of tiring that muscle group, but rather to condition it, before the maximum load.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we don't want your warmup being your workout. Apply warmups to large muscle groups, specifically the first exercise that you will be doing during your workout.

And as Fausto pointed out that if you don't have a lifting partner, it's probably best to continue on with your 5RM for two weeks (incrementing load if possible with dropsets/clustering techniques.)

Just had to add in a few comments! ;)

-Colby
 
Read this,
Bryan's Interview with T-Mag

Go to part 2(second Post), and read HST basics about half way down. IT will tell you everything you need to know to start the basic setup. For more questions about specifics read the corresponding FAQ, but read this one first.

Dan
 
thank you all for the help. now, i think i know what's going on. i have a few more questions though...

i need to do cardio most days of the week because i need to maintain endurance for my normal activities. while i was on max-ot (ended 2 weeks ago) i was doing cardio in the morning and another at night 7 days a week. will i be able to maintain at least half of that or will that be counter productive to the program? i saw that i could do some light cardio on off days. does that mean nothing physically taxing?

also, do i have to maintain the exact same excercises (i.e. barbell incline press and such) throughout the 8 week program or can i do 2 weeks on barbell then next 2 weeks on dumbells, then next 2 on machines and so on? i've read that variation every 2 weeks will prevent my body from adapting to the excercise.
 
Cardio can interfere, mostly in the muscles that are being worked, but that's not saying stop. If you are eating enough to grow cardio will be a good defense from gaining too much fat.

More hypertrophy is acheived after the neural learning process, so the longer you work with known movements the better for hypertrophy. But if for some reason you need to change then so be it, life is what it is. The other issue with changing movements is ID'ing the RM's for all the differing movements. This would take more time in defining your routine which could be used better. My recommendation is pick a couple for each muscle group and stick to those.
 
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