HST Training Mods: Bulking vs Cutting

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Vin_G

New Member
I have been doing the HST program for a year now. I started it last summer on a bulking cycle and it worked quite well. For that last 8 months I have been on a fat loss program (it takes me a long time until I find a diet that works and stop drinking
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Anyways I did not change anything when I went from bulking to cutting as far as the amount of volume in my HST program.

What do you guys suggest when I am bulking vs. cutting as far as how much volume I should do and any other training modifications?
 
I would avoid SD while cutting and also would skip the 15s. A suggestion is to do maintenance for the SD and 15s then start the cut in the 10s (or mid 10s).
 
So I should avoid cutting my calories during SD and 15's? I thought it would be the other way around.....maybe this is a recovery thing.

Do you think I should lower my volume while cutting and raise it during mass building?

Also, since I want to build up my arms and shoulders (as they are smaller) should I only focus on extra volume for those areas when I am bulking, but keep it basic when I am cutting?
 
Cutting calories during SD and 15s defeats the purpose of HST.

If you cut calories during the SD you are not affecting your partitioning ratio in any beneficial way and you would lose excessive amounts of muscle.
One of the most beneficial effects of the 15s microcycle is joint/connective tissue rehabilitation. Cutting calories during this period hinders this healing.

If you SD I would stay at maintenance and also do 15s at maintenance or very slightly above. I have found that cutting while lifting heavy beats on your joints/connective tissue pretty badly.
When moving on to cutting it is possible to skip SD and being cutting calories if you do not drop intensity (weight on bar). RBE takes much longer to catch up the closer you work to your 5RM+. So the idea is to keep doing your 5RM and push up the weight when you can while you cut. Never drop weight to recover. Instead, remove sets/reps. If you are bare bones and dont want to go any lower in sets/reps and you are still losing strength, then it is either time to stop your cut and SD or possibly drop to 2 WOs a week and push on.
 
bgates1654,

Are saying I should skip SD and 15's, and perhaps stick to 10's and 5's for my cycles and reduce the amount of exercises?
 
Yes. You can cut back volume if you find you are getting worn out, but like bgates said - never cut calories during SD or during 15s.

Remember - weight training during a cut serves one purpose and one purpose only: to spare lean mass. You aren't lifting weights to burn calories, that is what cardio is for. So you need to train heavy and frequently. Don't sacrifice load or frequency in order to maintain volume.
 
Yeah, definitely keep in mind that while it is possible to hit PRs during cutting, I wouldn't recommend doing it too much. Working with your absolute maxes and trying to hit PRs are both stressful activities and you are already eating less than your body requires, so you could risk all sorts of things - sickness, injury, etc. Not that you should avoid maxes or PR attempts completely, just don't go overboard.
I'd recommend just doing 10s and 5s over and over until you are done cutting. My personal preference is to stick to 5s, starting at 70-80% of 5 RM, working up to the 5 RMs, working with those until I don't want to anymore, then starting back at 70-80% and working up again, repeating until I am no longer cutting.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys that makes total sense to me now. Don't ever combine SD or light weights with calorie restriction as weights are there to preserve. That never dawned on my before!

When I decide to start bulking again, is HST an ideal program for that or should I do one of those higher volume programs where you are working out 5 times a week such as Christian Thibaudeau or Poliquin?
 
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(Vin_G @ May 29 2008,10:47)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">When I decide to start bulking again, is HST an ideal program for that or should I do one of those higher volume programs where you are working out 5 times a week such as Christian Thibaudeau or Poliquin?</div>
As much as I'd like to give you an arm's length, disinterested, third-party opinion, this is the HST board...
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For strength, there are any number of programs you can follow. For size, HST seems to fill the bill better than most.
 
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