Need a little help with this...

0

01svtL

New Member
So I've been reading when I can (at work) and am trying to put this style of training together in my head. I'll give my prediction weights for 3 sets to use as an example. Can someone map out how my first 2 weeks would look, about? Is it 1 working set for each exercise on the 15's, 2 on the 10's, and 3 on the 5's? I'm guessing there are percentages involved that increase each workout or something? Or am I using slightly less than my estimated RM for every workout?

Estimates:
15RM's:
Bench: 175
Squat: 195
Row: 130

10 RM:
Bench: 190
Squat: 205
Row: 140

5 RM:
Bench: 210
Squat: 235
Row: 155
 
its up to you if you want to do 1x15,2x10,3x5, but alot do 2x15,3x10,3x5,especially if you are used to doing 3 sets anyway.
using your squat as an example your first 2wks should look like this.

15s 2wks.m 170,w 175,f 180,m 185,w 190,f 195.
10s 2wks.m 180,w 185,f 190,m 195,w 200,f 205.

now you are repeating some weights on your 10s but thats not a problem as long as the weight overall goes up,infact it helps prevent injury/fatigue,but if you dont want to much zigzaging on your 10s you can do it like this.

m 195,w 195,f 200,m 200,w 205,f 205.
 
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zig-zagging doesn't bother me as long as it works.

so you guys are actually seeing results by lifting smaller weights for reps that aren't hard to finish at all? are you guys pausing w/ the lighter weights at all? I just don't see how you can gain size if the workout isn't much of a workout at all...
 
01svtL said:
zig-zagging doesn't bother me as long as it works.

so you guys are actually seeing results by lifting smaller weights for reps that aren't hard to finish at all? are you guys pausing w/ the lighter weights at all? I just don't see how you can gain size if the workout isn't much of a workout at all...
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its the weight increase over the 6/8wks that counts in size,also its been shown in studies with lighter weights you engage more fibres if you lift quickly lower sensibly.
also if it feels very light either start at a higher % or do an extra couple of reps,as long as you stop short of faliure it wont really matter.
 
01svtL said:
... I just don't see how you can gain size if the workout isn't much of a workout at all...
Click to expand...

If it isn't much of a workout at all then you are doing something wrong or have miscalculated your loads.

What we are aiming to do with an HST cycle is to mechanically stress and metabolically stress the muscle tissue to stimulate a PS response. (The mechanical stress pathway is the more important of the two as far as hypertrophy is concerned.) In order for this to happen, the tissue has to be deconditioned enough at the start of the cycle for the lighter loads to have an effect. This is why a period of 9-14 days away from training is recommended before commencing a cycle.

At the start of a cycle, when the loads are at their lightest, if you want to do more than 15 reps that's okay, or slow the reps down; just be sure to go for a really good burn. If you are doing multiple sets, each one will become more challenging due to fatigue from the previous set. It is often surprising how hard just a couple of relatively light sets of 15 reps can feel after only 9 days off.

Volume (or total work done) for each exercise is going to depend on how many exercises you are actually doing per body part. So, if, for example, you are only doing squats for legs in any one session, then you might want to do 2 or 3 sets for 15s, 2-4 sets during 10s, and 3-6 sets during 5s. It's totally going to depend on your level of conditioning to the exercise and the frequency with which you train that same body part.

A good rule of thumb for loads is to start with 75% of your RM for each rep range and calculate increments in steps of 5%, ie. 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, xRM. That will give you six increments and therefore six sessions taking you up to and including your RM workout. If the %ages are awkward to load on a bar just use something close or repeat loads as Faz demonstrated.
 
You'd pretty much have to either do slow negatives or pause in order to make 75% of a 15 rep max feel like a workout. A 15 rep max means 14 is hard, and it's all you can do to get that 15th. Now take 75% of that weight and do the same thing. It would be WAY easier for EVERYONE. So you would have to throw something into the mix to make the body strain to complete the set, right?

Has anyone started this without the full week to 2 weeks off from the gym? I was looking to start w/ 4 days of rest in between, so on the 5th day.
 
01svtL said:
You'd pretty much have to either do slow negatives or pause in order to make 75% of a 15 rep max feel like a workout. A 15 rep max means 14 is hard, and it's all you can do to get that 15th. Now take 75% of that weight and do the same thing. It would be WAY easier for EVERYONE. So you would have to throw something into the mix to make the body strain to complete the set, right?

Has anyone started this without the full week to 2 weeks off from the gym? I was looking to start w/ 4 days of rest in between, so on the 5th day.
Click to expand...

A few things:

1) 15s are primarily to increase oxidative stress which has been shown to have very positive effects on tendon strengthening and repair. This can help prep you for the heavy loading to come later in the cycle.

2) If sufficiently deconditioned at the start of a cycle, the muscle tissue will benefit from a hypertrophic response to lighter loading but it will not be effective for long, hence the reason for incrementing loads each session.

3) Fatigue and the feeling that a load is hard to lift are not good ways to measure whether a certain load has been an effective stimulus for hypertrophy. ie. just because you are straining to lift a weight does not guarantee that you have created a growth stimulus. It all depends on your conditioning to the load at the time.

4) If you can't get a good burn going by slowing down rep speed with 75% of your 15RM then do more reps at a faster speed. I often do 25 reps for a set at the start of 15s. No need to go to failure though.

5) Any subsequent sets will feel harder because you will be carrying some fatigue from the previous set. During the second week of each mesocycle you may need to stop short of the intended rep target in order to stay away from failure.

6) Just try it and see! Take a proper SD - 4 days doesn't cut it. If you absolutely can't wait then up to you but 9 days is better, especially if you have been training long and hard for a few months. I usually take 9 days which means finishing up after a Friday session and then taking the whole of the next week off, to return on the following Monday.

As an example: if my 15RM for deads is 350lb, then I'm going to start off with 260lb for sets across. By the time I get to the end of my second set of 20 reps, I'm feeling fairly convinced that I've done enough deads for the night. :) However many cycles I do, I am always surprised now much weaker I feel after a 9 day SD. The first light session is a very welcome way to get started again and strength picks up again quickly which is a good thing because the loads seem to get heavier quickly too!
 
I'm on my third week of HST, started 10s today. I can assure you everything Lol has said it's accurate. Especially point #5, at first I thought this was just too easy but as you dive deeper into the cycle I had to "cluster" sets on 15s to perform the 2 sets for each exercise. I will take the advice Lol gave you about doing 3 sets at least per each exercise on the first week of 10s since I felt I could do more today and stopped while the last workouts of 15s had me dead.
 
Cluster in the HST FAQ Book is referred as to stopping before you reach failure, getting a few seconds rest then finishing the desired reps. I had to do this for bench and military press on the last workouts, I suppose it is mostly due to miscalculation of my RM, which I did better for the 10s now.
 
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