New on this forum..(pls read) couple of questions

Q

quickups

New Member
I have a couple of questions for everyone here.


As of now I have started on my HST cycle and I only did 1 set for each exercise of 15s (bench press, shoulder press, squat, sldl, tbar row, tricep pushdown, bicep curl, shrug) will this be sufficient enough or do I need to do 2 sets for 15s? same thing goes when im going to do 10s or 5s, do i do 2 sets for 10s and 3 sets for 5s? Im kinda confused about this so anyone that can help, Id really appreciate it.

if most people see gains during 10s or 5s, do i need to eat alot during 15s since i wont be expecting gains from it?

all i understand is that 15s are to prepare ur body for the upcoming hard work but thats it. anyone can clarify this would be appreciated.
 
I used to ask similar question about volume, but from what others have said, and now through experience I can tell you that you're just gonna have to figure it out for yourself. I know people hate to hear that (myself included) but volume is a VERY individual thing. Generally it is good to do more sets as the reps get lower to keep a consistent workload throughout your cycle. But nobody can really tell you how much you can do. You know your body better than we do. Just do as much as you can while still being able to workout frequently enough. And whether the 15's give you growth or not is all dependant on how long and well you deconditioned. If you did a standard 9 day SD, then I wouldn't expect too much from the 15's. At least not if you worked out with heavy loads before your SD.
 
i did heavy loads (5-7 reps for 3 sets except for legs which is 8-12). i did 9 day SD.

im also asking if i need to eat alot while on the 15s?
 
When bulking I eat over maintenance in the 15's. My first cycle I gained back the 1.5 pounds I lost during the SD (I gained 1.5 pounds the week I found my maxes).

During subsequent cycles I'd always lose about 3-5 pounds during the SD. I gained it back each time through the 15's.

The 15's will not always be "light" though if you're using compounds. My first workout for the 15's with deadlifts was 405 this cycle. Unless you under eat, there's no way that isn't going to cause hypertrophy.
 
I could see gaining back weight during the 15's being likely, but I don't think you'd put on a lot of new muscle unless you took a longer SD. Unless you're REALLY good at doing nothing for the full 9 days. You should eat alot though, because you could put on some. I think some of the gains with the 15's though are due to glycogen, and fluid. Though I could be wrong...
 
QU,
I agree with wwg regarding the number of sets in each mesocycle... you have to figure it out by yourself; however, to give you an idea of what is around....I will give you what I have seen in this forum.
1) there is 1 group of guys composed of 99.999999% of the felllows who like working with low number of sets all through the mesocycles... I am talking between 8 and 14 sets total in each workout.

2) there is another group composed of ... he he he.... me, so far
biggrin.gif
.... who like working with a lot of sets (26 sets in my 15reps, 47 sets in my 10reps and 88 sets in my 5reps, I know it is crazy, but I'll give it a shot) because I feel my body can take it . specially because I am making sure I don't ever go to failure & I keep my nutrition (calories) with a constant surplus.....also I do this based on something related to "work" & "power", I read at a site ....in this article, you increase the sets in each mesocycle in order to compensate the drop in reps, thus you keep the level of "work" or effort increasing all the time. I am dividing the sets of the 10 reps in 2 days and the ones in the 5reps in 3 days, so , actually I am experimenting with it to see the results farther down the road... .... if you are interested in the article, let me know and I will post it here for the 10th time, he he he
 
I tend to fall into the 1 X 15s, 2 x 10s and 3 x 5s school of thought for my cycles but I do vary it on occasions. Sometimes I will do three sets of an exercise during 10s. Sometimes I will do only two sets (work sets) during 5s, esp. once the weights get heavy in the second week and then I'll do a lighter drop set.
 
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