New to HST, few Qs

S

shafz

New Member
Hey guys, pretty new to HST, this is the first time I'd consider myself properly training as I've never really eaten properly enough to see decent gains.

I'm 6'4 and weigh 105 kilos, so as you can tell I need to eat a decent amount of cals (4.1k a day) so that I can get some good gains.

I just completed my first 15's, so I'm 2 weeks in to HST. I read in one of the articles we can actually skip the 15's once you've done then, so in my next macrocycle I'm considering this.

What I want to know is, if the macrocycle is divided into 8 weeks, what makes up those 8 weeks without the 15's?

10s for 4 weeks and 5's (negs/whatever you choose) for 4 weeks?

Because this is my first time properly training really, getting in the amount of protein and cals I need, I was curious to see how long it usually takes before I can see visible gains? I'm in no rush obviously, just having completed the first 2 weeks of HST, just curious. Ball park figure would be fine
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Any help would be appreciated. Thanks from a newbie to HST from New Zealand
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!
 
Without the 15's you'd be doing a complete cycle of six weeks, two weeks 10's, two weeks 5's and two weeks post-5's.
 
Why skip the 15s? If you are cutting then maybe; if you are juicing then maybe; but otherwise I would recommend doing them each cycle. They are a great way to prep yourself for the heavier loads you will be using later in the cycle and are an ideal way to get back into a cycle after a period of SD.
 
Besides, the 15s do a good job on overall recovery. If your joints are aching, these two weeks can heal them. If you've been overreaching, these two weeks will add to your recovery. During my very first HST cycle, I got the best gains from the 15s. I came from a pretty exhausting training method and I had been on a cutting diet for quite some time. I wouldn't skip the 15s - not even when cutting. During cutting cycles, you must lift heavy enough to give the lean mass a reason for staying there. But two weeks of 15s will result in minimal if any lean mass loss. I believe that most beef loss during cutting comes from inadequate calorie intake, aerobic training , or rest, but hardly ever from doing 15 reps a set with appropriate weight and form. And of course, I'm just speaking for myself, but if I follow a method, then I do so completely. If the method needs fixing, why even try it? HST works the way it's written - no need to fumble around with things that don't need to be fixed.
 
I never really understood the idea behind skipping the 15's.  In addition to joint healing, they would seem to be an important part of one of the most basic principles of HST: progressive load.  If you start with the 10's, assuming a two-week period, how can you maintain the progression over 8 or 10 weeks?  I guess you could do shorter cycles, max-stime, or repeat weights, but my experience over two years of using HST indicates those higher rep ranges can actually add some size.  I actually spend less time doing 5's these days, or will end a particulay exercise on a higher rep set, only because the results have indicated better response.  But that's just me...others seem to grow like a weed on the 5's.
 
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