New to HST Question.

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imported_dosteov

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I'm seriouslly looking into HST training as an alternative to the volume (one body part per week thing). That I've been doing for 5 years. My only question is there doesn't seem to be any mention in the program of increasing you're weights/strenght.

It says that you need to find your 15, 10 and 5 rep maxes (for say a 6 week cycle). And then you work your way up to your 15, 10 and 5 rep maxes (at the end of the 2nd week of your rep range). So at the end of the 6 weeks your 15 10 and 5 rep maxes are exactly the same as when you started? Am I missing something??

Thanks all...
 
Well as you go your rep maxes will change because your increasing your strength.... HST is definitely good for strength gain. I made much better strength gains from HST than I did from any High Volume or HIT routines.

So as you progress in your minicycles just keep adding weight to the bar if you can, remember that your 6 week cycle is not set in stone.

Joe G
 
Thanks man for the quick reply. I was under the assumption that for reading you had to do something like this. For example I get my 15 rep max on DB Press at 110. Then my 2 week mini-cycle would look like this:

week 1: 60 70 80
week 2: 90 100 110

So I'd be hitting my 15 week max at the end of week 2. You're saying a I should modify it so I hit it when? The beginning of week 2 or something?
 
It would look like the way you have it....

but lets say that week 2 comes around and 80 lbs felt really light...you could say hell with it ill do 100 on monday instead of 90 and if the 100 still felt light you could do 110 on wed and wind up doin 120 on friday....

See how your maxes change?

Joe G
 
Yeah. So you would plan on hitting your maxes on the last workout but hope that you can modify it so that you can increase it. Does this generally happen? I mean increasing the weights is the name of the game right...
 
Yeah. So you would plan on hitting your maxes on the last workout but hope that you can modify it so that you can increase it. Does this generally happen? I mean increasing the weights is the name of the game right...
 
You would pretty much have to intentionally sabotage your efforts in order to not have higher maxes after a cycle.
What is easiest to do is on your last day of 5s, when you should be hitting your 5 rep max, take note of how easy it is. Then once you go into the post-5s, you'll quickly figure out what your new 5 rep max is. Write this new number down and keep that in mind when you construct your next cycle, since you'll have to use new (higher) maxes for the next cycle.
 
dosteov,

Just do each cycle as laid out in the HST-FAQ. Don't worry about changing the weights during the cycle. Stick with working up to your RMs as calculated.

This may seem strange but the whole point is that you start your HST cycle after a period of SD so your muscles are nicely prepped to respond to sub-maximal loads. Then once your cycle begins you will be incrementing the loads each session (yes, there may be some zig-zagging between rep ranges and there is lots of good advice on this in various threads here and in the HST-FAQ).

Your muscles will continue to be stimulated to grow as you continue to increase the loading each session. Once you reach your 5RMs you will more than likely find you can continue to increment the loads and still get your 5 reps out (at least for the first set).

Once you have found your new 5RMs you can continue working with these weights for a further two weeks or continue to load and do negs or cluster reps before you will need to SD again. As Tot says, jot down these new 5RMs for your next cycle. You may want to work out new values for your 15RMs and 10 Rms too before you SD.

Hope that all makes sense? You may be surprised at how much your strength has gone up by the time you reach the end of your cycle. My squat and deadlift 5RMs went up nearly 50lbs apiece last cycle. Really looking forward to my next cycle now.
 
Dosteov

Something for you to ponder on:

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I think it comes down to a couple issues which I'll address after a short review for those new to HST.
First let me clarify that HST is based on physiologically sound principles, not numbers. In short, they are:
• Progressive load
• Training volume
• Training frequency
• Conditioning (Repeated Bout effect)/Strategic Deconditioning
So we are dealing with 4 basic issues, Load, Volume, Frequency and Conditioning. Within these basic factors we have reps, sets, and rest. HST differs from previous training methods in many aspects, but particularly in how it incorporates knowledge of how the &quot;cell&quot; physiologically responds to the training stimulus in its methodology. Previous methods focus on effort (A.K.A Intensity), current voluntary strength, and psychological factors such as fatigue and variety (i.e. many different exercises).
• The number of Reps is determined by the minimum effective load (this changes over time based on Conditioning)
• The number of Sets is determined by the minimum effective volume (this changes over time according to current load and Conditioning status.)
• The Rest between sets is determined by the amount of time required to regain sufficient strength to successfully achieve the minimum effective Volume.
• The Frequency (rest between workouts) is determined by the ability of the CNS to recover sufficiently to maintain baseline &quot;health&quot; indicators. It is also determined by the time course of genetic expression resultant from the previous workout.
• The interval of Strategic Deconditioning (SD) is determined by the time course of adaptation to the individual’s maximum weight loads. In other words, SD is required to reset growth potential after plateauing. The duration of SD is determined by the level of conditioning attained during the training cycle.
Anyone who argues with these points after understanding them correctly is in error. That is a strong statement but it is true. These are principles that we &quot;know&quot; from research and experience. The data from this research is not theoretically based. It is based on identification, measurements, and direct microscopic observation. All future research will show us is more genetic detail, NOT that we were wrong on some sort of fundamental basis.</div>
 
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