New to HST

S

spearman

New Member
I would firstly just like to say hello to everyone. After much reading and little gains i have decided to do a cycle of HST to see if it is for me. I like the idea of a fullbody routine, although i have been finding it quite demanding ( i started on monday) but i think my fitness has slipped of late. Anyway i'll get to the point, im a bit confused about training to failure on the 6th workout of each 2 week block, for example if my max for 5 reps on the bench press was 200lb and i hit failure on my first set, what do i do for the other 2 sets, because if i have hit failure there is no way im going to make 5 reps on my 2nd and 3rd set. So do i just do the other 2 sets for as many reps as i can? Or should i reduce the weight so i can make the 5 reps on each set?

Many thanks, hope to be around this site alot more now.

Cheers

S
 
Welcome Spearman

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]im a bit confused about training to failure on the 6th workout of each 2 week block, for example if my max for 5 reps on the bench press was 200lb and i hit failure on my first set, what do i do for the other 2 sets, because if i have hit failure there is no way im going to make 5 reps on my 2nd and 3rd set.
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Firstly, the intention is not to hit failure but to just stay shy of it, consider this snippet from Bryan's articles:

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]HST does not require that you train to failure because that prevents you from training frequently enough.

It’s better to train according to the recovery of the muscle (48 hours) than according to the CNS (up to a week or longer).

Finally, HST does not utilize useless techniques and methods pushed by bodybuilding magazines such as “muscle confusion”, “pre-exhaustion”, and “intensity” oriented training.

All of which are affecting the CNS and not the muscle tissue itself.
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When and if you hit failure (which you shouldn't), the other two sets should then be less reps just to get the required time under tension (TUT).

It would perhaps be a good idea to give us a sample of your workout and we will critique it, then if you are calculating your rep maxes per rep scheme and to failure you should drop about 3 - 5% of the weight just to avoid failure.

another snippet from Bryan :

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]For someone who isn’t conditioned, 1 - 2 sets per exercise (~3-6 sets/week) is sufficient to cause muscle growth. If you have been training for many years (5+) consistently then it might take more time under tension.

This person will either need to take more time training in order to accommodate more sets per exercise, or split up their workout into two sessions and train either twice per day, or 6 days per week.

This is how guys like myself, Blade, Boris, and others train. I have been training for over 25 years, and it takes a bit more strain and time to overcome years of RBE.

Does this mean that the principles of load and time under load have changed for me, as opposed to the new guy? Absolutely NOT!
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Hope this helps so far!
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Thanks for the reply bro, i thought that you had to find you 15, 10 and 5 rep max then hit that on your 6th workout every 2 weeks, so that you would train to failure only once every 2 weeks?? I will slightly adjust my weights then. My routine is pretty simple:

Squat
Calve Raises
Bench Press
Wide Grip Row
Narrow Grip Row
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Shrug
Barbell Curl
Skull Crush
Abbs


S
 
Spear

You can hit failure if you want to on the last rep of the last set, then that means you are doing one set only is that it?

It is preferred to stay just shy of failure at least on the first set, if you fail on the second set, then stiop there regardless of whether you got that number fo reps or not.

W/O looks fine, might think of putting is some Deadlifts sometime, alternated with the squat, but it looks good as is.
 
if your doing 3sets on your 5s and you hit faliure on the first set..then stop at that and adjust your max for the next cycle.or you could do it like this 4,4,3,3,1..your still doing 15 reps but stopping short of faliure..good luck. :D
 
Ok into my 4th week of HST and really liking it. Making some some nice little gains (little gains better than no gains!!!) Like the feeling of being pumped all the time.

I am still adjusting to the HST methods and through trial and error i will find whats best for my body.

Cheers for the feed back

S
 
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