Questions regarding HST

B

BigL

New Member
Hi all, I am going to start the HST workout very soon. But first I have a few questions.

#1: I have become confused on how many sets to use per each rep scheme. Is it standard to do 2 reps for each scheme? Or is it standard to do 1 set for the 15's, 2 for the 10's and 3 for the 5's? Does it really matter which scheme you use?

#2: Finding your max. It appears as if it will take about a week to find your max for all the workouts. For instance, after you find your squat max it wouldnt be very wise to try and find your max on leg curls because your legs would be tired and you wouldnt be able to do as much weight. Likewise with doing bench then trying to find the max of your triceps. So is it safe to say that its very difficult to find all your maxes in one day and it should be done over a few days?

#3: I would like to post the exercises I plan on doing. I would like to know whether it is good or not and what workouts I can possibly add, substitute for, or delete.

Here are my exercises im not sure about the particular order though

Squats
Leg extensions
Calves
Bench
Bend over rows
lat pulldowns
Tricep extensions (standing using the rope)
barcurls
Dumbbell presses
Shrugs

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
This depends on what you are accustomed too. SO to be brief try a cycle of 2 sets for 15's, 2 sets for the first week of 10 and 5's, then 1 set for the sencond week of 10's and 5's.

Yes and no, you can reasonably find your max in 3 workouts. Find your max for the 15's, mon, 10's wens, 5's fri. If you think you will be weak in the subsequent exercises then allow some more rest time. Maybe find half in the AM and the rest in the evening, But it shouldn't cause that much of a discrepency.

Exercises look good. You could add some hamstring work if you wanted to.

I would move the tricep extentions to after your shoulder DB presses, though.
 
Thanks a lot. The leg extensions are actually the leg curls which do the hamstrings.

Another question, I read that unless you are on your 6th and final workout of a rep scheme you should not lift to failure. For instance if I am on week one of my 15 rep scheme and on 2nd set if I am really struggling I should stop rather than try to get the 15 reps. Is that true?

Thanks for the help.
 
Yes, that is correct. Think of the second set as a bonus, you don't need to get all your reps.
 
plus think of the 15's as a twofold item.

1. It improves the oxidative capacity of the muscle cells, IE improves the quality of the muscle.
2. It also primes your connective tissue for the heavier stuff.

As long as you are getting the BURN effect in set one then the second as Dood said, "is a bonus".
 
Does that go for all the rep schemes?

Also, how do I know when to stop? How tired do I have to be or how badly do I have to be struggling? Another thing, since the 2nd set is considered a bonus, it seems as if all you really need to do in the HST is one set???

Thanks for the help.
 
As far as sets, yes. As far as Burning in the muscle no, you may feel some during the earlier 10's but probably not during the late 10's through the 5's. That's why Bryan recommends drop sets or a high rep set after the work sets of the 5's.

You can stop your set when your rep speed slows down. IE, if your tempo in the first set is 2-0-2-1, but in the 7th rep of the 2nd set is slows to 4-0-2-1 then you can stop. Although Bryan recommends stoping before failure if you can recover your strength and maintain the frequent loading, failure can be a good thing, unfortunatley most can not. In order to be able to keep the frequency most have to limit how often they go to failure.

Just in case tempos are recorded by concentric, pause, eccentric, pause (if there is one).

One set is suffcient, for most, but as the more conditioned you become it may be necessary to add more TUT (time under tension) through either more sets, increased tempo, more exercises for that body part, or more frequency.
 
Great stuff. I have more questions if you dont mind.  :)
#1: What exactly is drop sets? Is that like triple dropping after a set?
#2: Is it important that your maxes be very accurate or an estimation is fine? FOr instance, i want to find my 10 rep max on the bench and I do 225 for 10 reps but sort of struggle at the end is it safe to assume that my max for 10 reps is around 235?
#3: I see that after you find your maxes you take two weeks off from working out for strategic deconditioning. Does this also mean that for those two weeks I cant go to the gym in the morning and just do cardio?

Thanks for your time.
 
1. A drop set is; after you finish your work set, you immediately drop the weight and do more reps. Read the FAQ on Drops and High Reps sets, to fully understand why they are used and their importance.

2. Although they need to be tested, they may change so getting as close as you can is good enough. If you find you underestimated then just up the weight, if you find you overestimated, then just duplicate the workout with the same weight to catch up to your progression scheme.

3. Cardio can be done during SD, but Intensive cardio will impact the muscles that you intend to work. Read the FAQ on Cardio and HST. I put it there because this is one of the most commonly asked questions, nothing personal to you for asking, I just wanted a place for HST'rs to find it easily.
 
DKM --

I got a question. I read your FAQ thread. What about swimming? I would guess swimming durring SD is a no-no cause it is almost a light kind of lifting. What about just a little swimming on off days durring a cycle? I have done it a bit and it feels great -- you get a little pump.

Thoughts? Comments?

TY -- Bob
 
Thanks so much DKM. I understand what drop setting is. I just always knew it as "super setting"

No more questions for now lol.

Thanks again.
 
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[b said:
Quote[/b] (Bob Evans @ May 18 2005,9
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3)]What about swimming?  I would guess swimming durring SD is a no-no cause it is almost a light kind of lifting.
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Exactly, swimming is a form of resistance training, with some cardio on top. I wouldn't recommend it for an SD.
On a non HST note though, swimming is great fun, relaxing and good overall fitness exercise, so it depends on your goals and your love of swimming. Being in southeastern Texas, I wish I had a pool to swim in.  :D  
O&G, do you swim in that pool of yours during SD? Or just chase the wifey around it?  ;) HIWC, high intensity wifey chasing, Another form of cardio  
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Thanks dkm,

But what about on my off days?

I lift m-w-f so can I swim on the other days. Not alot just 12 laps or so --- it feels ssoo good.

But I don't want to screw up the program>

thanks,
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, Bob
 
DKM, does it matter what order I do my exercises in? Obviously I will do the core exercises in the beginning such as teh squats and bench and I will try to vary the order where Im not hitting one body part too often. For instance, I wont do triceps right after bench. Is that fine?

Also, how should the workout be performed? Do you do 2 sets of one exercise then move on? Or do 1 set of bench, then one set of back, then back to the 2nd set of bench, then 2nd set of back? Bryan mentioned something like this in the "Rest" thread in the FAQ forum and i got a little confused.

Thanks again.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Bob Evans @ May 18 2005,12:36)]Thanks dkm,
But what about on my off days?  
I lift m-w-f  so can I swim on the other days.  Not alot just 12 laps or so ---  it feels ssoo good.  
But I don't want to screw up the program>
thanks,
worship.gif
,  Bob
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It can, just like HIIT can, but if it feels good, which I am sure it does (it's frickin 87 degrees down here today so I know I would), then do it. Count it as your cardio  ;) , I just wouldn't try for any Olympic records.
[b said:
Quote[/b] (BigL (Posted on May 18 2005 @ 2:28))]
DKM, does it matter what order I do my exercises in? Obviously I will do the core exercises in the beginning such as teh squats and bench and I will try to vary the order where Im not hitting one body part too often. For instance, I wont do triceps right after bench. Is that fine?
Also, how should the workout be performed? Do you do 2 sets of one exercise then move on? Or do 1 set of bench, then one set of back, then back to the 2nd set of bench, then 2nd set of back? Bryan mentioned something like this in the "Rest" thread in the FAQ forum and i got a little confused.
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Yes and no, sorry for the ambiguities, the order in which you work can affect loading on the next exercise if insufficient rest is taken between and they are synergistic. For instance doing Bicep curls can affect strength and force output on rows, so it may behoove you to choose the order wisely. On the positive side, proper pairing (as in pre-exhaust or super sets) can provide for a higher metabolic stimulus and increased strain (when isolation movements are first). Bryan is refering to antagonistic pairing, this works opposite pairs of muscle and allows for a quick recouperation of strength. Also this works the larger muscles first (In Bryan's example) which tend to 1. Take more overall energy and 2. Doesn't affect the larger movements strength output by zapping the smaller synergistic muscles first. Bottom line it comes down to choice, but IMPO I prefer to work the large muscles first in a quasi antagonistic pair.

What I do is once I have my plan laid out, is group the exercises into mini circuits, exercises that I can just hop from one to the other, I'll set it up following as what I said above, then pre set up the BB and DB's for 3 to 4 exercises so I can move from one to the other in a circuit fashion. This gives me a break between the different exercises as I do my sets(although I don't use sets per se). Then I take the next 3 to 4 exercises and do the same.
 
Here is the order in which I plan to do my workouts. Do you see anything wrong with it?

Squats
Leg curls
calves
Bench
Bendover rows
Lat pulldowns
dumbbell presses
Shrugs
Bar curls
Tricep extensions
 
I read the FAQ on Cardio and i AM still unsure on whether I should cardio during SD and the weeks when I work out on my HST program.

Unless Im interpreting it wrong, the FAQ says its ok to do cardio, but cardio does the opposite of deconditioning?

Basically what I do is the elliptical machine every morning on an empty stomach for about 15-30 minutes.

Is that ok during SD and the weeks I workout??
 
I wouldn't do cardio during SD that much. However, you can do cardio during your cycle. I would do it on opposite days from when you do HST, or else do it after your HST workout if you do it on the same day. Doing cardio before weight training can compromise your ability to complete all your exercises, among other things.

You may need to increase your food intake if you do cardio alongside HST, unless you are trying to cut, of course.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (BigL @ May 18 2005,8:40)]Here is the order in which I plan to do my workouts. Do you see anything wrong with it?
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Looks fine to me.

[b said:
Quote[/b] (BigL (Posted on May 19 2005 @ 3:10))]
Is that ok during SD and the weeks I workout??
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As Totentanz said, too much, depending on intensity isn't good. Real life is "real life" and you do what you must. So if elliptical is your thing and you want to do it, then do it. Can it effect your growth while on HST, it can, but realistically I doubt you notice a difference unless the energy expenditure caused by it cuts into your energy levels for the day, if you are eating to compensate, no harm no foul. I also agree with Totentanz on doing it on your off days more than on days and his statement about cutting.
 
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