quick question

[jonsmith]

Hi, just a quick question about HST.
During the cycle (after RMs have been determined) you don't really every train to failure, is this correct? And the only time failure might be reached is on the day when you are using your RM for that rep range, but by the time you get to that day you are likely stronger and therefore that is no longer you RM for that range, correct?

Also, I just to make sure I know what I'm doing. If, for example my 15 RM for an exercise was 100 lbs, and lets say I have set the increments so that on the first workout of the 15s I use 70 lbs. I would only use the 70 for 15 reps correct? (i know this seems redundant to the questions i just asked above, but I really want to make sure I clearly understand what I'm doing).

Lastly, on exercises that I have 2 sets, after warm-ups. On the first set, I do 70 lbs for 15 reps (as set by the increments based on RMs). For the second set, after some rest do I do 70 for 15 reps again? even on RM days?

Thanks.

 

[Lol]

Hey Jon,

Re hitting failure: it all depends on what your definition of failure is but if we take the old HIT  'momentary muscular failure' idea then you will probably not hit that for any of the first sets in a RM session unless you are pushing for a PR. For any subsequent sets you probably could but there's really no need. Curtail a set when you think you'd probably fail the next rep or when your rep speed slows substantially. It won't 'hurt' your CNS much if you hit failure for smaller muscle groups but for larger compound movements your CNS will take a big hit if you constantly push to failure.

Hitting failure for a session once every few weeks (eg. during RM workouts) shouldn't be too much of a big deal, but if you find accumulated fatigue starts to take its toll on subsequent sessions just back off a bit next RM workout. This is where managing fatigue to enable a higher training frequency becomes more important over the course of a cycle. Zig-zag between mesocycles can help to dissipate some accumulated fatigue. I like to include some zig-zag if I'm doing a regular HST cycle as I tend to push my RM workouts close to failure, even for big compounds like deads and squats, which invariably leaves me feeling well hammered! A few easier workouts after an RM session can really help to reduce some fatigue.

For RM sessions, you'll be unlikely to get all the reps for subsequent sets if you were close to failure in the first set. If this is the case you can either stop a set when you know you couldn't make a further rep and leave it there or you could add a further set to make up your total rep count (probably what I'd do). So, if you did a first set of 15 x 100lb and felt close to failure on the 15th rep, you might stop at 10 reps on the second set and then do a further set of 5 rep after a short rest.

At the start of 15s when the loads are relatively light (~75% of 15RM) you can either just keep pumping out the reps to get a good burn or you can slow the rep speed down a bit. I prefer to knock out more reps as I get a better burn which is what I'm after at this stage in the cycle. I might do 25 reps for 1st sets and 15-20 for any subsequent sets.

If any of this seems to be overly complicating things for you right now, just keep it simple. Once you have a couple of cycles under your belt you'll start to see where you can change things up a little to suit you best.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[omega99]

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(Lol @ Nov. 24 2009,10:38)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Curtail a set when you think you'd probably fail the next rep or when your rep speed slows substantially. It won't 'hurt' your CNS much if you hit failure for smaller muscle groups but for larger compound movements your CNS will take a big hit if you constantly push to failure.</div>
Amen. After 3 years of HST, experimenting with different variations, I think I've come full circle. Sparing the CNS leads to inceased strength which leads to increased motivation which leads to increased hypertrophy over time. I firmly believe that any metabolic/hormonal effects from training to failure will be more than offset by the CNS fatigue that sets in and ultimately limits gains. And dare I say that I think that the concept of myo-reps walks a thin line in this regard and needs to be managed carefully...especially for the compounds. This guy named Haycock had some pretty good ideas a few years back  

 

[RUSS]

Good points all around - but let's be honest ; the otherworldly thrill of reaching complete muscle failure on thumbless grip guillotine bench press with no spotter surely offsets a little extra hypertrophy!

 

[imported_electric]

<div>
(RUSS @ Nov. 25 2009,5:07)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Good points all around - but let's be honest ; the otherworldly thrill of reaching complete muscle failure on thumbless grip guillotine bench press with no spotter surely offsets a little extra hypertrophy!

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