SD week

[TheHurt]

I'm starting my first ever cycle for HST and was wondering if the SD week is required. Could I just go straight to my first cycle.

 

[Totentanz]

For best results, you'll want to take 9 days off from training and go back on your 10th day, but you won't die if you don't. However, I would highly recommend doing your SD after the first cycle at the very least.

 

[TunnelRat]

It seems to me that the advantage of SD is that it lets us gain the hypertrophy we seek while using submaximal weights. We don't put nearly as much strain on our ligaments and such, nor do we tax our CNS as much.

Otherwise, by continuing at our RM levels, we just beat ourselves up and turn our muscles into leather. An occasional SD is a good thing.

 

[Totentanz]

Not only that but the evidence in the research that a 9 day break is actually beneficial for growth. I know in the past, I expressed some skepticism about SD but after looking over the research and then trying it out myself, I've come around. Every time I take a 9 day break, when I go back to it, I bust through my old plateaus.