Simplify and Win!

Oz

No problem, as I said its more of a rant than anything! We have seen an amazing amount on newbies asking the same old question, you can of course skip it, but my opinion is you will invariably pick up problems, its like not maintaining your car because its a BMW or a Mercedes, sooner or later you get problems right?

The best you can do is to mininmize it down to say a week, but then go all out and practice slow reps so as to flush your body with lactacte properly!

Remember both SD and 15's are part and parcel of HST without those two you pretty much doing something else, this including the rest is what makes this program a winner! :)

I've got a pretty good e-book of Charles Stayley that covers the absolute minimum HST practices in a very holistic manner, if you want I'll send it to you...just PM me.

Funny good ol'batman (JVRoig) should have placed it here for download as he got them for me exactly for that reason...anyway maybe he's too busy! ;)
 
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Hello,

I will be starting my first HST cycle in a couple of weeks so I have some questions. I am building mass so keep that in mind.

Please correct my training routine, if necessary:
Squats
Deadlifts
Incline bench press
Shoulder press
Bent over rows
Fly
Triceps extension
Biceps curl

I will change isolation exercises every couple of weeks.

My other questions:
Which is better:
a) Classic workout 3 times a week
b) Classic workout 3 times a week but once in the morning and second time in the evening (36 hours apart)
c) More exercises split into AM/PM routine
Is there any study about this?

What is volume? I hear it a lot but still don't know what it is.

After 14 days of SD how do I tell I am working with enough weight, as I understood I don't need to push myself to the limit but how far can I push myself- how do I tell I did enough to make hypertrophy happen?
Also, for example: if my max 15 reps for squat is 50kg aprox. how much increasement should I use?

Thanks for now!
 
Prevtzer said:
Hello,

I will be starting my first HST cycle in a couple of weeks so I have some questions. I am building mass so keep that in mind.

Please correct my training routine, if necessary:
Squats
Deadlifts
Incline bench press
Shoulder press
Bent over rows
Fly
Triceps extension
Biceps curl

I will change isolation exercises every couple of weeks.

My other questions:
Which is better:
a) Classic workout 3 times a week
b) Classic workout 3 times a week but once in the morning and second time in the evening (36 hours apart)
c) More exercises split into AM/PM routine
Is there any study about this?

What is volume? I hear it a lot but still don't know what it is.

After 14 days of SD how do I tell I am working with enough weight, as I understood I don't need to push myself to the limit but how far can I push myself- how do I tell I did enough to make hypertrophy happen?
Also, for example: if my max 15 reps for squat is 50kg aprox. how much increasement should I use?

Thanks for now!
Click to expand...

Hi Prevtzer

If any I'd include Dips (later weighted during 5's or earlier) and Chin ups, reverse close grip also weighted like the dips, these are very effective for Chest/Triceps (Dips) and Lats/Biceps (Chinups).

I always prefer to use a A/B type routine, it leaves you with less exercises so you can concentrate on good form!

Any one of teh three types you mention can be used, however the AM/PM routine requires more feeding and fewer exercises to avoid burnout!

Volume is the amount of work in a workout per exercise or you, say 3 sets of 10 is a volume of 30, or total volume for the entire 8 weeks.

You don't need to SD for 14 days, 7 is enough, your choice though.

Push yourself to before failure, do not engage failure or go beyond it! Stay close to it only. Make sense?

You plan your cycle by working out your Rep max for each set of reps, 15/10 and 5.

then you start at 75% of that and add 5% for upper body exercises, and 10% for lower body!
 
Hi,

do you think it would be better to do this:
Squats
Deadlifts
Incline bench press
Shoulder press
Dips
Chin ups

The problem is that I can only do 12 or 13 chin ups, dips are fine...

Thank you, I will probably have 7 days of SD

Thank you, now I understand about how far to push myself.

So there isn't anything to support if any of routines are better (AMP/PM, 3 times a week...).

Thank you for explaining volume.

At squat, my max for 15 reps is 55kg.
Should I be doing:
30kg 35kg 40kg 45kg 50kg 55kg?
Because 30 kg seems very light, I usually do 1 set of 15 reps when warming up, and it's nothing more than that.
My concern is starting weight being too light.

Thank you!
 
Prevtzer said:
Hi,

do you think it would be better to do this:
Squats
Deadlifts
Incline bench press
Shoulder press
Dips
Chin ups
Click to expand...

Balance things out a little more, have say two types of exercises per body part, then split the program A/B:

Squats/Split Squats
Deadlifts/Leg curls or SLDL's
Incline bench press/Dips
Shoulder press/lat raises + rear delt raises
Chin ups/Bent over rows or low pulley rows


Prevtzer said:
The problem is that I can only do 12 or 13 chin ups, dips are fine...
Click to expand...

That's better than most people can!:) And that is at the 15's so why worry, rest 20 sec. and do the other 2 or 3 that you have left!

Prevtzer said:
Thank you, I will probably have 7 days of SD

Thank you, now I understand about how far to push myself.

So there isn't anything to support if any of routines are better (AMP/PM, 3 times a week...).

Thank you for explaining volume.

At squat, my max for 15 reps is 55kg.
Should I be doing:
30kg 35kg 40kg 45kg 50kg 55kg?
Because 30 kg seems very light, I usually do 1 set of 15 reps when warming up, and it's nothing more than that.
My concern is starting weight being too light.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Yes start at 30 kG...you will be lifting heavier for 5's, no worries then.
 
Hi guys, I'm from Brazil, and this is my first post here.
As the HST articles are in Enlgish, is pretty hard to find someone here that can discuss about it with me, so I'll just ask for your help guys. Before I show you my workout, I must say that I used to do a hole body workout, using the HST principals, but I was spending more that 80 min in the Gym, so I just split my routine (I started this week, just to see how it works) in two different days: Upper Body (Mon, Wed, Fri) and Lower Body (Tue, Thu, Sat). This is how I've been doing it:

Upper Body

Bench Press (15º)
Bent Over Row
Dip (Weighted)
Pull Up (Wide and Weighted as well)
Military Press (My lumbar is injured, what can I use here?)
Shrugs
Tri Extenseion
Biceps Curl (with bar)

Lower Body & Core

Squat
Leg Curls
Seated Calf Raise
Abs (each day a different one)

Question:
I think my Lumbar is a little injured. It is sore almost all the time (I still haven't seen a doctor). Is there any exercise I MUST NOT do - I'm not doing Deadlifts :(
 
Oi kiki

Tudo bem? Eu falo e escrevo na nossa lingua de maneira que se quizer...tudo bem!

For the sake of the other guys though lets keep this in English, just e-mail me at [email protected] and we'll take it from there!
 
Here's what I've been doing for a year or so:
(1) Squats
(2) BB bench press
(3) SLDL
(4) Side bends
(5) Seated rows / Pull-ups
(6) Calf raises
(7) BB biceps curls

My HST routine is made up of the "classical" 15-10-5-5. I try to do all of the exercises even on my 5's, which might take up to an hour and a half. I do 2 sets on the first week, 1 set on the second week of each rep cycle (except for 15's, see below). I repeat weights once at the start of each rep cycle, which is a kind of a rest to allow CNS fatigue to fade away. I also do 2 sets on the weeks of 15's with 1 minute rest. Needless to say my "15RM weights" aren't really RM for this reason. So far so good. HST has given me strength and some brawn. It's hard to do heavy Squats, BP and SLDL all in one workout, but it's well worth it.
 
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Kiki22 said:
I think my Lumbar is a little injured. It is sore almost all the time (I still haven't seen a doctor). Is there any exercise I MUST NOT do - I'm not doing Deadlifts
Click to expand...
If you think you are injured, go see a doctor.

In my experience deadlifts are the best cure for a sore back.
 
HST_Rihad said:
Here's what I've been doing for a year or so:
(1) Squats
(2) BB bench press
(3) SLDL
(4) Side bends
(5) Seated rows / Pull-ups
(6) Calf raises
(7) BB biceps curls

My HST routine is made up of the "classical" 15-10-5-5. I try to do all of the exercises even on my 5's, which might take up to an hour and a half. I do 2 sets on the first week, 1 set on the second week of each rep cycle (except for 15's, see below). I repeat weights once at the start of each rep cycle, which is a kind of a rest to allow CNS fatigue to fade away. I also do 2 sets on the weeks of 15's with 1 minute rest. Needless to say my "15RM weights" aren't really RM for this reason. So far so good. HST has given me strength and some brawn. It's hard to do heavy Squats, BP and SLDL all in one workout, but it's well worth it.
Click to expand...

...Rihad

You might want to alternate some of the stuff and reduce that to one hour, it sounds like you might improve dramatically with a slight tweek! ;)
 
Fausto said:
...Rihad

You might want to alternate some of the stuff and reduce that to one hour, it sounds like you might improve dramatically with a slight tweek! ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks, I've tried once alternating between Squats / SLDLs for the weeks of 5's, substituting each with leg extensions / leg bends on off days. I also did BB shrugs to hit my traps as a way to compensate for doing SLDLs less frequently. Nothing dramatical, no surprising strength increases, no nothing, so I went back to simply doing them both. It's critical not to do more than 1 heavy working set of each Squats & SLDLs to stay sane.
 
Hi, HST fans! It`s my first post on this forum.
I`ve read a lot of information about HST and I`m interested in its principles.
I train at home and everything I have are dip bar, BB bar, DB bar and plates (2x25 kg,20kg,15kg,10kg,5kg,2,5kg,1,25kg, 0,5kg).
My routine:
1) Dips
2) Rows
3) One Arm DB Press (each arm)
4) Deadlift
5) BB Curls
But at this moment I`m too weak on Dips, and my BW is 15RM. So, I plan to start from 10`s (2nd microcycle), then switch to 5`s and work on my stength at first. Is it a good idea? Or, may be, there is another variant...
 
why mess around with one arm db press? may as well do it with both arms as you can lift a lot more. instead of dips just do bench press.
 
How is HST with simply and win much different than most 5x5 type programs?

I'm curious, other than the earlier higher rep ranges, what distinguishes HST 'simply and win' from typical storng lift programs 5x5, bill star's, etc.? Those programs all use basic compound exercises and each training day (or each week) you move up in weight increasing load. The only real difference I see is that they start out right away with just 5s and there isn't a technical SD cycle (although most recommend some time off after several weeks of training.) Both work on progressive load without having to do forced reps and sets to failure.

If you were using HST to include more isolation type exercises I can see how it's quite different since you'd spread the number of sets out over a larger composition of exercises, but with 'simply and win' approach it seems like the two programs are quite similar. In fact if you took the strong lifts work out, and did a cycle of 10x3 or 10x2 (instead of straight 5x5), the programs would seem identical.
 
rickcr, I think the difference between HST and 5x5 lies in larger starting weights for the latter. While a HST'er would (after the needed amount of SD) start from his or her 65-75% RM and work upwards, inducing microtrauma each time, someone doing 5x5 would start from like 95% of his RM and work a few weeks until hopefully he reaches 105% RM, then start over, probably after some rest. Thus 5x5 is more concerned with strength gains, I think. I haven't done it myself, though; HST seems more than ok.
 
HST_Rihad, actually the starting weight for a cycle varies. I've only did strong lifts 5x5 and Madcow's intermediate training (similar to 5x5, but you only move up 5lb a week and you aren't doing 5x5 of the same weight.)

In the traditional strong lift program (assuming you aren't ultimately beginner which has you start with just the bar), they recommend you start at 70% of your 5 rep max - which is basically the same as HST.

There isn't as much emphasis on the SD cycle in the 5x5 programs although it does seem like common sense to most that after a while 'you need a break' even with those programs The biggest difference vs the simply-and-win HST training is in the lack of 15s and 10s. It does seem like the 'general' consensus is 10s help more for size, 5s and lower for strength... but what do I know (just seems to be what's mentioned a lot.)

In this next HST cycle I'm doing 3 weeks of 10s and 3 weeks of 5s to see how that goes (skipping the 15s this time around.)
 
rickcr said:
HST_Rihad, actually the starting weight for a cycle varies. I've only did strong lifts 5x5 and Madcow's intermediate training (similar to 5x5, but you only move up 5lb a week and you aren't doing 5x5 of the same weight.)

In the traditional strong lift program (assuming you aren't ultimately beginner which has you start with just the bar), they recommend you start at 70% of your 5 rep max - which is basically the same as HST.

There isn't as much emphasis on the SD cycle in the 5x5 programs although it does seem like common sense to most that after a while 'you need a break' even with those programs
Click to expand...
I think it's quite easy to explain this. 5x5 is probably effective for exactly the same reasons HST is: gradual weight growth starting deconditioned to load. While the authors of 5x5 have probably explained the need for a rest as a way to beat overtraining symptoms, HST brings in some scientific evidence. HST lengthens this growth effect by starting at 15s and decreasing repetitions as the working weight goes up. HST hasn't monopolized its way of training. Other training methods sharing similar ideas are often just as good.
 
5x5 technically could be considered a variation of HST even though it predates it. However, it does follow the principles for the most part. As do other programs such as DC, etc etc. The main thing with those programs, however, is that sometimes they incorrectly explain the reasoning behind their success whereas HST correctly points out the scientific evidence behind the thought process here and the reason why it works.
 
AM

Pull Ups
Bench
Deadlift
(need something else)

PM

Squat
Rows
Military Press
Shrugs




If you didn't notice in my AM slot I said I needed another exercise, if anyone could help me out that would be great. Al though I haven't posted in my old thread I still have been working out, haven't gained a whole lot of weight.....partly due to my diet because I have been eating close to NOTHING compared to what I should have been eating. I'm gonna go all out this cycle this time. I have my diet all laid out, I just need some help with the exercise part. Thanks for the help!
 
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