Started 2nd cycle...have no strength!

W

wungun

Member
First cycle i had good results...i was able to add 30lbs to my bench by the time i got to the end of my 5's.
This was over my previous best max from doing a "typical" lifting routine...for which i maxed and couldnt lift any more weight.
2 weeks SD and back into the 15's, adding 5lbs to most of my lifts (10 lbs to presses)...
And ill be damn if i could barely rep out on my first workout day!
Pretty much the same for subsequent workout days. Id get lactic acid burn and felt completely spent.
What happened?!
 
How heavy did you start, and what was your 15 RM in bench from your previous cycle?

Bear in mind that there is a large amount of specificity for a given rep range. meaning even if you bumped up your bench +30 lbs in the 5's, that doesn't mean you can assume a similar increase in your 15's. I think the easiest strategy is to bump your RM's up from cycle to cycle a little bit. You said you did this, but also said you added 10 lbs to your projected RM's between one cycle and the next for presses. Unless you're a beginner, this isn't going to be very realistic, in my opinion. I wouldn't bump it up more than ~2.5 - 5 lbs per cycle, particularly for a lift like the bench press. Squats/deadlifts have more wiggle room.

Example: if last cycle you got 15 reps in bench press with 155 lbs, you might aim for 157.5 or 160 at the end of your 15's for the following cycle.

Note also that if you took a full 2 weeks off SD, you may have to start even lighter. In the above example, you might start at something like ~132.5 or 135 after a normal ~9 days SD, but maybe even a little lighter given that much time off.
 
Thanks for the reply...
On my first cycle, i started my bench press, for example, at 65lbs and ended my 15's at 90.
Second cycle, i started my 15's at 75lbs and ended at 100lbs. 10lbs increase.
Every lift besides rows, deads, and calfs saw a 5lbs increase. Those lifts i raised 10lbs.
My 30lbs 5 rep max increase came during my very first cycle, compared to my previous (non HST) routines max...
Do you think two weeks SD was too long?

Maybe ill aim for smaller increases on the 10's and 15's and target a little more on the 5's...?
I.e. 2.5 to 5lbs on the 10's and 15's, and 10lbs when i hit the 5's?
 
It's always difficult to lift for the first week after SD. Don't sweat it, that's a good sign that you are thoroughly deconditioned. You will get back to normal after a few workouts.
 
wungun said:
Thanks for the reply...
On my first cycle, i started my bench press, for example, at 65lbs and ended my 15's at 90.
Second cycle, i started my 15's at 75lbs and ended at 100lbs. 10lbs increase.
Every lift besides rows, deads, and calfs saw a 5lbs increase. Those lifts i raised 10lbs.
My 30lbs 5 rep max increase came during my very first cycle, compared to my previous (non HST) routines max...
Do you think two weeks SD was too long?

Maybe ill aim for smaller increases on the 10's and 15's and target a little more on the 5's...?
I.e. 2.5 to 5lbs on the 10's and 15's, and 10lbs when i hit the 5's?
Click to expand...

Two week SD isn't necessarily too long, it's just easy to lose some conditioning. Going from 5's to a long SD back to 15's can be a pretty harsh shock to the system, and it's common to feel an insane burn at first. You basically need to figure out a starting weight where, even if it's crazy burny, you're still not risking failure or a breakdown in form. If you're really struggling with 75, that means 75 was arguably too heavy to start.

In terms of what to do this cycle for 15's, I'd probably repeat the 75 until you felt it was more manageable, and then start conservatively bumping it up. Maybe aim for ~95 lbs at the end of 15's, instead of 100.

As for 5's, you might be able to get away with being more aggressive, but always remember you can scale it back a little. You want your RM's to increase from cycle to cycle for the 15's/10's/5's, but this should happen organically, and getting too greedy with the increments can definitely backfire.
 
Thanks for the reply...
Maybe i should keep my 15's the same for 2 or 3 cycles, and work at increasing the loads for just the 10's. And 5's
 
You made some very nice gains in strength during your first two cycles. Another increase of 5 pounds at the END of your 15's, 10's and 5's is a good, solid increase. I know you probably FEEL like you should be able to just bump everything up by 10 or 15 pounds since you did that before, but don't do too much too soon. As long as you are steadily increasing, you're doing it right. Increasing too much too soon often leads to injury, and there is nothing worse than a long injury-forced SD. Some HST cycles are going to be better than others, there are just so many variables: stress, food, sleep; so any increases are good increases.

The first couple workouts of 15's after SD are always the worst. I think shooting for a solid 5 pound increase at the end of your 15's is a very solid goal at this point.
 
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