Starting off with 20's

C

celc5

New Member
Although it doesn't seem congruent with the consensus, I really enjoy doing 15's. I like that I don't need to do a lot of warm up sets which allows for more productive work in a shorter time period. I also enjoy the prolonged muscle "fullness" and the recomp affect.

I'd like to extend my next HST cycle on the front end with 1 or 2 weeks of 20's.

I'd like to hear opinions on why I should or should not do this.

I'd like to hear feedback from anyone has tried 20's on the front end regardless of positive or negative experience.
 
I think he is referring to the increase of glycogen stores which changes the look of his body's composition.


How many sets are you doing in the 15s per muscle group? I use to get a good glycogen pump when I did 3 sets of 15s, but that stopped when I changed to 1 set in the 15s.
 
Nipponbiki, good point. I wasn't necessarily stating that the 15's inherently produced recomp benefits. I just notice that bodyfat tends to drop very easily during those first 2 weeks, even when carbs are moderate. I also don't feel as drained during the 15's, which allows for more vigorous cardio on "off" days.

Jw, yes, you articulated better than I did. The pump from the 15's probably makes me "look" like recomp has occured.

I do 2 sets of 15's with 1 warm up set for the major lifts. I've had some severe sports injuries in the past and the higher repetitions are a blessing for my joints. Which brings me back to the initial idea, any thoughts on 20's?
 
<div>
(celc5 @ Jul. 08 2008,4:01)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Which brings me back to the initial idea, any thoughts on 20's?</div>
My 2 cents: 20s is good for joint recovery, is ok for endurance but not so good for hypertrophy.
 
<div>
(electric @ Jul. 08 2008,3:12)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(celc5 @ Jul. 08 2008,4:01)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Which brings me back to the initial idea, any thoughts on 20's?</div>
My 2 cents: 20s is good for joint recovery, is ok for endurance but not so good for hypertrophy.</div>
Good points. That sums it up very well.
 
No biggie, I do a whole week of 1x32

anyway here's my set/rep scheme:

week 1: 1 x 32
week 2: 2 x 16
week 3: 3 x 8
week 4: 4 x 4
week 5: 5 x 2
week 6: 6 x 1
week 7 &amp; 8: find new 1RM (cause push/pull takes more time than full body)

monday/thursday (push day)
squats
bench press
military press
curls
abs

tuesday/friday (pull day)
DL
bent over rows
pull downs
triceps press down
good mornings

as you can see, every push days have their counterparts trained in the pull days

just my 2 cents
 
Dropping bodyfat during the 15s is a bad idea. Anyway, the 15s aren't what are causing your bodyfat to drop anyway. That is a function of diet. Whether you gain or lose weight/fat, will depend on your calorie intake. The 15s are pretty much the worst time to try and drop bodyfat because the fairly light loads of the 15s are a poor stimulus for maintaining muscle mass. 15s may burn more calories, but you don't want to rely on weights to burn calories if your goal is to shed bodyfat. You should look to weight training as a stimulus to spare muscle mass, and look to diet and cardio for creating a calorie deficit.

All that said, if you've been experiencing joint problems of any sort, doing a week or two of 20s before you do the 15s has been purported to work wonders for many people in healing those pains.
 
<div>
(Totentanz @ Jul. 11 2008,10:37)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Dropping bodyfat during the 15s is a bad idea.  Anyway, the 15s aren't what are causing your bodyfat to drop anyway.  That is a function of diet.  Whether you gain or lose weight/fat, will depend on your calorie intake.  The 15s are pretty much the worst time to try and drop bodyfat because the fairly light loads of the 15s are a poor stimulus for maintaining muscle mass.  15s may burn more calories, but you don't want to rely on weights to burn calories if your goal is to shed bodyfat.  You should look to weight training as a stimulus to spare muscle mass, and look to diet and cardio for creating a calorie deficit.

All that said, if you've been experiencing joint problems of any sort, doing a week or two of 20s before you do the 15s has been purported to work wonders for many people in healing those pains.</div>
tot, you make some good points.

My personal philosophy concerning diet and body composition goals is to pick a plan and stick with it throughout the entire HST cycle.  Do you think that diet should change in accordance with rep ranges?  Or are you in agreement with my philosophy?  Does your personal point of view on this topic change whether you are bulking or cutting?
 
I have had success doing it like this
1 week 40 reps (1 set only)
1 week 20 reps (1 set only)
2 weeks 15 reps (2 sets)
2 weeks 10 reps (2 sets)
2 weeks 5 reps (2 sets)
Strategic Deconditioning

I will say that I'm not just interested in Hypertrophy, but overall athletic improvement for soccer, basketball, softball as well as looking good. I find the hi rep helps me alot when I get to the end. I can concentrate more on lifting heavy and less on being pooped out.
 
Scott, what do you think is the benefit the 40 reps have for you?
 
<div>
(celc5 @ Jul. 14 2008,11:12)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(Totentanz @ Jul. 11 2008,10:37)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Dropping bodyfat during the 15s is a bad idea. Anyway, the 15s aren't what are causing your bodyfat to drop anyway. That is a function of diet. Whether you gain or lose weight/fat, will depend on your calorie intake. The 15s are pretty much the worst time to try and drop bodyfat because the fairly light loads of the 15s are a poor stimulus for maintaining muscle mass. 15s may burn more calories, but you don't want to rely on weights to burn calories if your goal is to shed bodyfat. You should look to weight training as a stimulus to spare muscle mass, and look to diet and cardio for creating a calorie deficit.

All that said, if you've been experiencing joint problems of any sort, doing a week or two of 20s before you do the 15s has been purported to work wonders for many people in healing those pains.</div>
tot, you make some good points.

My personal philosophy concerning diet and body composition goals is to pick a plan and stick with it throughout the entire HST cycle. Do you think that diet should change in accordance with rep ranges? Or are you in agreement with my philosophy? Does your personal point of view on this topic change whether you are bulking or cutting?</div>
I do not think that diet should change according to rep range. I think that your routine should vary based on your diet. If you are cutting, you should avoid using lighter loads. Diet is the first thing to get in line depending on your goals. If you want to cut or bulk, get the diet figured out and set, then add the weight training, etc.

However, if you want to include 15s while cutting, then just keep calories at maintenance throughout the 15s and possibly halfway through 10 as well.
 
<div>
(electric @ Jul. 14 2008,3:34)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Scott, what do you think is the benefit the 40 reps have for you?</div>
These are my personal observations about the 40s, nothing scientific on my part just based on how I perceive I feel.

1). At the end of soccer games, my legs felt good and I had more ability to still change directions and still accelerate
2). I felt during the end of 10s and 5s I was able to push more on the second set.

It seems the higher reps might have helped with VO2 Max or muscle endurance not sure, but I could tell a slight difference. I
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top