I follow the sample routine and I am on my 2nd cycle of HST. I finished my 1st cycle and did a 10 day SD. I am doing 2 sets of each exercise where I hit my target reps on the 1st set and stop before failure on my 2nd set. My 15 rep max for bench is 135. So my first 2 weeks (15-reps) will be like 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135. I did the first week's workout easily, but once I got to my 2nd week, I was only able to do like 8x125 on the 4th workout, but I had done 15x120 easily on the 3rd workout. On the 5th workout, it was still just as bad. What could be the issue here?
Sudden loss in strength
- Thread starter longphant
- Start date
QuantumPositron2
New Member
1. Well, you could skip the 15's. Bryan says so in the official method: "15¹s can be skipped when you are about to start over after the first 8 week cycle."
2. I presume you established your 15 rep max after the SD?
3. How are your other lifts coming along?
-Q
2. I presume you established your 15 rep max after the SD?
3. How are your other lifts coming along?
-Q
5/10/15 rep maxes are to be determined before SD. That's how hypertrophy can progress using sub-maximal weights and prolongs the time it takes to reach true max weights. OP, are you eating enough? I found my lifts suffered when I wasn't getting enough calories. Also, you can use myo-reps to achieve the total number of reps for each lift.
Last edited:
QuantumPositron2
New Member
Woops. I was thinkin' all SST like. Still, how are your other lifts coming along? Is it just bench press that's suffering?
TangoDown
Member
How are your other lifts?
Where is bench press in the order of exercises? Are you doing it first, or are you doing other movements that use shoulders/triceps/chest beforehand?
Is the failure happening on the first or second set? Maybe you overestimated your 15 rep max. Did you actually hit 135 before you SD'd?
If all else fails, readjust the weight accordingly. As long as the load keeps moving upward, you should be fine.
Where is bench press in the order of exercises? Are you doing it first, or are you doing other movements that use shoulders/triceps/chest beforehand?
Is the failure happening on the first or second set? Maybe you overestimated your 15 rep max. Did you actually hit 135 before you SD'd?
If all else fails, readjust the weight accordingly. As long as the load keeps moving upward, you should be fine.
Last edited:
You may be right that it was that I wasn't getting enough calories the day before. I was actually able to do most of my lifts, so it may have been that I had bad sleep or did not eat enough.
I established my 15 rep max by adding 10 pounds to my 15 rep max of the 1st cycle.
Thanks everyone!
I established my 15 rep max by adding 10 pounds to my 15 rep max of the 1st cycle.
Thanks everyone!
QuantumPositron2
New Member
Yikes. There are charts that you can use to interpolate a rep-max or you can just do 15 with a weight, rest about 3-5 min, and then up the weight again if need be. Sounds to me like you did neither. While a 10 lb increment sounds yummy to the iron monster in all of us, I'm afraid you need to do a true 15RM test the traditional way. Typically adding 10 lbs to a bench, in my experience, is ambitious. In SS Rippetoe comments bench usually goes up about 5 lbs at a time for most trainees.
TangoDown
Member
^^^
I think Riptoe means during his program, you go up by 5lb intervals each session. When you start SS, you start nowhere near your 5 rep max.
My dumbbell bench has gone up 5lb per dumbbell each cycle, but it's going to really come down to how much you push your rep maxes per cycle and how trained you are in the specific movement pattern. As you said, Quantum, it's always better to either calculate a 15 rep max based off the 5 rep max you ended with, or test your 15 rep max before you SD.
I think Riptoe means during his program, you go up by 5lb intervals each session. When you start SS, you start nowhere near your 5 rep max.
My dumbbell bench has gone up 5lb per dumbbell each cycle, but it's going to really come down to how much you push your rep maxes per cycle and how trained you are in the specific movement pattern. As you said, Quantum, it's always better to either calculate a 15 rep max based off the 5 rep max you ended with, or test your 15 rep max before you SD.
Eat more.
Your 'energy' levels will be markedly and noticeably reduced if you aren't eating enough. Although we're only comparing anecdotes, I have experienced exactly the same problem you are describing and was told here to 'eat like a bodybuilder'. HST (or any program) isn't going to work if you aren't going into a pretty decent surplus regardless.
Your 'energy' levels will be markedly and noticeably reduced if you aren't eating enough. Although we're only comparing anecdotes, I have experienced exactly the same problem you are describing and was told here to 'eat like a bodybuilder'. HST (or any program) isn't going to work if you aren't going into a pretty decent surplus regardless.
I'm not really sure why you are surprised to find that your 15 RMs are incorrect when you simply added 10 lbs to your previous ones instead of actually testing them?
I hope you didn't just add ten lbs for all lifts? This would be a huge error, especially when you compare the curve of strength gain in something like curls versus something like squats or bench.
I hope you didn't just add ten lbs for all lifts? This would be a huge error, especially when you compare the curve of strength gain in something like curls versus something like squats or bench.