kidkurious
New Member
I don't fully understand what the last two weeks of the HST cycle are for. Is it possible to skip the 2 weeks and go straight to SD?
The last 2 weeks of an HST cycle
- Thread starter kidkurious
- Start date
The two weeks of post-5s are for growth just like the other six weeks - only skip them if you don't want to reap the benefits of lifting heavy iron for a further two weeks.
Joking aside, for the two weeks of post-5s you either keep training with your 5RM loads or you continue to increment the loads a little further (to about your 2 or 3RM) and do negatives.
I don't think many folks do negatives - for certain exercises they are often impractical without someone to help out or unless you have access to certain machines. Dips and chins are exceptions; it's pretty easy to perform negs for these if you have a platform. Use it to stand on to get back up to the top position after each eccentric.
Instead of negs, another effective method to allow for a little more loading is to drop to sets of 3 reps. Stick with the same 5RM loads for the first week of post-5s (say 3-5 sets for a total of 15 reps). Then for the second week of post-5s try to increase the loads a little but maintain the total rep count. You may need to cluster reps after a few sets and end up doing something like this: 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1. It's possible to keep this going for several weeks more if desired.
Another popular alternative for post-5s is to switch to Max-Stim style reps which are a very effective way to manage fatigue while lifting heavy iron on a regular basis. (Do a search for Max-Stim if you need more details on this method).
With all of this heavy stuff, do take care. Don't just push up the loads if you already feel that your form is starting to suffer. There is no sense in getting injured.
Hope that helped a bit.
Joking aside, for the two weeks of post-5s you either keep training with your 5RM loads or you continue to increment the loads a little further (to about your 2 or 3RM) and do negatives.
I don't think many folks do negatives - for certain exercises they are often impractical without someone to help out or unless you have access to certain machines. Dips and chins are exceptions; it's pretty easy to perform negs for these if you have a platform. Use it to stand on to get back up to the top position after each eccentric.
Instead of negs, another effective method to allow for a little more loading is to drop to sets of 3 reps. Stick with the same 5RM loads for the first week of post-5s (say 3-5 sets for a total of 15 reps). Then for the second week of post-5s try to increase the loads a little but maintain the total rep count. You may need to cluster reps after a few sets and end up doing something like this: 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1. It's possible to keep this going for several weeks more if desired.
Another popular alternative for post-5s is to switch to Max-Stim style reps which are a very effective way to manage fatigue while lifting heavy iron on a regular basis. (Do a search for Max-Stim if you need more details on this method).
With all of this heavy stuff, do take care. Don't just push up the loads if you already feel that your form is starting to suffer. There is no sense in getting injured.
Hope that helped a bit.
kidkurious
New Member
thanks!
i've decided to continue with my 5RM for the last 2 weeks.
However, this bothers me because it doesn't follow the principle of progressive load.
Or can I increase the load each workout if i feel i can handle it?
i've decided to continue with my 5RM for the last 2 weeks.
However, this bothers me because it doesn't follow the principle of progressive load.
Or can I increase the load each workout if i feel i can handle it?
<div>
(kidkurious @ Sep. 21 2008,4:27)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">thanks!
i've decided to continue with my 5RM for the last 2 weeks.
However, this bothers me because it doesn't follow the principle of progressive load.
Or can I increase the load each workout if i feel i can handle it?</div>
The principle of progressive load is to ensure that you stay ahead of RBE during the cycle. Once you are at your 5RM loads you will find that they are effective for longer but that the effect will still diminish with time.
A further six workouts with your 5RM loads should still elicit a good PS response each session.
If you can increase the loads during the post-5s then go for it. I use the post-5s to find new maxes for all my lifts.
If you start getting too fatigued doing sets of 5 just drop to 3s and do more sets.
(kidkurious @ Sep. 21 2008,4:27)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">thanks!
i've decided to continue with my 5RM for the last 2 weeks.
However, this bothers me because it doesn't follow the principle of progressive load.
Or can I increase the load each workout if i feel i can handle it?</div>
The principle of progressive load is to ensure that you stay ahead of RBE during the cycle. Once you are at your 5RM loads you will find that they are effective for longer but that the effect will still diminish with time.
A further six workouts with your 5RM loads should still elicit a good PS response each session.
If you can increase the loads during the post-5s then go for it. I use the post-5s to find new maxes for all my lifts.
If you start getting too fatigued doing sets of 5 just drop to 3s and do more sets.
9to5lifter
New Member
Lol really said it all, I just want to repeat that if you can still increase the load during your post-5's then by all means go for it! Do pay attention to your form, though, as our ego tends to mess up with our form at this stage.
kidkurious
New Member
thanks guys!
today, I did 2 sets per exercise instead of 3... is that okay?
I've been following this volume:
15's = 1 set
10's = 2 sets
05's = 3 sets
last 2 weeks (5RM) = 3 sets
I felt a bit overtrained from Monday's workout, so today I decreased the volume.
I plan to do 3 on friday, clustering the last set for each exercise if neccessary.
today, I did 2 sets per exercise instead of 3... is that okay?
I've been following this volume:
15's = 1 set
10's = 2 sets
05's = 3 sets
last 2 weeks (5RM) = 3 sets
I felt a bit overtrained from Monday's workout, so today I decreased the volume.
I plan to do 3 on friday, clustering the last set for each exercise if neccessary.
bodyguard
New Member
<div>
(Lol @ Sep. 20 2008,1:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">for the two weeks of post-5s you either keep training with your 5RM loads or you continue to increment the loads a little further (to about your 2 or 3RM) and do negatives.
Another popular alternative for post-5s is to switch to Max-Stim style reps which are a very effective way to manage fatigue while lifting heavy iron on a regular basis. (Do a search for Max-Stim if you need more details on this method).</div>
Interesting to read this topic.
Because I have done the MaxStim I will do this for post-5s
Good idea by the way but how many reps to do? 5 or 20 because MaxStim is always going to the 20 reps.
(Lol @ Sep. 20 2008,1:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">for the two weeks of post-5s you either keep training with your 5RM loads or you continue to increment the loads a little further (to about your 2 or 3RM) and do negatives.
Another popular alternative for post-5s is to switch to Max-Stim style reps which are a very effective way to manage fatigue while lifting heavy iron on a regular basis. (Do a search for Max-Stim if you need more details on this method).</div>
Interesting to read this topic.
Because I have done the MaxStim I will do this for post-5s
Good idea by the way but how many reps to do? 5 or 20 because MaxStim is always going to the 20 reps.
BenReffell
New Member
<div>
(bodyguard @ Oct. 05 2008,9:18)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(Lol @ Sep. 20 2008,1:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">for the two weeks of post-5s you either keep training with your 5RM loads or you continue to increment the loads a little further (to about your 2 or 3RM) and do negatives.
Another popular alternative for post-5s is to switch to Max-Stim style reps which are a very effective way to manage fatigue while lifting heavy iron on a regular basis. (Do a search for Max-Stim if you need more details on this method).</div>
Interesting to read this topic.
Because I have done the MaxStim I will do this for post-5s
Good idea by the way but how many reps to do? 5 or 20 because MaxStim is always going to the 20 reps.</div>
20 reps
(bodyguard @ Oct. 05 2008,9:18)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(Lol @ Sep. 20 2008,1:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">for the two weeks of post-5s you either keep training with your 5RM loads or you continue to increment the loads a little further (to about your 2 or 3RM) and do negatives.
Another popular alternative for post-5s is to switch to Max-Stim style reps which are a very effective way to manage fatigue while lifting heavy iron on a regular basis. (Do a search for Max-Stim if you need more details on this method).</div>
Interesting to read this topic.
Because I have done the MaxStim I will do this for post-5s
Good idea by the way but how many reps to do? 5 or 20 because MaxStim is always going to the 20 reps.</div>
20 reps