what about reps in second set of an exercise ?

S

smartin999

New Member
hi,

today i have started a hst-cycle and have one problem:

let's say RM 15 is 100. for the first workout with 15's i take a weight of 85. first set
is okay, 15 reps with no muscle failure (hope this is the right english word for it, my mother language is not english) :o

for the second set i take (as HST 'rules' say) the same weight, but after rep. 13 it was OVER, rep 14 not possible.

when it does not work in the FIRST workout of 15's, it even won't work in the next workouts with more weight !!!

how can i handle this ? what are you doing with that problem ?
 
I think it's possible your starting weight is too high. If my 15RM is 100, I set my goal for the end of the 15's at 105, about 5% above my max. Then I subtract 5 pounds (kilo's work too) for each of the five workouts leading up to the last one. My weights for the six workouts then are 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105. I usually meet or beat my max by the fourth or fifth workout.

Now, for those who are new to HST but not bodybuilding, a single set of 15 may seem light at this stage and a second set may be added, but it is not necessary. If you are getting to within a rep or two of failure on the first set, then you've done your job and need not add the second set.
 
smartin999 said:
hi,

today i have started a hst-cycle and have one problem:

let's say RM 15 is 100. for the first workout with 15's i take a weight of 85. first set is okay, 15 reps with no muscle failure (hope this is the right english word for it, my mother language is not english) :o

for the second set i take (as HST 'rules' say) the same weight, but after rep. 13 it was OVER, rep 14 not possible. when it does not work in the FIRST workout of 15's, it even won't work in the next workouts with more weight !!!

how can i handle this ? what are you doing with that problem ?
Click to expand...

Hi smartin99

First of all, for 15's you are only required to do one set, reason is precisely because you might end up gong to failure which is something we don not recommend, however if you insist on doing two sets, make sure your first set is to 15 reps, the second set, however should just only go to just before failure, you do bnot want to reach failure often, as this will certainly make you fail teh entire program at heavier weights due to CNS strain. So take the second set to 10 or so and keep it there.

You may want to remember that if you get to 5's I doubt you will be able to keep 6 sets, which would be what you would require if you want to keep the rep range constant. Rather go for 1 x 15 reps/2 x 10 reps/3 x 5 reps, keep your form, if 15's feel too light slow down your reps considerably, you should feel improvement this way.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Fausto
 
Use myoreps, max-stim or clustering to get all the reps in on the second set, if you prefer.
 
Fausto said:
Hi smartin99

First of all, for 15's you are only required to do one set, reason is precisely because you might end up gong to failure which is something we don not recommend, however if you insist on doing two sets, make sure your first set is to 15 reps, the second set, however should just only go to just before failure, you do bnot want to reach failure often, as this will certainly make you fail teh entire program at heavier weights due to CNS strain. So take the second set to 10 or so and keep it there.

You may want to remember that if you get to 5's I doubt you will be able to keep 6 sets, which would be what you would require if you want to keep the rep range constant. Rather go for 1 x 15 reps/2 x 10 reps/3 x 5 reps, keep your form, if 15's feel too light slow down your reps considerably, you should feel improvement this way.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Fausto
Click to expand...

well, i think i wil have the SAME problem in the 10's and 5's. when i can do 10 reps in set 1, i will not be able to do them in the second set or even not in the third set. so it doesn't matter if i am in the 15's, 10's or 5's. when there is a second set of an exercise i will not be able to do the same number of reps. well, maybe for some exercises, but surely NOT for e.g. benchpress.

so thats what confuses me about HST. i am doing bodybuilding for 10 years now with a classic 3-split and i have tried PITT, and now i want to try HST, because i want to do something new :) but i don't get the thing with the second (and even third) set.

and by the way: due to very bad chronical bursitis in both legs i am NOT able to do workout for my legs. and NO, even not with light weights. i am lucky that my feed are not that thin, but i think you can see that i am well trained on my upper body, but not on my feet. well, thats life, i can't change that, even if i wish to do so :cool:

that leads me to the next problem with hst: no leg-workout means less sets in a workout and that means (maybe only in my HEAD !!) that i THINK i have to do more for the other muscles.if not, i would be finished in 30 minutes with the workout. But maybe THAT kind of thinking is not very good when you do HST. what do you think ?

cheers, Martin
 
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smartin999 said:
that leads me to the next problem with hst: no leg-workout means less sets in a workout and that means (maybe only in my HEAD !!) that i THINK i have to do more for the other muscles.if not, i would be finished in 30 minutes with the workout. But maybe THAT kind of thinking is not very good when you do HST. what do you think ?
Click to expand...
Hi, Martin. Sorry to read about your legs, but we learn to make do with what we've got and not to worry about what we don't.

I don't spend a whole lot of time in the gym if I can help it. I figure 45 minutes to an hour is about right. When I do fewer exercises, it means I get to spend a bit more time on each one, paying attention to each rep, and getting adequate rest between sets. Today I only did deads, bench, and row -- it took me 56 minutes, including my warm-up.
 
TunnelRat said:
Hi, Martin. Sorry to read about your legs, but we learn to make do with what we've got and not to worry about what we don't.

I don't spend a whole lot of time in the gym if I can help it. I figure 45 minutes to an hour is about right. When I do fewer exercises, it means I get to spend a bit more time on each one, paying attention to each rep, and getting adequate rest between sets. Today I only did deads, bench, and row -- it took me 56 minutes, including my warm-up.
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i have done my second workout in the 15's and reduced the weight a little bit, now it seems to be okay. but when i will add some more weight in the next sessions, i will have the same problem again :(
 
smartin999 said:
i have done my second workout in the 15's and reduced the weight a little bit, now it seems to be okay. but when i will add some more weight in the next sessions, i will have the same problem again :(
Click to expand...
I suspect that you may have started your program with a bit too much weight on the bar. You might do well to back off a bit.

I confess, however, that each time I increment the weight on the bar, I fear I won't be able to lift it. Yet each time I manage to do so. Using the HST program, we not only get bigger, we also get stronger.
 
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