When to change exercises?

J

javierdl

New Member
I am so excited about this concept I can't wait to end my present reg routine and start with HST ;)
I read all the info presented in the following pages: History of HST, HST Methods, and the HST Notes. But unless I overlooked it, I didn't see any mention as to when we're supposed to change exercises.
Would that be every 8 weeks?

Btw, where it says: "... 5 reps for 2 weeks > then continue with your 5 rep max for 2 weeks...", does this mean we're to do a total of 4 weeks of 5 reps?
Or there is a difference between the 1st two week set and the 2nd?

And finally, what are "negatives"?

Thanks in advance for your patience,

JavierDL
 
To answer your qeustion about changing exercises, I will qoute from the HST article, "Is HST Actually Different From Other Programs?"

"Pre-existing Concepts that HST Refutes:

...

You should not use eccentric training on a "frequent" basis.
You must change your exercise selection regularly in order to "confuse the muscle" into continued growth.
You must hit a muscle at every angle in order to adequately train it.
... "

So the answer is you dont need to.

The first 2 weeks of 5RM are the progressive portion.  The last 2 weeks are done at your 5RM.

Negatives are exercizes where you use close to or heavier than your 1RM (I beleive HST recommends 2RM) in which you use assistance on the concentric portion of the motion and bear the full load on the eccentric portion of the motion.
 
I believe in changing exercises as part of my routines. Sometimes I do it on a weekly basis switching between 2 routines. Mostly However, I make skight modification when starting another cycle. My typical changes are pretty limited and consis mostly of:

Dips/Incline Bench Press
Chin or Pull Ups (or lat machine)/ Rows
DB/BB Military Press
Deep Squats/Deep Dead Lifts

When I do throw in some arm isolation work, I keep it to BB or DB Curls and Close Grip Bench Press or French Press and for one set only.
 
Thank you so much for your replies guys, this certainly helps : )

bgates1654, I went to read the article you suggested. There is one thing that really confused me though....it's where it says: "Pre-existing Concepts that HST Refutes"
Like this one: You must change your exercise selection regularly in order to "confuse the muscle" into continued growth.
I thought HST encouraged that, not refuted it.

J.
 
HST, as written, does refute the muscle confusion principle. However it does not say that you can never change your exercises...just that the implied benefit by that old principle is much less thought of now.
 
It depends on what you mean by changing exercises. What O&G does I consider more of as alternating exercises to reduce total exercises per workout. I do this myself. I also have two different routines... one for bulking and one for cutting.

The thing that HST refutes like O&G said is the Weider confusion principle in which a person would switch exercises regularly to avoid a plateau. An example of this would be to go from bench -> Flyes -> weighted pushups -> etc. It is generally understood now that it doesnt work like that. I thought that was what you were talking about.
 
You got it! That is what I meant actually
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So that means that although there is nothing wrong in changing my exercises, I could also just continue with the same exercises from one cycle to the next on end and it would be ok....right?

J
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Btw, where it says: &quot;... 5 reps for 2 weeks &gt; then continue with your 5 rep max for 2 weeks...&quot;, does this mean we're to do a total of 4 weeks of 5 reps? </div>

Generally you should try to do negatives but as that requires the use of an experienced partner, many of us resort to doin an extra two weeks of 5's which adds to the growth, because you stay on high loads.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Or there is a difference between the 1st two week set and the 2nd? </div>

You bet, the second week of any rep scheme is always heavier as you get closer to your rep maximum.
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<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">And finally, what are &quot;negatives&quot;?</div>

Negatives, strictly speaking are repetitions where only the concentric part of the exercise is done, in other words on a bench press you would only press against the load when the bar is going down towards your chest, your partner would lift it for you!

With negatives the muscle is subjected to stretching whilst under heavy load, and according to research this causes more growth than your normal lifting, however it is something that should be used in moderation because of injuries, so in HST after the 2 weeks you have SD.

Generally here the loads would be 2 or 1 RM and even beyond.

Hope this helps!
 
I have done flat bench, squats and deads for a year and have made new PBs each cycle. Muscles can't get confused, only people fed with misinformation!
 
Oh, sorry O&amp;G, didn't mean that was all I was doing. Just that you don't need to keep changing it up in order to make progress. I'm sure you would concur that it's primarily mental bordom that demands program change, at least during a bulking phase.
 
Thank you so much for replying all that in one post Fausto, it is very helpful indeed.
Also thanks to Lol and O&amp;G
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JDL
 
<div>
(Lol @ Oct. 04 2006,14:03)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I'm sure you would concur that it's primarily mental bordom that demands program change, at least during a bulking phase.</div>
Absolutely. That's my biggest challenge these days.
 
I have a question regarding extending the 5's for the second two weeks rather than doing the negatives.  I know it's kind of off topic from the original question but it was mentioned in this thread so I figured here is as good a place as any to ask.

Say by the end of the second week of 5's you are easily using the weight that you calculated as your 5 RM before you started the cycle.  If you are going to extend the 5's for two more weeks do you still continue to use that weight or do you increase it to what you can now do for 5 reps?  I'm assuming you should increase the weight if it is possible?
 
<div>
(Bulldog @ Oct. 06 2006,12:55)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"> I'm assuming you should increase the weight if it is possible?</div>
yup!
 
Very good question Bulldog
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I was wondering about that too, I'm glad you asked.
O&amp;G, thanks for replying
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JDL
 
Bulldog: This is always a good way to find your new 5RM for each exercise.

Another tip: You don't have to bother finding new 15 &amp; 10RMs as you can just increase those by 5 or 10lbs each cycle. If you previously estimated them, it's always a good idea to make a note of how easy or hard your 15 &amp; 10RMs were at the time so you can increase (or not) accordingly next cycle. If you have not previously estimated your RMs then they should be going up each cycle, assuming you are bulking.
 
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