I am new to HST but not to lifting. After taking 18 months off from lifting due to laziness, daughter being born, new career, and being a new husband I have jumped back into the game. Much of my lifting career that started when I was in 7th grade had two goals in mind. I wanted to get huge and strong.
It wasn't until I was about 24 that my research stopped coming from trendy magazines and other for profit companies. Not saying all information from these types of sources are bad but you have to be careful. 5/3/1 was a game changer and that program really changed my strength levels. PHAT training was the best program I have followed in which I gained the most strength and size.
After much research and thought I decided that my new direction in the never ending pursuit of muscle was going to be the HST program. I only want to dedicate 3 days a week to lifting. Like the others mentioned above you are given the science, principles, and basic workout in which you have to make adjustments over time to get the best personal results for yourself.
One thing all three of these programs have in common is lowering volume and hitting the muscle more than once in a week. Being in my 3rd week my body has transformed a lot quicker than I expected. Strength is quickly coming back and size is following. HST differs by hitting the same muscle three times a week but the concepts are close enough. I don't see myself gaining the same size I once had but only time will tell.
Some great benefits to this program is the low risk of serious injury. Unlike higher volume programs where the body is very tired and the use of poor form always sneaks in. With HST form, and proper weight selection is key. All major strength coaches believe in one principle. Proper form and smart weight selection will build strength. Strength will in return increase size.
For all who feel this program isn't enough to positively gain strength and size you are very wrong. For those who feel there are better programs out there than the ones I suggested. I would disagree. The writers of 5/3/1 and PHAT are both very accomplished power lighters/bodybuilders. They took the system of HST that all pioneers of bodybuilding used and mixed in aspects that would gain the most positive results for their specific goal. Being powerlifting or bodybuilding.
HST will give you a great body. There are endless ways to tweak this program without changing the core principles in order to provide serious results. Negatives, lift order, super set, tempo, machine based on slow controlled reps, rep choices, exercise selection, change in rest periods, and many more that will force your body to change and grow if done properly.
Example of one would be on your friday lifting day prior to a 2 day rest try and add in a drop set for a third set on a legging muscle group. Another idea is to do an addition lift that focuses on a legging muscle you want to improve on that day. Meaning that you pick one muscle each workout and do 1 additions set to failure right after you finish that body part for the selected program. On chest day you do your 2 sets of 15 for incline DB bench. Do one set of fly's till failure. (Suggestion of the 1 set of addition work to failure change on every workout. and not repeated the following week.
These suggestions will not break your program or over work your CNS (central nervous system). For those who have a lot of knowledge on HST or lifting. I would assume you agree that this program can seem novice but when done right is a very advanced program with a lot of room to see positive results.
Many of you would be surprised to know that many of the greatest body builders you know hit the same muscle 3 times a week while using high volume. They do not wait 5-7 days to train that muscle again. Using PED's allows very quick muscle recovery and this is why those concepts or programs work but not for a natural bodybuilder. HST with lower volume is the watered down version of a professional routine that gives us a starting point for gaining strength and size naturally.
Next article I write will be on exercise selection and order to help prevent injury or work through injury by the correct lifting sequence.
It wasn't until I was about 24 that my research stopped coming from trendy magazines and other for profit companies. Not saying all information from these types of sources are bad but you have to be careful. 5/3/1 was a game changer and that program really changed my strength levels. PHAT training was the best program I have followed in which I gained the most strength and size.
After much research and thought I decided that my new direction in the never ending pursuit of muscle was going to be the HST program. I only want to dedicate 3 days a week to lifting. Like the others mentioned above you are given the science, principles, and basic workout in which you have to make adjustments over time to get the best personal results for yourself.
One thing all three of these programs have in common is lowering volume and hitting the muscle more than once in a week. Being in my 3rd week my body has transformed a lot quicker than I expected. Strength is quickly coming back and size is following. HST differs by hitting the same muscle three times a week but the concepts are close enough. I don't see myself gaining the same size I once had but only time will tell.
Some great benefits to this program is the low risk of serious injury. Unlike higher volume programs where the body is very tired and the use of poor form always sneaks in. With HST form, and proper weight selection is key. All major strength coaches believe in one principle. Proper form and smart weight selection will build strength. Strength will in return increase size.
For all who feel this program isn't enough to positively gain strength and size you are very wrong. For those who feel there are better programs out there than the ones I suggested. I would disagree. The writers of 5/3/1 and PHAT are both very accomplished power lighters/bodybuilders. They took the system of HST that all pioneers of bodybuilding used and mixed in aspects that would gain the most positive results for their specific goal. Being powerlifting or bodybuilding.
HST will give you a great body. There are endless ways to tweak this program without changing the core principles in order to provide serious results. Negatives, lift order, super set, tempo, machine based on slow controlled reps, rep choices, exercise selection, change in rest periods, and many more that will force your body to change and grow if done properly.
Example of one would be on your friday lifting day prior to a 2 day rest try and add in a drop set for a third set on a legging muscle group. Another idea is to do an addition lift that focuses on a legging muscle you want to improve on that day. Meaning that you pick one muscle each workout and do 1 additions set to failure right after you finish that body part for the selected program. On chest day you do your 2 sets of 15 for incline DB bench. Do one set of fly's till failure. (Suggestion of the 1 set of addition work to failure change on every workout. and not repeated the following week.
These suggestions will not break your program or over work your CNS (central nervous system). For those who have a lot of knowledge on HST or lifting. I would assume you agree that this program can seem novice but when done right is a very advanced program with a lot of room to see positive results.
Many of you would be surprised to know that many of the greatest body builders you know hit the same muscle 3 times a week while using high volume. They do not wait 5-7 days to train that muscle again. Using PED's allows very quick muscle recovery and this is why those concepts or programs work but not for a natural bodybuilder. HST with lower volume is the watered down version of a professional routine that gives us a starting point for gaining strength and size naturally.
Next article I write will be on exercise selection and order to help prevent injury or work through injury by the correct lifting sequence.
