Hst + Myoreps...

S

_Simon_

Active Member
Hey guys! Thought I'd start some threads to get some chatter goin!

Am recovering from a few health issues at the moment, but when better I'd love to give HST a good run through. I've lost almost 6kg recently, but am sure it'll come back quickly once I start training again.

Anyways, I was wondering how others have combined Myoreps with HST? I did a cycle of HST with Myoreps I think maybe a year or so ago, it was roughly along these lines:

Week 0 (prep week, non-myoreps sets)
Week 1 20-25+20/25 (5rep minisets)
Week 2 15-20+15/20 (5rep)
Week 3 15-20+15 (5rep)
Week 4 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 5 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 6 5-10+10/15 (2-3rep)
Week 7 5-10+10 (2-3rep or cluster)
Week 8 cluster/max-stim
Week 9 cluster/max-stim
Deload


I did find myself quite tired during it, I got injured a bit and also got sick (could have been due to any factors and not necessarily all from training), so am wondering how others have approached it. I may even have been pushing too hard on the activation set and minisets, too much close to failure etc..

I'm thinking of running a sort of half-half mixed cycle.
E.g.
WEEK 1
DAY 1 normal sets
DAY 2 myoreps
DAY 3 normal sets
WEEK 2
DAY 1 myoreps
DAY 2 normal sets
DAY 3 myoreps

Etc

Or even have myoreps bunched towards the start of a RM phase, and normal around the end?

15s
1: myo
2: myo
3: myo
4: myo
5: normal sets
6: normal sets

Then repeat that for 10s etc..

Would love some input, thanks guys!


Simon
 
I incorporate myo reps now and again if i'm in a hypertrophy block in my training which is usually around 4-6 weeks in length.

I don't use them on everything however. I stay away from using them on technical lifts such as the Squat & deadlifts as I do not want to risk form breakdown and injury. Most of my time is spent on squat, bench and deadlift so it allows me to get volume in a short space of time on supplemental or isolation exercises.
 
Ah right yeah I make sure to not use them on those sorts of exercises, I remember doing cluster style with deadlift, using 7-8RM, do 4 reps, rest 10s, done for 3-4 little clusters. Was something like 3-4 sets of that and far out, felt so dangerous at the time haha. The fatigue that accumulated.. and even felt dizzy but kept going, I won't be doing that again haha

And I do like how it's really just one long extended set, and the theory of it all makes sense. I'm just wondering how it compares to straight set style like HST is laid out, especially those earlier session in a rep phase..but if sufficiently deconditioned straight sets would be fine.

I guess there's always the debate I'm confused about, minimum volume/stimulus in one session vs progress over a cycle
 
I am not quite sure what the negative comments regarding myo reps are about? I use them and would not train any other way. In my opinion, I feel it is the best way to work a muscle in a very efficient manner.
 
_Simon_ said:
Hey guys! Thought I'd start some threads to get some chatter goin!

Am recovering from a few health issues at the moment, but when better I'd love to give HST a good run through. I've lost almost 6kg recently, but am sure it'll come back quickly once I start training again.

Anyways, I was wondering how others have combined Myoreps with HST? I did a cycle of HST with Myoreps I think maybe a year or so ago, it was roughly along these lines:

Week 0 (prep week, non-myoreps sets)
Week 1 20-25+20/25 (5rep minisets)
Week 2 15-20+15/20 (5rep)
Week 3 15-20+15 (5rep)
Week 4 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 5 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 6 5-10+10/15 (2-3rep)
Week 7 5-10+10 (2-3rep or cluster)
Week 8 cluster/max-stim
Week 9 cluster/max-stim
Deload


I did find myself quite tired during it, I got injured a bit and also got sick (could have been due to any factors and not necessarily all from training), so am wondering how others have approached it. I may even have been pushing too hard on the activation set and minisets, too much close to failure etc..

I'm thinking of running a sort of half-half mixed cycle.
E.g.
WEEK 1
DAY 1 normal sets
DAY 2 myoreps
DAY 3 normal sets
WEEK 2
DAY 1 myoreps
DAY 2 normal sets
DAY 3 myoreps

Etc

Or even have myoreps bunched towards the start of a RM phase, and normal around the end?

15s
1: myo
2: myo
3: myo
4: myo
5: normal sets
6: normal sets

Then repeat that for 10s etc..

Would love some input, thanks guys!

Simon
Click to expand...

Please take this for what it is worth to you, but I feel that your routine is too complicated. Over the years I have learned that it is way better to simplify. In my opinion, the basic HST set-up used with myo reps works just fine.
 
Renky said:
I am not quite sure what the negative comments regarding myo reps are about? I use them and would not train any other way. In my opinion, I feel it is the best way to work a muscle in a very efficient manner.
Click to expand...

My comment may come across as negative but it was probably more how I applied it, the growth I got was probably the quickest I achieved based on comments like 'what are you taking' etc but after a few weeks I started to miss training sessions etc
 
Renky said:
I am not quite sure what the negative comments regarding myo reps are about? I use them and would not train any other way. In my opinion, I feel it is the best way to work a muscle in a very efficient manner.
Click to expand...
I don't feel there is any negativity whatsoever being spoken. I merely stated that I got quite tired, sick and injured when I ran a full myoreps HST cycle. Of course it could have been due to many other factors, but this seemed the only thing at the time I could attribute it to. Not being negative, just factual, and expressing our experience. I've found a few people say they burned out, hence why I wanted to ask about alternative ways to safely use myoreps by incorporating it intelligently based on this.
Renky said:
Please take this for what it is worth to you, but I feel that your routine is too complicated. Over the years I have learned that it is way better to simplify. In my opinion, the basic HST set-up used with myo reps works just fine.
Click to expand...
Ah no worries, appreciate your thoughts! Yeah I don't wanna overcomplicate it and would love to keep it simple. How do your cycles look like Renky? So in the 15s, say have a total rep goal of 30. Instead of 2x straight sets, just do myoreps to get to 30? And same for the 10s etc? I remember Borge saying once loads get heavier (it was something like when you get to lower than 9-10RM or so wasn't it..) there's no need for myoreps.

I'm only thinking of doing less myoreps days in the cycle just so I don't overdo it again... but perhaps my RPE was off and I was pushing a bit too close to failure?
Any autoregulation ideas?

mickc1965 said:
My comment may come across as negative but it was probably more how I applied it, the growth I got was probably the quickest I achieved based on comments like 'what are you taking' etc but after a few weeks I started to miss training sessions etc
Click to expand...
Ah right, yeah very effective, and to me makes more sense doing sets in a myoreps fashion, just am wary about doing it 3x week..

Thanks all!
 
The important thing with approaching your sets this way is to make sure to regulate your volume on a per-session basis. Some days you will not be able to do as much, and that's fine. If you go all out the whole week, every week, then you'll probably start to feel like crap after a while.

Total volume you'll want a bit higher with the lighter reps and then taper it down as you go heavier. I'd keep it at 30 per muscle group for upper during the 10s then taper down to 20 per as you get heavier in the 5s. But aim for a range rather than a hard number. I go for 25-35 in the 10s, stuff like that.
 
My set up is very simple really... I only do a handful of exercises like the following;
Bench press
Face pulls (cannot shoulder press any more)
Rows
Chin ups
Tricep push downs
Hammer / barbell / concentration curls
I rarely squat....

With volume, I tend to stick with what Totentanz mentioned above. I learned the hard way that too much will lead to burn out.

With rep ranges, I tend to play around 15-20, then 10-12 and then 6-8 or something like that. I don't go much for the 5's or lower any more. I use myo-reps for the lot and am not sure where Borge said that about not to do it on reps below 9-10. If he did say this, then I don't follow his recommendation. In my opinion, myo-reps was the biggest game changer since switching to HST.

Every so often I will pick a single muscle group and do extremely high frequency (training 2-3 times a day, 5 days a week) for 3-4 weeks and then take some time off. This is just me playing around and experimenting.

I know that O&G likes the undulating loads and will do rep ranges of 12-15 and 8-10 in one week. I have done this too.

My main comment about keeping things simple is probably the biggest point that I wanted to push across the table. I have trained a number of years and feel that consistency and simplicity just work the best, hands down.
 
Totentanz said:
The important thing with approaching your sets this way is to make sure to regulate your volume on a per-session basis. Some days you will not be able to do as much, and that's fine. If you go all out the whole week, every week, then you'll probably start to feel like crap after a while.

Total volume you'll want a bit higher with the lighter reps and then taper it down as you go heavier. I'd keep it at 30 per muscle group for upper during the 10s then taper down to 20 per as you get heavier in the 5s. But aim for a range rather than a hard number. I go for 25-35 in the 10s, stuff like that.
Click to expand...
Ah Totz great to hear from ya, hope you're well :).

Yeah I really like that idea of regulating volume on a per session basis, feels more natural to train like that, based on what you feel your tolerance level for that day is. Of course it can be easy to use that to just take it easy, but I guess just being honest about it is key.

Feels like for me it'll take awhile to understand that and work on knowing intuitively when a set is just done.

And I like the idea of a range, I think I too often fall into that stuck mode of I HAVE to reach 30 reps no matter what, but that's probably not helpful haha...

Thanks mate :)
 
Renky said:
My set up is very simple really... I only do a handful of exercises like the following;
Bench press
Face pulls (cannot shoulder press any more)
Rows
Chin ups
Tricep push downs
Hammer / barbell / concentration curls
I rarely squat....

With volume, I tend to stick with what Totentanz mentioned above. I learned the hard way that too much will lead to burn out.

With rep ranges, I tend to play around 15-20, then 10-12 and then 6-8 or something like that. I don't go much for the 5's or lower any more. I use myo-reps for the lot and am not sure where Borge said that about not to do it on reps below 9-10. If he did say this, then I don't follow his recommendation. In my opinion, myo-reps was the biggest game changer since switching to HST.

Every so often I will pick a single muscle group and do extremely high frequency (training 2-3 times a day, 5 days a week) for 3-4 weeks and then take some time off. This is just me playing around and experimenting.

I know that O&G likes the undulating loads and will do rep ranges of 12-15 and 8-10 in one week. I have done this too.

My main comment about keeping things simple is probably the biggest point that I wanted to push across the table. I have trained a number of years and feel that consistency and simplicity just work the best, hands down.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks Renky that's a great help. And true, I tend to maybe overcomplicate routines, but even alternating myoreps and straight sets isn't too difficult. But I may just do myoreps on basic exercises all the way through and just autoregulate as I go depending on how strength/energy levels are.

And I like the repranges you go between, yeah I don't know if I'll do 5s either but will see. Thanks :)
 
Okay, am recovering veeeery slowly but surely from my pelvic issues, am gonna run a HST cycle with myoreps soon! Very excited!

Am gonna keep it very simple, very basic, and reeeally keep on top of auto-regulation to make sure I don't overdo it.

Phases- (most likely there won't really be phases, and they'll blend into each other. Just gonna progress in weight linearly with myoreps throughout, as my RMs are now all over the place)

15-20s: 30-40 total reps
10-12s: 25-35 total reps
6-8s: 15-20 total reps (with drop sets or high rep metabolic work)

And maybe something like this:
Bench
Head supported BB Rows/Supported Seated Row?
Seated BB/DB OH press
RDL
EZ curls or Seated DB curls
Tri ext or some sort
Facepulls

I have to make sure most of my movements are supported and don't heavily engage the core to create excessive tension, so gonna stick to mainly seated/lying movements.

I was wondering what people thought about how to train quads in my situation... I can't do full squats at the moment or anything too drastic... maybe partial squats and see how i go? Or even DB squats with an exercise ball against the wall might work... I train at home, and have a bench, lat pull down machine, BB, EZ curl bar and DBs.. (no leg press available..)

Obviously Romanian Deadlifts aren't really a body supported movement so I'm gonna see how I go with that..
 
I don't think it would be the worst thing imaginable to not 'officially' train your quads and just do some light work now and then to see how the pelvic area is doing. Does your bench have a leg extension apparatus on the end of it? Might be an option, as it pretty much limits you to just knee flexion. Otherwise I'd just do some light (even bodyweight) work until the area feels better. No need to push it when it comes to things like that and your quads won't disappear if you don't hit them directly for a while.
 
Totentanz said:
I don't think it would be the worst thing imaginable to not 'officially' train your quads and just do some light work now and then to see how the pelvic area is doing. Does your bench have a leg extension apparatus on the end of it? Might be an option, as it pretty much limits you to just knee flexion. Otherwise I'd just do some light (even bodyweight) work until the area feels better. No need to push it when it comes to things like that and your quads won't disappear if you don't hit them directly for a while.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply mate, yeah that's something I definitely need to hear, to not push myself too hard. Yeah I'm not too fussed nowadays to be honest, and just enjoying being back into training again, and don't want to take it crazy seriously like I have before!
And yeah I do have the leg extension errr... extension, might be an idea for sure (Ah maybe I could do bodyweight squats with back against the ball, then jump straight over to leg extensions... ah there I go again already haha!). Appreciate it [emoji1] [emoji106]
 
_Simon_ said:
Hey guys! Thought I'd start some threads to get some chatter goin!

Am recovering from a few health issues at the moment, but when better I'd love to give HST a good run through. I've lost almost 6kg recently, but am sure it'll come back quickly once I start training again.

Anyways, I was wondering how others have combined Myoreps with HST? I did a cycle of HST with Myoreps I think maybe a year or so ago, it was roughly along these lines:

Week 0 (prep week, non-myoreps sets)
Week 1 20-25+20/25 (5rep minisets)
Week 2 15-20+15/20 (5rep)
Week 3 15-20+15 (5rep)
Week 4 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 5 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 6 5-10+10/15 (2-3rep)
Week 7 5-10+10 (2-3rep or cluster)
Week 8 cluster/max-stim
Week 9 cluster/max-stim
Deload


I did find myself quite tired during it, I got injured a bit and also got sick (could have been due to any factors and not necessarily all from training), so am wondering how others have approached it. I may even have been pushing too hard on the activation set and minisets, too much close to failure etc..

I'm thinking of running a sort of half-half mixed cycle.
E.g.
WEEK 1
DAY 1 normal sets
DAY 2 myoreps
DAY 3 normal sets
WEEK 2
DAY 1 myoreps
DAY 2 normal sets
DAY 3 myoreps

Etc

Or even have myoreps bunched towards the start of a RM phase, and normal around the end?

15s
1: myo
2: myo
3: myo
4: myo
5: normal sets
6: normal sets

Then repeat that for 10s etc..

Would love some input, thanks guys!


Simon
Click to expand...
Personally, I would not use myo reps after recovering from an injury. They are meant to be used by advanced lifters with no mechanical problems. It is an extremely intense method of working out and should not be abused. I would wait another two months and stick with exercises in the 12 to 25 reps range to insure that you are entirely injury free. Then I would ease into regulat HST and only go to myo reps when that has stalled. Shortcuts never work.
 
Thanks O&G, appreciate your thoughts! Yeah I was wary of doing them, but I'm thinking if I can stick to body supported movements (and really focus on good technique and only contracting the appropriate muscles needed) I should be okay. It's not an injury as such at the moment but moreso a dysfunction/over-tightness/myalgia, which I have slowly but surely been recovering from. Even so I wouldn't be starting this until about 3 weeks or so, and if I can really pay attention to autoregulation I reckon I'd be okay as I've had a bit of experience with myoreps and what they entail.

But I think I'll definitely take it on board what you said, I really don't push things too much and want recovery as top priority, and for sure appreciate your thoughts on this. It is quite an intense method, and its good to be reminded of that so I don't do something stupid haha..

Cheers!
 
Old and Grey said:
... Shortcuts never work.
Click to expand...

That has been my experience as well. :) During your workouts, however they are put together, always think long term. I now have 40 years of weight training under my belt and I would never have made it this long had I not always thought about my future health (health = injuries) and how doing something stupid today might effect my ability to train into the future.

Get your food in order, and with your training being more consistent now, the muscle mass will come back. There is no need to rush it.
 
Thanks for chiming in Bryan, and yeah I definitely appreciate that. Always best to think long term for sure and you're right there is no rush :). Will see how I go, thanks guys!
 
Little update how this cycle's going, decided to stick with doing myoreps for about half the body parts only and normal straight sets for the others. Has been going well, there have been times when I feel I pushed a bit too hard, but it's greatt as I'm learning to really hone in and be aware of when I need to pull back.

I ended up taking out Romanian deadlifts as when I was increasing weight I could feel it was too much of a strain on the pelvic muscles so cut it out and am doing hip thrusts instead.

So frequency of 3x week, 2 days myoreps for some bodyparts but on the third day decided to have it more of a sort of rest from myoreps day and do straight sets for everything, just so it's not every session. And just a sort of linear progression with weight, all my RMs/strength took a bit of a dive so just progressing where I can.

Seems to be going well and am gaining back any weight I lost over the past few months, just need to keep tabs on my recovery from pelvic myalgia. Has been really eye opening and has definitely brought my focus back on 'how' I train and each individual rep, and in being aware of the body and how to relax what needs to relax, and not create excessive tension where it's just not necessary.

Feels like a real shift in training, and it's definitely more 'moment to moment' and quality focused :)
 
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