HST  Concerns

[TennisDude]

A few questions/concerns recently came up.

1. I haven't been eating too healthy during the 15s which I have finished today. Can I salvage my gains by starting to eat a lot of healthy food now?

2. Is doing a full body workout 6x a week better then doing an Upper/Lower split 6x a week? If full body was the case, would I just pick out 8-10 exercises that would hit all my muscle groups, that might be a bit of a challenge. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to optimize any gains.

3. Sleep/Water intake. I believe I might have asked this before, but would getting more hours of sleep help in hypertrophy? Is there a minimum I should strive for? And I am assuming 1 gallon is enough water, though I find it hard to even drink that much!

Thanks a lot. Those Prime+ and Drive+ are really excellent products. Keep up the good work Bryan!

Thanks,
TennisDude

 

[Old and Grey]

1. You cannot rewrite history. Learn from it and move on by eating healthy going forward.

2 I prefer lots of frequency...currently 8 workouts per week and have done as many as 12. However, only experimentation will determine what is best for you. You won't know in a week or even a month. Stick to a schedule for several months and then change it up and check the results again in a few months. You have already made the best choice you can by trying HST. You are way ahead of 99% of the people out there. Now it is a matter of fine tuning it to see what variations work best for you.

3. For me a minimum of 7 hours is required to be in top form. Some people need more. Some less. Let your body guide you. A gallon of water is more than good.

 

[TennisDude]

Quote[/b] (Old and Grey @ May 28 2005,9:49)]1. You cannot rewrite history. Learn from it and move on by eating healthy going forward.
2 I prefer lots of frequency...currently 8 workouts per week and have done as many as 12. However, only experimentation will determine what is best for you. You won't know in a week or even a month. Stick to a schedule for several months and then change it up and check the results again in a few months. You have already made the best choice you can by trying HST. You are way ahead of 99% of the people out there. Now it is a matter of fine tuning it to see what variations work best for you.
3. For me a minimum of 7 hours is required to be in top form. Some people need more. Some less. Let your body guide you. A gallon of water is more than good.

So, it is okay to go from an Upper/Lower Split to a Full Body one 6x a week, even if I did the 15s with the Upper/Lower? If it is okay, would it be better for growth? Then I'd just pick my exercises from the ones I am already doing to complete my Full Body Routine, since I already know the maxes from them?

Still a bit confused, but grateful for any help.

Thanks,
TennisDude

 

[Chthonian]

Quote[/b] ]1. I haven't been eating too healthy during the 15s which I have finished today. Can I salvage my gains by starting to eat a lot of healthy food now?

You don't necessarily have to eat healthy in order to add mass. The most important thing to remember is that your body needs an excess of calories in order to grow. Make sure you're eating enough. I'm still an advocate of healthy eating, but it doesn't directly carryover to gains in mass, so long as you're not eating fastfood all the time.

Quote[/b] ]2. Is doing a full body workout 6x a week better then doing an Upper/Lower split 6x a week? If full body was the case, would I just pick out 8-10 exercises that would hit all my muscle groups, that might be a bit of a challenge. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to optimize any gains.

A full body session would most likely take more out of you. I doubt it would make much of a difference either way. So long as you're following the principles of progressive overload and frequency, you should be just fine. A good routine usually isn't hindered by trivial things such as this. However, keep in mind that you may perform better with an upper/lower split, due to the ability to start fresh the next day.

Quote[/b] ]3. Sleep/Water intake. I believe I might have asked this before, but would getting more hours of sleep help in hypertrophy? Is there a minimum I should strive for? And I am assuming 1 gallon is enough water, though I find it hard to even drink that much!

Quantity of sleep won't directly affect your muscle gains. You will grow regardless of sleep. The thing is, you probably won't function well enough without a solid eight or so hours of sleep. The chances of you putting in a great deal of effort in the gym are slim and none. That being said, it's best to shoot for as much sleep as your body needs.

I know that I sleep for ten hours when I'm not disturbed. I have a physically demanding job, and this coupled with squatting thrice a week calls for a lot of rest and nourishment. When I'm less loaded with work, I tend to sleep less. Honestly, I trust my body to wake me, telling me when it's ready.

 

[TennisDude]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have another concern.

I know I must have underestimated my maxes, because although it is hard when I eventually do reach my max for that rep range, I haven't felt any DOMS or soreness yet, and I am already in the 10s. Maybe I should have built a better strength base first? Or do the principles of HST apply to any weight?

Thanks,
TennisDude

 

[imported_dkm1987]

Quote[/b] (TennisDude @ May 31 2005,8:29)]I know I must have underestimated my maxes, because .....


Or do the principles of HST apply to any weight?

Not necessarily, DOMS is not a prerequisite of growth, unless your name is Vince, but it may not be related to the RM, it could be your SD length, Your Increments, Your Volume or frequency.

Yes, they apply.

 

[vicious]

Mountain is one heavy band. And they play music! Are you really younger than O&G?

I prefer the frequency too, TennisDude, but by far the most important is eating enough food. In fact, higher frequency programs can make it very hard to establish just how much food you need to actually grow. Some people are dismayed /overjoyed by the additional calories needed to support such a program.

cheers,
Jules

 

[imported_dkm1987]

Quote[/b] (vicious @ May 31 2005,11:56)]Mountain is one heavy band.  And they play music!  

Are you really younger than O&G?  

Leslie West Rocks

Yes, but I was raised with 3 Sisters that are his age and older, so I was jammin to Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath, Zep, Mountain, the original Fleetwood Mac (with Peter Green) when I was just out of diapers. Funny story, when I was 6 the youngest sister bought Sabbath's Paranoid, it just came out, when she played Iron Man the intro scared me so bad I ran out of her room crying. Been WaRpEd ever since

 

[TennisDude]

I think I eat enough, around 4,000 calories sounds right.

Let's say I have a lagging muscle, for me it is chest. Should I work that out even more? Like would it be better if I did BPs and Dips daily? Maybe even twice daily? Should I live at the gym?

 

[vicious]

Peter Green?!? Dang, they probably thought "hey, why is Santana ruining Black Magic Woman!"

Quote[/b] ]when I was 6 the youngest sister bought Sabbath's Paranoid,

I saw Ozzy on Solid Gold when I was really little, and he gave me nightmares.  Evil bugger, that.

Quote[/b] ]Let's say I have a lagging muscle, for me it is chest. Should I work that out even more? Like would it be better if I did BPs and Dips daily?

You could increase the volume or frequency of the BP/dip.  You could also include incline bench DB flies performed as low as possible during 10s onwards, emphasizing the stretch.  

Quote[/b] ]I think I eat enough, around 4,000 calories sounds right.

On 6x-a-week, you might be surprised.  

cheers,
Jules

 

[TennisDude]

I will try adding a set for incline BP and Dips. Don't know how I can do them everyday, since my increment weight is already at 5 pounds, and I can't figure out how I'd go up by 2.5 pounds. I'd need a 1.25 pound weight on each side!

Also, do you really think 4,000 isn't enough? I weigh around 170 and am about 5'8". As my name suggests, I do play a lot of tennis.

Thanks,
TennisDude

 

[vicious]

If you increase frequency, just use the same weight as the day before.

If you play tennis competitively, 4000 calories probably won't be enough in addition to a 6x-a-week program. If you play tennis recreationally, say, 2-3x-a-week, then for those days, make sure you allot an extra 400-750 calories per hour you play, emphasizing carbs. Other than that, yeah the 4000 calories sound about right for your weight.

cheers,
Jules.

 

[TennisDude]

Thanks.  I guess I don't eat nearly enough.  I don't currently play that much tennis, but will probably play at least an hour every day over the Summer.  Some days, more then that.  So I should up it to 5,000 calories to bulk on, when I start to play tennis that much?
Thanks,
TennisDude

EDIT: I will definitely need to up the calories, depending on the job I get. I might also have a physical job!

 

[vicious]

Probably something close to 5000 calories, but it'll be trial and error to find the bulking. If you're JUST doing bench and dip on your other day, then the metabolic bump may not be that pronounced. Primary thing is to replenish glycogen stores around your tennis matches and increase protein intake.

cheers,
Jules

 

[imported_dkm1987]

Quote[/b] (vicious @ June 01 2005,12:57)]Peter Green?!?  Dang, they probably thought "hey, why is Santana ruining Black Magic Woman!"  

Yep, another toll of the bell for psyched out guitarists.
Cause,
Now, when I talked to God I knew he'd understand
He said, "Stick by my side and I'll be your guiding hand
But don't ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to"
Oh Well Oh Well Oh

Oops, almost forgot

Now, when the day goes to sleep and the full moon looks
The night is so black that the darkness cooks
Dont you come creepin around - makin me do things I dont want to

Yeah, he probably got a little to close to Timothy's brew.