Hst Vs. New Prs Every Week In The Novice Stage

hm85

hm85

New Member
I've recently finished a round of HST and got pretty good results, particularly in the 5s and negatives.

I'm still very much a novice (6 months of consistent lifting) and I'm wondering about the usefulness of HST in the case of someone like myself who is still able to add weight or reps to the bar literally every workout.

SD in particular concerns me a bit. Taking 9-14 days off when I know in that time I could hit new PRs after the negatives.

But then it becomes a question of why not just hit PRs every workout if it's possible? Isn't HST mainly for working around the repeated bout effect /muscle conditioning to loads?

Any advice?
 
I started with HST (after just screwing around in the gym) because I thought it was a really neat program and I liked the concepts. I would be more physically advanced if I had started on a basic linear progression BB model and then at maybe year 3 or 4 (or later) moved to the HST principles. I have also worked with other models such as DUP and Bulgarian. I don't regret starting with HST because it is really the end game model for continued hypertrophy. Other models can do you a lot of good too but I don't think they always teach you as much about understanding core mechanics of your body such as recovery and the benefit of different intensities or even that different models work for different portions of your training career.

So with that being said, in my 3rd year I am currently focusing on hitting PRs every workout until I miss then I do a small SD followed by an accumulation phase and then move back into PRs. Even this likely isn't super effective but its fun and it keeps things fresh and I put 70lbs on my deadlift since October. Once I hit my goal I will likely lose some weight and head back to HST until I dream up some other specific goal. But HST is home, its where I can go if I screw everything up and I just want to hit the gym and see some gains.
 
adpowah, thanks for the reply. I agree that HST is awesome. Reading the science behind it is very inspiring and makes me feel like I will always be able to make gains, which is very psychologically powerful. But as you said, I feel linear progression is too good to pass on. It seems a little counter-productive micromanaging so much when I know I can potentially double my lifts in the next 6-12 months by just adding weight/reps every workout and eating for mass.

If anything, it will set the stage better for utilizing HST later down the line when my gains plateau as I'll have built up much, much more strength, which will of course be better for the larger increments from workout to workout. Currently as I'm at the novice level, my lifts are kind of light, so I have to repeat loads to get decent sized poundage increases.

Would appreciate it if anyone else can weigh in with any other views. Otherwise I'll likely go back to linear progression until that point down the line where I inevitably plateau.
 
In my opinion, HST's principle of SD was designed for people who's progress has stagnated. It will work for beginners but I would not recommend SDing until you had exhausted all your "newbie gains". All of the rest of HST's principles should be followed regardless of your stage of development, i.e.,

Mechanical Load
Frequency (Chronic Load versus Acute Load)
Progressive Load
 
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Thanks for the reply, Old and Grey. So essentially working out 3x per week while striving to increase the load lifted each workout?

With that in mind, I'm going on vacation in a week (for 9 days) and I won't able to work out during this time. Upon returning, do you think I should start an HST cycle based on my previous max lifts or go straight to pushing PRs to milk my newbie gains?

Thanks.
 
Always start with lighter weights after a layoff for whatever reason. Also, vary your reps constantly...either every two weeks as the sample HST programs show or, even better, vary them every day, 15 reps on Mondays, 10 on Wednesdays and 5 on Fridays is a good way. Also, to maximize muscle gain, I recommend ending each exercise of 5 or 10 reps with a final much lighter metabolic set of 15 to 25 reps. That insures covering all the various growth pathways within your body.

When you hit a plateau and cannot add more weight, switch things up by changing exercises, doing a light deload for a week or, when you are more advanced, a complete SD. The more advanced you become, the more often you will need to SD to continue growing.

Good luck and keep safety first. You can't grow if you can't lift because of muscle strain.
 
Ever since I started hst, I have always executed it in a daily undulated programming style because I do not like the fixed block approach of standard hst. By doing it this way you can extend a cycle as long as you want. There is no need for SD if you don't want to. I usually do an SD anyway, but mostly only after 10 or 11 weeks since I'll stall out at some point anyway, and SD then helps with this.

I have read in the past about this metabolic set as well to maximize muscle growth taking a light weight of maybe 25% of 1rm and doing 25 reps with that allthough I have never consistently implemented it.
I like my trainings short, 25 minutes and this would only make them last longer. Not that I hate training, but the longer it takes the bigger the interference with other stuff and the greater the risk of skipping a training.

That said, I train daily again these days. I wonder old and grey, what do you think about daily training for a beginner (lets assume a year of consistent lifting here as beginner status). I personally did a lot more but with off time in between as well
 
Mojo

A metabolic set should only take about one minute to complete. No rest after your last regular set other than to shed weights. It should not noticeably increase your workout time and, even if it did, the benefits are worth it.

I always train daily and actually split my days. My weekly schedule typically is:

Day 1:
AM Chest
PM Shoulders

Day 2:
AM Back
PM Legs

Repeat.

That way I can keep each workout to about 20 minutes and stay fresh. I workout a minimum of 6 days per week to hit each body part thrice weekly. About every other week I will also workout on the 7th day if I feel strong, otherwise I rest. I throw in a couple of sets for Bis and Tris once per week along the way. I am pretty much maxed out there with size and definition so continuing to work them is just wasted energy and calories. I also use daily undulation and myo reps to maximize the effectiveness my short workouts. However, myo reps are not needed nor good for beginners.

I would recommend the daily approach to "experienced beginners" but limiting each body part to 3 times per week. True daily workouts can only effectively be handled by very advanced lifters who are likely juicing.

I SD after each 5 week cycle now although, in the past, I have gone as long as 11 weeks without an SD. However, I find that not to be effective for me anymore as I increase the risk of injury or compromising my immune system. However, everyone needs to find what works best for them and then consistently follow it.
 
as can be seen in my short workout log my daily training looks like this
mon - 5-3-3-2-2
tues - 5-3-3-2-2
wed - 15
thur - off
fri - 10-4-4-3-3
sat - 10-4-4-3-3
sun - off

Except for wednesday where I do 2, every other session I only do 1 leg, 1 push and 1 pull exercise. Each training is around 25 minutes. So each body part is done 5 times a week.

I only did one cycle like this in october last year, got no gains from it because I mismanaged caloric intake and did not gain a single pound. did not lose one either.

Would you say it is better to revert to 3 days a week old and grey?
Why are myo reps no good for beginners?
 
Your log shows a lot of injuries and sickness...a sign you are working out too often and/or too close to maximum too often. I would suggest sticking to 3 times per week for each body part and you should not have that problem. Also, take full advantage of progressive load or risk the same result.

Myo reps are very strenuous. Beginners due not have the recoverability that advanced lifters have. It takes a good 48 hours for beginners to synthesis protein and make new muscle. Advanced lifters can do it much quicker, some say as soon as 18 hours. Combining myo reps with true daily workouts is a prescription for disaster for beginners. The only possible exception I can perceive is if you had an extremely high testosterone level, e.g., 2000 ng/dl.

More is usually not better at your stage.
 
While I am probably more of an intermediate lifter, I added myo reps but I greatly reduced my working volume. Maybe one working set and then a few myo sets until I felt adequately fatigued. Like @Old and Grey is saying if you push yourself too much you will just get sick and injured which is the opposite of gains. Staying healthy > one more set.
 
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