HST experiences?

[leonp1981]

I've decided to give HST training a go for the next 6 weeks, so just wondered if anyone's tried it, what was it like, did you make any gains?

This is the routine, done 3x a week (Mon/Wed/Fri).  Every workout 5lbs is added to the weights in each exercise (although I'll only be adding 2.5lbs for curls, extensions and laterals).

Squat          - 1 x 15
SL Deadlift    - 2 x 15

Incline Bench - 2 x 15
Dips             - 1 x 15

Chins            - 2 x 15
Bentover row - 2 x 15
Shrugs          - 1 x 15

Military press  - 1 x 15
Lateral raise   - 1 x 15
Rear laterals   - 1 x 15

Barbell curl     - 2 x 15
Tricep Ext      - 2 x 15

Calf Raise      - 2 x 15
Abs              - 2 x 15

Weeks 1&2 reps are 15 per set, weeks 3&4 10 per set, and weeks 5&6 5 per set.

[webcake]

Looks pretty good.

The first time i tried HST i did too many exercises, but the 2nd time round i did a workout similar to yours.

It's a good change. I responded ok to it. I actually thinking of doing it again.....i'm ready for a change.

[leonp1981]

Looks pretty good.

The first time i tried HST i did too many exercises, but the 2nd time round i did a workout similar to yours.

It's a good change. I responded ok to it. I actually thinking of doing it again.....i'm ready for a change.

How did you find the 5lb increases?  I've figured out roughly what I need to be using at the start, but with 3 workouts a week, it's a 30lb increase in 2 weeks.

And what did you see in the way of gains?

[webcake]

How did you find the 5lb increases?  I've figured out roughly what I need to be using at the start, but with 3 workouts a week, it's a 30lb increase in 2 weeks.

And what did you see in the way of gains?

Gains were OK. Nothing exceptional, but i got what i expected.

The 5 pound increases were OK for the most part.....but it can take some planning on figuring out your 15/10/5 rep maxes. Just make sure the weight is as heavy as you can handle, with good form, for all the different rep ranges. Sometimes you can find yourself, inadvertently, taking it a bit easy during the 15 rep phase. You will probably have to keep a diary/workout plan, as your numbers will always be changing and you can lose track of them.

[leonp1981]

Gains were OK. Nothing exceptional, but i got what i expected.

The 5 pound increases were OK for the most part.....but it can take some planning on figuring out your 15/10/5 rep maxes. Just make sure the weight is as heavy as you can handle, with good form, for all the different rep ranges. Sometimes you can find yourself, inadvertently, taking it a bit easy during the 15 rep phase. You will probably have to keep a diary/workout plan, as your numbers will always be changing and you can lose track of them.

I always keep a log of my workouts, I'm just thinking that for the first week of 15 reps, it's not really gonna push me, unless I use more weight, in which case I won't be able to complete 15 reps in the second week?

[webcake]

I always keep a log of my workouts, I'm just thinking that for the first week of 15 reps, it's not really gonna push me, unless I use more weight, in which case I won't be able to complete 15 reps in the second week?

True, yeah i kinda forgot that, lol. I haven't done it for a while.

Just keep the intensity high, and on the beginning 15 rep phase, keep the rest periods short and perform the reps a bit slower.

[leonp1981]

True, yeah i kinda forgot that, lol. I haven't done it for a while.

Just keep the intensity high, and on the beginning 15 rep phase, keep the rest periods short and perform the reps a bit slower.

Yeah, I'm just starting to trim down a bit for the summer, so I'm keeping rest periods short.  I'm thinking that a full body workout 3 x per week will burn some extra calories and keep my metabolism higher than a regular routine.

[Princess L]

I've decided to give HST training a go for the next 6 weeks, so just wondered if anyone's tried it, what was it like, did you make any gains?

This is the routine, done 3x a week (Mon/Wed/Fri).  Every workout 5lbs is added to the weights in each exercise (although I'll only be adding 2.5lbs for curls, extensions and laterals).

10lbs on larger body parts and 5lbs on some of the smaller is often recommended. Nailing the numbers the first cycle is tough.  If you don't know your maxes before putting your plan together it becomes a big guessing game.

[LatsMcGee]

The last week seemed kind of rough on my joints but this is a pretty solid program.  I just think some guys overlap too much with the exercise selection.  I wouldn't recommend this for a year round routine.

[Reign Down]

I did it for a long period.


It was exceptional at first, however I found my body in a pretty rough state towards the end, i've always been big on squats and d/lifts so doing one of those two exercises 3 times a week took its toll.

I would say another point that is easily forgotten is it is very very samey! You can change exercises but essentially you are following the same pattern.


Give it a bash and see how it goes, follow the rules closely and also try MAX-OT which is my preference along with HIT

[leonp1981]

I've tried a version of HIT before (it was one of Yates' routine's) and didn't enjoy it too much, I was weaker at the end than when I started.  I'm only gonna do this routine for 6 weeks, then I'm gonna change everything up to strip some more fat off me for the beach!  Starting some interval style cardio this week as well.

[Reign Down]

I've tried a version of HIT before (it was one of Yates' routine's) and didn't enjoy it too much, I was weaker at the end than when I started.  I'm only gonna do this routine for 6 weeks, then I'm gonna change everything up to strip some more fat off me for the beach!  Starting some interval style cardio this week as well.

Go for it mate, I always like to try everything so see how it goes, good luck

[leonp1981]

Well I did my first workout tonight on this routine.  The weights I chose weren't too bad, although I can see a couple of them causing me problems as I add the 5lbs per workout.  Biceps and triceps could have been higher but OK for now.

One big thing I noticed was that because the reps are higher than I'm used to, (I usually stick in the 6-10 range) it required much better cardio levels.  Combined with the reduced rest periods I was using, and the 500 calories I've knocked off my daily intakes, I was fooking knackered about halfway through.  But it was very satisfying when I finished the workout, and I'm looking forward to the next one on Wednesday.

[Hedgehog]

Yo.

I've tried HST quite a bit in the past and definitely liked it.
One thing I noticed is that it's better the fewer excersises you implement.
Use different excersises the next cycle as well for may gains.
I've heard about guys doing only 4-5 excersises, that was the latest fad when I was doing it.
Also, try to have as big increments as possible when doing a cycle.
For me, that meant starting the 12's (I didn't do 15's) with ridiculously light weights.
Eg first DB curl for twelve was one time with the 10 lbs DBs.   

I also used to alternate some excersises between every other workout in order to get variation and also to get recovery for the badass excersises.

I made a few changes to your routine just to give you some ideas.
 
Squat/ front squats          - 3 x 15
SL Deadlift/regular deadlifts    - 3 x 15

Incline Bench - 3 x 15
Dips             - 3 x 15

Chins(biceps grip)/Bentover row - 3 x 15

Military press  - 3 x 15

Barbell curls     - 2 x 15

Abs              - 2 x 15

[/quote]

[leonp1981]

Thanks for the advice Hedgehog.  I'm gonna give it to the end of this first week and see how it's been, then I might make some changes for the second week.  I definitely like the idea of more sets of military's, instead of the laterals.

[DK II]

Four exercises is enough:

Squats
Deadlifts
Dips
Chin-ups

Make it Cluster-style, meaning you start with 20reps x1 on each exercises at 65% and end at 90~95% with 20 x 1 rep.

[Hedgehog]

Four exercises is enough:

Squats
Deadlifts
Dips
Chin-ups

Make it Cluster-style, meaning you start with 20reps x1 on each exercises at 65% and end at 90~95% with 20 x 1 rep.

The Japper is spot on here.

Although I would make it three sets of each.

[DK II]

The Japper is spot on here.

Although I would make it three sets of each.

I'm german.

As for the 3 sets, when you advance with the weight, you cluster down your 20 reps, meaning 2x10 at 75%, 4x5 at 80% and so on.

[leonp1981]

Four exercises is enough:

Squats
Deadlifts
Dips
Chin-ups

Make it Cluster-style, meaning you start with 20reps x1 on each exercises at 65% and end at 90~95% with 20 x 1 rep.

Can you expand on this, it looks interesting? 

[DK II]

Can you expand on this, it looks interesting? 

Four exercises is enough:

Squats
Deadlifts
Dips
Chin-ups

Make it Cluster-style, meaning you start with 20reps x1 on each exercises at 65% and end at 90~95% with 20 x 1 rep, adding up to 5% every workout.

When you advance with the weight, you cluster down your 20 reps, meaning for example 2x10 at 75%, 4x5 at 80% and so on. When you reach 90%, you will be at single reps, you can go down to 15 reps overall then. 

train as often as you can, only these 4 exercises. I did it once, managed to get to the gym eod. This is totally hardcore, i was shaking after the workouts, had to sleep four hours after training when hitting about 85%. lol

Imagine doing 20 times 1 rep at 95% of your max at Squats, then the same with dips, deadlifts and chinups.

[leonp1981]

Four exercises is enough:

Squats
Deadlifts
Dips
Chin-ups

Make it Cluster-style, meaning you start with 20reps x1 on each exercises at 65% and end at 90~95% with 20 x 1 rep, adding up to 5% every workout.

When you advance with the weight, you cluster down your 20 reps, meaning for example 2x10 at 75%, 4x5 at 80% and so on. When you reach 90%, you will be at single reps, you can go down to 15 reps overall then. 

train as often as you can, only these 4 exercises. I did it once, managed to get to the gym eod. This is totally hardcore, i was shaking after the workouts, had to sleep four hours after training when hitting about 85%. lol

Imagine doing 20 times 1 rep at 95% of your max at Squats, then the same with dips, deadlifts and chinups.

How and when do you change the weights/reps?  Do you do a week of 1 set of 20's, then a week of 2 sets of 10, then 4 sets of 5, down to 20 sets of 1?

[DK II]

How and when do you change the weights/reps?  Do you do a week of 1 set of 20's, then a week of 2 sets of 10, then 4 sets of 5, down to 20 sets of 1?

like i wrote above, add maximum of 5% weight every workout. You can also progress slower, doing that every two workouts or every week, but i think that every WO in the beginning and every two later is ok.

The clustering is not fixed, you do it as you feel, but you try NOT to reach muscle failure. If you feel fine doing 15 - 5 you can do it.

or 7, 7, 3 ,3. All that matters is that you get the whole 20.

[Hedgehog]

I'm german.

Ja, ja.

Gesundheit.

Japäner oder German. Doesn't really matter.

Both are favorite people of mine.

I'm a huge Germanophile.


Ich bin ein grosse "fan" von phänomen des alles typische Deutsche sind!

Especially:

* Bild Zeitung
* Baader-Meinhof
* Reeperbahn
* Bundesliga
* Bayern München
* Kaiser Franz
* Adidas
* Zündapp
* Opel
* Paul Breitner
* Nena!!!
* Kraftwerk
* Mo-do (Ein, zwei, polizei!! Wie ein superhit!)

[DK II]

Ja, ja.

Gesundheit.

Japäner oder German. Doesn't really matter.

Both are favorite people of mine.

I'm a huge Germanophile.


Ich bin ein grosse "fan" von phänomen des alles typische Deutsche sind!

Especially:

* Bild Zeitung
* Baader-Meinhof
* Reeperbahn
* Bundesliga
* Bayern München
* Kaiser Franz
* Adidas
* Zündapp
* Opel
* Paul Breitner
* Nena!!!
* Kraftwerk
* Mo-do (Ein, zwei, polizei!! Wie ein superhit!)

i hate every single one of it, lol!