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My HST Journal

RottenWillow

RottenWillow

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Hi guys, I've decided to keep an on-line log of my personal experience with HST (hypertrophy specific training) for any other women who may be interested in trying it.

Very briefly, an HST training cycle is 8 weeks long. It is divided into 4 minicycles, each one 2 weeks in length. After having determined your 15RM, 10RM, and 5RM for all exercises you begin the first 2 week minicycle. There are 3 full body workouts each week, and 6 workouts total for each minicycle.

Rather than try to completely rewrite an explanation of HST I'll refer anyone interested to the sticky at the top of this board. Go to "helpful links" then look for HST.

My basic stats

20 years old, 5' 6", 142-144 pounds and about 16% bf.

My current measurements

Neck.............14.25 "
Shoulders.... 43"
Arms............(L) 11.25" (R) 11"
Forearms.... 9.5"
Chest.........38.25"
Waist.........26"
Hips...........39"
Thighs.......25.5"
Calves......15.75"

My Initial Strength Levels

.........................15RM.........10RM........5RM

Bench................ 95.............105...........115
Squat................ 205...........235.......... 265
SLDL................. 180...........210...........240
Overhead_Press...50............60............. 75
Bicep curls.........35............40............. 50
Pulldowns...........55............60..............65
Bent Rows.........30............35..............45


Goals

I am already much more muscular in the lower body than the upper. I am only squatting to 1 inch above parallel in order to minimize glute involvement. I really only want to maintain my lower body size and bring my upper body up to match it in terms of size.

I intend to post the good, the bad, and the ugly. If this doesnt work for me you'll all find out.

Wish me luck :)
 
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PBR said:
you have a great attitude anya...and one helluva squat!!!!!
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Thanks. :) Right now I'm feeling fired up, but you know how it is when starting a new routine. We'll see what its like in 6 weeks.

I squat only down to 1 inch above parallel which makes it a lot easier.
 
UPDATE #1

Yesterday was the first day of the 15RM minicycle. My only misgivings right now are that the weights seem laughably light. I had to fight the urge to do more since it seemed like I was not even working out. Oddly though my pecs are a little sore today. I guess its due to laying off 9 days as recommeded before beginning the first minicycle.

Will update again in two weeks when the first minicycle is complete. :)
 
I had the same thing my first day, but after 3 days of 15s my body was TIRED! Unless you're used to working out the same body part 3 days a week you'll probably find the same.
 
UPDATE # 2

I have finished the 15RM cycle. I dont want to start prematurely hyping myself up but it looks like I gained .25" on my arms. I know I didnt make a measurement error but I think it could be I'm just holding more of a pump due to the frequent lifting.


The biggest problem that has developed since starting HST is my insomnia which I addressed in another thread. It seems more than co-incidental that my occasional problem became almost every night the first week I started HST and then became every night by the end of my second week. Without the OTC sleep aid I'm taking I wouldnt be sleeping very much at all. I've ordered some ZMA and I'm hoping It'll arrive tonight so I can get off the other stuff. Its crazy....its like my mind is wide awake, not even drowsy, but my body is so tired.

To end on a good note, I'm learning to focus much better on the contraction of the muscle I'm working and to be very aware of my form due to the lighter weights I've been using. I think that'll serve me well as the poundages go up.

Friday is the first day of the 10RM cycle and I'm looking forward to some heavier weights. :)
 
Glad it's working out for you (other than the insomnia thing :( ). Your first few 10 rep workouts should actually be lighter than the ones you just finished for 15 though right? (though they get heavier quickly it seems...)
 
Backlash said:
Glad it's working out for you (other than the insomnia thing :( ). Your first few 10 rep workouts should actually be lighter than the ones you just finished for 15 though right? (though they get heavier quickly it seems...)
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Well actually most of my upper body poundages are beginning at exactly the same amount for the first day of the 10RM as they were for the last day of the 15RM. My shoulder press poundage is actually going up 3 pounds.

Blacklash, one problem I've run into that you just reminded me of is the trouble I had making very small weight increases. Since my upper body strength is pretty modest the increments for each workout are very small, many times less than one pound. I've been using ankle weights wrapped around the bar for the most part to deal with this but sometimes even that isnt quite right.
 
Wow less than 1 pound? That doesn't seem like the best way to implement the HST principles... do you have an example of your progression? It seems like you should be making bigger increments - in fact, I'd say you started way too close yo your 15RM max if you were only making 1 pound jumps. Your RMs that you posted aren't so light that you can't make the increments 5 or 10 pounds each workout (even though the starting weights would have been pretyy light).
 
Backlash said:
Wow less than 1 pound? That doesn't seem like the best way to implement the HST principles... do you have an example of your progression? It seems like you should be making bigger increments - in fact, I'd say you started way too close yo your 15RM max if you were only making 1 pound jumps. Your RMs that you posted aren't so light that you can't make the increments 5 or 10 pounds each workout (even though the starting weights would have been pretyy light).
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Ok take my bent rows for example. My 15RM was only 30 pounds. That gives me very little room to work with, else I'll be down to almost nothing. The increment I choose was 2%, which for my squat poundages was pretty substantial, but pretty tiny for my rows and other upper body movements. I actually increased the increment though for some exercises because the poundages were so small. Row for example are at almost 4% increments.

Since I havent started my 10RM as of now I still have time to tinker with the increment percentages. Have a look at my 10RMs and make some sugggestions if you dont mind.
 
I know what you're saying about the weights being super-light, but you aren't getting much of a progressive load if your total weight increment over 6 workouts was only 5-6 pounds, you know what I mean? That essentially the same weight 6 times in a row.

Looks like your rows and pulldowns will be the only things that are really gonna be super-light... I'm not sure what the best answer is. I think we need to get casualbb in here. He is the resident HST guru over on the training board. Shoot him a PM and see what he says.
 
For the exercises with tiny increments you may want to consider switching to a different but similar movement. One that you can use larger weights with and hence have larger increments.

I realize that you probably want to stick with basic movements and use free weights as much as possible - but in this particular situation some of the machines may be a better choice.

For rows you have lots of choices. One arm db rows, bent over bb rows, cable rows, hammer strength rows, nautilus... the list goes on.

For pulldowns maybe you could find an assisted pullup machine in your gym? Some kind of hammer strength or nautilus machine maybe?

Anyways, good luck. I like this tread.
 
UPDATE #3

There's something I've noticed about my workouts that I want to warn others about. I think those of us that are accustomed to going to failure on every set are most likely to make this serious mistake.

For most of an HST routine you are not supposed to carry the set to failure. You should only be going to failure on the very last day of a given cycle and even then you might not actually fail provided you have made strength gains during that cycle. What I've have caught myself doing is feeling as if I'm not working hard enough and unconsciously performing the reps more slowly early on in a minicycle and even holding the weight at peak contraction on a lot on exercises where that is possible, i.e pulldowns, bicep curls, rows. I'm doing all these things unconciously to make the work harder, but as the minicycle progresses towards its RM I speed up the movement a little and shorten those peak contractions I was doing, apparently because I feel like I'm working harder now that the weight is increasing. However, this defeats the central idea behind HST, which is progressive resistence encouraging hypertrophy. If I make the movements harder earlier on in a given minicycle, then ease up when the weight increases I suspect the actual stress I'm placing on the muscle may be remaining the same throughout the cycle.

Now that I've made my self consciously aware of this mistake I can concentrate on correcting it but I suspect its a serious mistake which may well have hampered my gains.
 
Keep up the great work and keep us posted. I'm interested in how your progress is since our stats are really close!
 
I think you'll like HST once you get the hang of it. I really threw me at first too.
Try to keep the rep speed at controlled speed....sort of a slow moderate. Making the movements very deliberate. That way the rep speed will be a constant, and something you can still get the heavier weights with.

I would try to keep the increments at least at 5lbs. Even if you have to start an exercise off at an extremely low weight.
You could also maybe try to find a machine that may allow you to do more weight or maybe a different exercise. Hope this helps :)

I get a lot from reading of other people's experiences....so please keep it up!
 
UPDATE # 4

I'm beginning my 5RM minicycle now and I have a few significant things to report.

First of all, I've definitely made strength gains on all my upper body exercises, except overhead press. I made a judgement call regarding my 5RMs which I'm not sure is strictly in keeping with HST priniciples. I decided to increase the 5RM on all my upper body exercises, except overhead press, as I could tell those poundages no longer represented true 5RMs due to strength gains I made during my 15 & 10RM minicycles. Those who read my first post will already know I am training to maintain on my lower body, so I'm not looking for strength gains in that area. My upper body 5RMs are below.

Original 5RMs......................Revised 5RMs

Bench............... .115......................125
Overhead_Press... 75........................75
Bicep curls........ . 50........................55
Pulldowns......... .65.........................72
Bent Rows........ .45.........................55

I've also noticed that the light weights that you begin with in HST gave me the opportunity to really focus on my form and learn to feel the muscle working. Now that I'm moving heavier weight I'm finding I'm able to make the most of the movement due to all the kinesology practice I received. Its definitely been a plus, especially with bicep curls where I realized I was not keeping tension on the bis and doing too much swinging. I think this new found muscle focus has a lot to be with my rapid strength gains.


My insomnia has improved a lot lately and pretty damn fired up about the 5RMs. :D But I'm also eating too damn much Mexican food lately and I'm porking up a bit. I'm sure my bf isnt 16% anymore. My bw was 147 for the last 3 days and it isnt monthly water gain either. I'm guessing I may have gained 2 pounds of actual muscle over the last 5 weeks but my total weight gain is 5lbs and my ass is up to 39.5" and I know that aint muscle gain!
I'm going to start cycling carbs again very carefully to avoid further blubber gain and then think about leaning again after my HST cycle.
 
anya said:
UPDATE # 4

I'm beginning my 5RM minicycle now and I have a few significant things to report.

First of all, I've definitely made strength gains on all my upper body exercises, except overhead press. I made a judgement call regarding my 5RMs which I'm not sure is strictly in keeping with HST priniciples. I decided to increase the 5RM on all my upper body exercises, except overhead press, as I could tell those poundages no longer represented true 5RMs due to strength gains I made during my 15 & 10RM minicycles. Those who read my first post will already know I am training to maintain on my lower body, so I'm not looking for strength gains in that area. My upper body 5RMs are below.

Original 5RMs......................Revised 5RMs

Bench............... .115......................125
Overhead_Press... 75........................75
Bicep curls........ . 50........................55
Pulldowns......... .65.........................72
Bent Rows........ .45.........................55

I've also noticed that the light weights that you begin with in HST gave me the opportunity to really focus on my form and learn to feel the muscle working. Now that I'm moving heavier weight I'm finding I'm able to make the most of the movement due to all the kinesology practice I received. Its definitely been a plus, especially with bicep curls where I realized I was not keeping tension on the bis and doing too much swinging. I think this new found muscle focus has a lot to be with my rapid strength gains.


My insomnia has improved a lot lately and pretty damn fired up about the 5RMs. :D But I'm also eating too damn much Mexican food lately and I'm porking up a bit. I'm sure my bf isnt 16% anymore. My bw was 147 for the last 3 days and it isnt monthly water gain either. I'm guessing I may have gained 2 pounds of actual muscle over the last 5 weeks but my total weight gain is 5lbs and my ass is up to 39.5" and I know that aint muscle gain!
I'm going to start cycling carbs again very carefully to avoid further blubber gain and then think about leaning again after my HST cycle.
Click to expand...


Looking good! Just cycle the carbs and the extra will come right off. Keep up the hard work sure is paying off for ya!
 
Great info and good job. I've been trying to decide what program I'm going to start in January. I've been doing a 5x5 since August and love it. Still not sure about the HST, I don't usually like full body workouts. Time for me to start researching more. Keep us posted on your progress.
 
Anya, you write terrific, thoughtful journal entries. I like how you put down your observations as well as your actual lifting information. Good job!
 
lucidBlue said:
. Still not sure about the HST, I don't usually like full body workouts. Time for me to start researching more.
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I had never done them before either Lucid. Yes it does take some getting used to. The volume of work is lower so it does make it doable in terms of energy requirements and a lot of people also choose to break up the workout if their schedule permits (mine doesnt). Be sure to read causualbb's HST thread and look at his links if you want to investigate more. :)
 
lola said:
Hey lucid - what are you doing for increments in 5x5?
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5lbs. I pretty much tried to follow needsize's plan completely. Since I had some shoulder problems, I sometimes have to to make it a 2 1/2lb increment or just repeat a week for shoulders and chest work.
 
I have only 2 workouts left in my 5RM phase and need to make a decision regarding what to do during my final minicycle.

The most basic principle of HST is progressively heavier weights with every single workout. By the time you finish the 5RM phase you've increased weight 18 times so your options for further weight increases are kind of limited.

I am considering two options: negatives-only or a 3RM phase. For the negatives only option I would use a very heavy weight and lower it 5 times for a set, no concentric movement at all. Since I usually train alone I would use momentum to swing the weight back to the starting position. The 3RM option would be done in exactly the same way as the prior phases except even heavier weight. Over the course of 6 workouts I would work towards my 3RM which I would guessimate based on my actual 5RM. I like the idea of the full range of movement (concentric and eccentric) I would get from the 3RMs but a negatives-only phase would permit me to do more repititions.

I've been trying to carefully reduce carbs because of my inflating rear, but I think I've having been implementing this incorrectly since my energy level during my workouts has noticeably decreased. Consequently the weights during my last two workouts definitely feel heavier. I'm still looking for specific advice on how to fine tune my carb rotation.

No further increases in muscle size that I can verify with my measuring tape. :( However, my butt isnt getting any bigger either. :)

I think I'm on track to gain maybe 3lbs of LBM by the time I finish my HST cycle.
 
anya said:
Since I usually train alone I would use momentum to swing the weight back to the starting position.
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That sounds like a really bad, dangerous idea. Also, I don't really see how that would work for most exercises (e.g. bench, squat, etc - how do you get the weight up?).

That's the main reason I didn't do negatives - no partner to lift the weight with me.

IMO, you should go with the 3RM idea and just keep adding small increments of weight (even 4 RM 1st week then 3RM second week if you can figure it out accurately).
 
Backlash said:


That sounds like a really bad, dangerous idea. Also, I don't really see how that would work for most exercises (e.g. bench, squat, etc - how do you get the weight up?).
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Backlash I was definitely leaning towards a 3RM minicyle but I didnt want to automatically foreclose on the negatives-only idea. If I did go that route I was going to get my stepdad to lift on the pushing exercises but I'd rather not ask him for a variety of reasons. He tends to shout a lot of (sorry!) typically male "encouragements" during the set which just tend to distract and irritate me.

By the end of my HST cycle I'm going to owe you a dinner for all the help you given me. :)
 
Backlash said:
Glad I could help. If you really want, you can send me one pound of beef for every pound of LBM you gain :D
Click to expand...

Uh hey buddy that's gonna get pretty pricey since I'm busting out with some awe inspiring guns now. ;)


(maybe some ground chuck)
 
Great results! With respect to increments... it can get a little iffy, especially if you RM's are low. 5% of the 5RM is a good increment to use. If this results in too much overlap (say, more than 3 sessions) maybe adjust it down a bit.

Man... I wish I could refer you to the HST thread but it got nuked in the mod exodus 1-2 days ago. :( Anyway, there should be a new one up soon.
 
UPDATE # 5

Ok here's just a quick entry to bring my journal up to date.

I took stock of my gains to date at the end of my 5RM phase. I realized that I've made absolutely zero meaureable size gains since about the middle of my 10RM phase. However, I've continued to make substantial strength gains despite less than optimal recovery due to recurrent insomnia throughout my HST cycle. After some valuable input from EF's in house HST guru casualbb I agreed that I need higher reps to grow. I have used this information about myself to plan my final HST phase.

I have chosen to do a 3RM phase for the final two weeks of my HST cycle. I chose a this because I usually have no spotter which makes negative only sets impossible for many exercises. I have also chosen to increase total sets per exercise from 1 to 3 in order to get my reps closer to that range where I apparently grow best. I am now using a watch with 2nd hand and I allow just 60-70 seconds between sets.

So far so good. I have two 3RM workouts under my belt, four to go. :)
 
FINAL UPDATE & SUMMARY



Well that's it. My HST experiment is finished. Mixed results but it was definitely a learning experience for me. I started this thread because I couldnt find any other woman on Elite who had tried HST and I wanted to chronicle my experiences for any other woman who might want to try it in the future.

I gained about 3lbs of bf and about 2-3 pounds of muscle altogether. My arms are both up .25" and my chest is up to 39" for a gain of about .75". I think my delts are bit thicker too but I cannot verify this with the measuring tape.


Summary of my final mini cycle, the 3RM

It was hard! I was clearly beginning to overtrain a little by the 3RM phase. I took two 3 day breaks during the 3RMs to keep my progress moving which helped but wasnt enough. My 3rd workout felt like maxes when it should have still been comparatively easy. Remember you shouldnt actually hit your maxes for any given weight until the very last workout of that phase. I increased my number of sets to 3 for the 3RM phase to up my total number of reps per exericise to nine. I did this because I learned from my 15 & 10RM phases that I respond best with higher reps. However, using that kind of weight for 3 sets was more than I could handle and still make gains.

What I learned & plans for my next routine

My body responds with hypertrophy most readily when I do higher repititions and more moderate weights. I need reps in the 12-15 range for all excercises. I respond best with strength gains in the 5-10 range. Below 5 and I am just burning out.

I may need to add some specialized tricep work. My arms grew .25" early in my HST cycle but I wonder if they would have grown more if I had done tricep work as well. I didnt do tricep work because I was afraid of overtraining my arms due to the frequency of HST workouts and the incidental work they would already be getting from benching and overhead presses.

My biceps do need specialized work but at a lower volume than major muscle groups like chest, legs, back, etc.

I will be starting another HST routine 12/13/03 after a 9 day rest period to allow my muscles to again become sensitized to the lighter weights.

My new routine will be as follows:

15, 10, and 5RM phases only, after which I will begin all over again.

15RM___1-2 sets for all major muscle groups depending on how easy the first set is and how close to failure I feel I reach. Too close on the first set = no second set! 1 set for small muscle groups like bis and tris.

10RM___2 sets for all major muscles and 1 for small ones.

5RM___3 sets for all majors and 2 for small ones.


For more info on HST go here. The link in my first post is now broken and that post is too old now for me to edit.
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=283460

Ok ladies, all done. I hope this thread will be of some help to you at some point in the future. :D
 
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a bump to pimp HST to the newer ladies.


BTW I've maintained the 3lbs of beef I added last year. Holding at 147 and 16% bf.
 
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WOW this is an old post! Though I never would have read it if you didn't bump it back up again!

Interesting concept, though I don't think I'd survive mentally if I couldn't throw around those heavy weights.

How did you find that the ZMA worked for you? I see that your insomnia went away, perhaps that was in part to the ZMA. Do you think it helped with any of your gains? It's kind of hard to tell which is working when you start a new routine and a new supplement at the same time!
 
ashley2212 said:
WOW this is an old post! Though I never would have read it if you didn't bump it back up again!

Interesting concept, though I don't think I'd survive mentally if I couldn't throw around those heavy weights.

How did you find that the ZMA worked for you? I see that your insomnia went away, perhaps that was in part to the ZMA. Do you think it helped with any of your gains? It's kind of hard to tell which is working when you start a new routine and a new supplement at the same time!
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Since the search feature has been basically eliminated for non-paying peeps, like you and I, it's way more difficult to find these old ones. :)

I really dont think the ZMA helped at all. I cant recommend it. I didnt add it until later in the program when the insomnia became a problem and that was after I had gotten most of the size and strength gains.

HST is demanding as hell and you really have to watch for those signs that signal overtraining. If you take appropriate steps to deal with overtraining as the symptoms develop HST can yield amazing gains in a short period of time. Bottom line is I'm still cheerleading for it. :lmao:
 
I have had very good results with several cycles of HST, but as a female I also needed higher rep work to really grow. So for my final 2 weeks I did drop sets. I basically would start each exercise with my previous 5 rep max weight, do as many reps as I could at that weight, then drop the weight to 75% of my 5 rep max and do as many reps as I could, then drop the weight to 50% of my 5 rep max and do as many as I could. I found not only did this make me grow like a weed, but by the end of those two weeks I was often doing 7 or 8 reps with the weight that was previously my 5 rep max. Built size, strength AND muscular endurance. The lactic acid was nice for a change too ;)

I also notice I don't really have a lot of measurable growth until well into the strategic deconditioning phase. As always you gotta rest to grow! I do a full two weeks of deconditioning, so the full cycle takes almost 10 weeks.
 
MS said:
I have had very good results with several cycles of HST, but as a female I also needed higher rep work to really grow.
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as a female? Is there some reason we need higher reps to grow? I also made basically all of my gains during the 15s and the 10s.
 
RottenWillow said:
as a female? Is there some reason we need higher reps to grow? I also made basically all of my gains during the 15s and the 10s.
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I partly say that based on anecdotal observation (myself included). There is also some evidence that women have a slightly differently nervous system when it comes to how they recruit motor units and recover. In one study, (looking at eccentrics only), women did more reps at a given %1RM than men. This has been interpreted as meaning that women should do more reps. It's hardly conclusive evidence. Women, in general, also can't handle as much volume (less androgens I presume since this appears to change when a woman juices).

Another theory is that women do not have the capacity to recruit as many motor units as men do. As such, they'll may need 1-2 more reps to fully stimulate their muscles. So when training for strength, a man might need between 1 and 5 reps while a woman might benefit more from doing 3-6 reps. When training for muscle gains, men may benefit from doing 5-10 reps while women appear to be better off doing to 7-12 reps. For these same reasons women *may* benefit from doing an extra set or two per exercise. For my HST program I aim for 2 sets for 15s and 10s. In the last day or two when I'm approaching my 15 or 10 rep max, I split these two sets into a morning session and an evening session. For my 5s I increase to 3 sets (2 sets split as I approach my max).

None of this is the gospel, and is highly controversial. You will also find a wide range in response from one woman to the next. After all, I grew exceptionally well doing nothing but circuits and pump classes in my early days. Most people I did the classes with didn't seem to grow at all (except maybe the addition of fat). Then again it appeared to me that most of those folks lacked intensity of any sort and often just went through the motions without ever increasing their weights. This is a trap I see a lot of females in particular fall into. That's what's good about HST (or other periodization programs). It forces women to increase their weights in a logical and progressive fashion.



3. Slightly less intensity: This is not to say that women aren't as strong as men. But since they need a few more reps and a few more sets, the relative intensity must be decreased a little to allow for proper progression.
 
MS said:
For my HST program I aim for 2 sets for 15s and 10s. In the last day or two when I'm approaching my 15 or 10 rep max, I split these two sets into a morning session and an evening session. For my 5s I increase to 3 sets (2 sets split as I approach my max).
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Damn, that's a lot of volume! It would be interesting to see what effect that would have on me during my next HST cycle, but my schedule wont permit two workouts daily and there's no way I could recruit the energy to do 2 sets for each exercise doing total body workouts. Does seem like a good plan to increase hypertrophy though.

MS said:
That's what's good about HST (or other periodization programs). It forces women to increase their weights in a logical and progressive fashion.
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Very well articulated, I absolutely agree 100%. I see SO much "instinctual" (read: irrational) poundage and routine switching it's a miracle a lot of people (men including) make any gains at all.
 
RottenWillow and MS in your experience where did you see the most gains? I was concidering doing HST but I am trying to lose some size at the moment not muscle of course but the fat on my a$$.
 
RottenWillow said:
Damn, that's a lot of volume! It would be interesting to see what effect that would have on me during my next HST cycle, but my schedule wont permit two workouts daily and there's no way I could recruit the energy to do 2 sets for each exercise doing total body workouts. Does seem like a good plan to increase hypertrophy though.
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2 sets per body part, 3 times per week, that's only 6 sets per body part per week. Not really very high volume. I should add that I'm not doing much isolation work. For instance I don't bother with specific tricep, shoulder or bicep exercises. I count on stuff like dips, clean presses and reverse grip chins to cover those.

Squats
SLDLs
Clean presses
Weighted dips
Weighted chins
Bench
Rows
Weighted crunches

And then I'm outta there. 16 sets total (24 sets for the 5s). I super-set opposing exercises so it goes pretty quickly, ie squats with SLDL, dips with chins, bench with rows, cleans with abs.

superqt4u2nv, HST is great for fatloss, you just gotta get the diet in order. Superset everything to keep rest intervals short, and throw in some drop sets here and there. Do some sprints on your non-training days.
 
MS said:
2 sets per body part, 3 times per week, that's only 6 sets per body part per week. Not really very high volume. I should add that I'm not doing much isolation work. For instance I don't bother with specific tricep, shoulder or bicep exercises. I count on stuff like dips, clean presses and reverse grip chins to cover those.

Squats
SLDLs
Clean presses
Weighted dips
Weighted chins
Bench
Rows
Weighted crunches

And then I'm outta there. 16 sets total (24 sets for the 5s). I super-set opposing exercises so it goes pretty quickly, ie squats with SLDL, dips with chins, bench with rows, cleans with abs.
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I feel like it's a lot of volume because you often get no more than 48 hours rest and because the intensity of the training curve is cumulative. For a week, no it's not a lot of volume, but after 8 weeks, whoa papi, das a lotta work!

A lot of people I've talked to find multiple sets during the 15s to be quite demanding in terms of energy requirements, especially as you approach your max for a particular minicycle. I guess it just depends on your overall level of conditioning. I myself added multiple sets for the 5's, but believe that's part of what led to my overtraining.
 
OK, I omitted a few details to save some typing. What I actually end up doing is 2 sets for my first 4 sessions of each rep scheme, and then I drop it to either one set or sometimes (if I'm not feeling overtrained) to 1 set twice a day for the last 2 sessions. For the 5s I do 3 sets for the first 3 sessions, then 2 split sets for the last 3. I only do 1 or 2 sets for the forced negatives/drop sets. I don't find the training effects to be too cumulative since at the start of each new rep scheme I am actually working with a lighter weight than I was for the previous rep scheme. In other words if my 6th session of 15s I do 50kg, my 1st set of 10s will prolly only be 40-45kg. So the first 2 sessions of each rep scheme are effectively light weight recovery sessions.

There is also an arguement that some women may need to increase the time between sessions due to slower CNS recovery. If you are feeling overtrained with HST you could try training every 72 hours instead of 48. You might also need to drop your starting weights for each rep scheme. There will be a big difference between, say, 6 sessions at these weights:
10
15
20
25
30
35

versus

7.5
12.5
17.5
22.5
28
35

even though in both cases you end up with a 35 max. In the second case you should find it easier to hit your maxs without feeling overtrained. Determining appropriate increments is important!
 
MS said:
OK, I omitted a few details to save some typing. What I actually end up doing is 2 sets for my first 4 sessions of each rep scheme, and then I drop it to either one set or sometimes (if I'm not feeling overtrained) to 1 set twice a day for the last 2 sessions.
Click to expand...

Ok I see. During my second HST cycle that's how I implemented the multiple set scheme as well.

MS said:
There is also an arguement that some women may need to increase the time between sessions due to slower CNS recovery. If you are feeling overtrained with HST you could try training every 72 hours instead of 48.
Click to expand...

That's the recovery period I used thorough my entire second HST cycle. I felt that the margin for error in terms of recovery was SO slim with 48 hours rest that I needed the "padding" offered by the extra 24 hours. With school, full time work, and full time boyfriend my diet and sleep had to be consistently perfect for 48 hour rest times to work for me.
 
This is the thread I started back in fall '03 that chronicalled by first timer experience with HST.

It's a program appropriate for the absolute beginner and the experienced lifter. I found it to be both very simple, and very effective.



(for the confused, Willow the Rotten and Anya are one and the same)
 
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