asdfzxcv's HST journal

[Cynical Simian]

I never got around to catching up and becoming a regular poster in your old journal, but I'll be following this one from the start. I certainly plan to do HST at some point; I'm looking forward to seeing how you (and some other ex-SF 5x5 guy with a journal ) implement and progress with it. Best of luck.

 

[asdfzxcv]

I never got around to catching up and becoming a regular poster in your old journal, but I'll be following this one from the start. I certainly plan to do HST at some point; I'm looking forward to seeing how you (and some other ex-SF 5x5 guy with a journal ) implement and progress with it. Best of luck.

Thanks for the encouragement CS,nice to have you drop by.I am trying HST it allows me to work towards my PR's whilst going through several rep ranges.It seems to be very similar to 5x5 which is why it appeals to me.I will return to the single factor 5x5 later on without a doubt,but it seems more viable for those who are bulking rather then cutting as there is always pressure to hit new PR's which can be tricky in a calorie deficiet.

My exercise list seems quite short compared with many others who are doing HST due to the fact that I am a big proponent of compound lifts.I think the lifts that I choose give the body a good workout as a whole,hopefully they will be sufficient for this program.

 

[asdfzxcv]

I also forgot to say that it has been 7days since I have done any exercise due to the requirements of taking 9-14days off for ''strategic
deconditioning''.Supposively this period allows your muscles to become more responsive to the stimulus placed upon them as they have had time to rest and slightly decondition.At any rate I must say that it much harder to fall asleep without lifting during the day and I cant wait to hit the weights come monday .

 

[cwpick]

I think the lifts you chose are great. When you start getting into the 5's add some isolation work if you want. But I would stick around 6-7 exercises.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I dunno about high rep cleans and deads. Other than that I think it looks great and that it'll reward you. I had success with HST - I've got a journal from it . Hit me up if you'd like the link.

 

[asdfzxcv]

So it begins.........

HST,15rep cycle,workout 1,date 13/3/06 bodyweight 199lb

Squats
15x155
15x155
My introduction to the high rep phase was definatly a humbling one.The first 6-7reps were so easy,then all of a sudden my muscles just ran dry lol.My mind was like ''this is easy,come on!!!!'' and my muscles just stopped responding to the brains command.Still managed to get all reps on both sets,but damn my legs were shakey afterwards lol.

Overhead/push press
15x75
12x75,3x75
The overhead presses were even tougher then the squats.The first set I just did strict presses without leg drive and my goodness was it difficult.By the 10th rep on the second set my shoulders were like jelly,even with leg drive I could only get out 12 before my shoulders just stopped responding.

Bent over rows
15x95
15x95
I know that I was supposed to do power cleans,but I dont think high reps would go well with power cleans due to technique/fatigue so I opted for rows instead.Like all the other exercises I was cruising until about 7-8reps then my muscles just slowed to a crawl.

Bench press
15x95
15x95
The bench was probably the easiest of all the exercises,although it was still a battle to get all the reps in.First set went fairly smoothly,the second set was quite tricky and the last few reps in particular moved very slowly.

Chins
Didnt happen lol,Need to do these first from now on.Usually I can get 6-7 in a row a after wednesday 5x5 workout,today I could get one and thats it.

Summary
Today I found out that doing 15 reps after spending months on 5x5 can be very humbling.I definately need to get my endurance up to par.I think I will be a bit sore tomorrow.I think this high rep cycle will definatly help me as I am so untrained to this type of training I think it may spur some new growth despite being in a mild calorie deficiet.I think the 9 days of strategic deconditioning helped me recover fully,which is good because my body is going to need to be 100% to make it through this.Cant wait to do workout B on wednesday,that should be fun..............

 

[anotherbutters]

Let's hope you condition to this very quickly, if you're going to succeed with putting a few more pounds on the bar in the next 5 workouts!

 

[asdfzxcv]

Let's hope you condition to this very quickly, if you're going to succeed with putting a few more pounds on the bar in the next 5 workouts!

I will adapt to it if I just stick with it.Like anything when you havent done it before you wont be very good at it first shot.My muscles are so used to short bouts of activity that after 6-8reps everything slows down because I have depleted all the ATP in my muscles and never really worked on making the various energy systems that replace ATP more efficient via high rep training.This is part of the reason that I chose to do HST,because it spends lots of time in the 10+rep phase.I feel that if I increase my anaerobic conditioning over this training cycle it may help when it comes to running my next sf 5x5,as it has always been a weakness of mine.

My goals for the next 13 weeks are as follows
-Lose 13-15lb of bodyfat and get my body fat to an acceptable level (14-15%)
-Increase my over all conditioning,both anaerobically and aerobically
-preserve my strength/muscle,hopefully build more of both

 

[djeclipse]

I can imagine switching to 15 reps after the 5x5 would be a bitch, lol.

So next workout you're suposed to add weight to all those lifts and still stay in the 15 rep range?

Also, what were your warm up sets? did you do any?

 

[asdfzxcv]

I can imagine switching to 15 reps after the 5x5 would be a bitch, lol.

So next workout you're suposed to add weight to all those lifts and still stay in the 15 rep range?

Also, what were your warm up sets? did you do any?

Yeah the 15s are definatly a challenge,hopefully I will adapt to them.I will stay in the 15rep range for 2 weeks,alternating workout A/B before switching to the 10s.There are no warn up sets for the 15s because the weight is very light as it is,this phase is only meant to condition the joints/tendons for the heavier 10s/5s.Warm ups will definatly be used in the lower rep phases but right now they are not needed.I am very curious to see how I react to this form of training.